In the workplace, emotional dissonance is the conflict between emotions experienced by the employee and those required by the organization. Earlier studies have established that emotional dissonance reduces job satisfaction and exacerbates emotional exhaustion. Emotional dissonance typically occurs during interactions between employees and customers in service industries. As Western economies are dominated by service industries, emotional dissonance may result in rising numbers of dissatisfied and burned out employees. This study examined the process by which emotional dissonance operates, and the impact of self‐esteem on emotional dissonance. Emotional dissonance was found to induce job tension leading, in turn, to emotional exhaustion. Employees with innately low self‐esteem were more likely to experience emotional dissonance and suffer from emotional exhaustion. Other employees found that emotional dissonance reduced their self‐esteem leaving them dissatisfied.