Employees’ reactions to customer mistreatment: The moderating role of human resource management practices
研究基于工作要求-资源模型和压力评估理论，发现员工参与机会能缓解顾客不当对待导致的情绪耗竭，培训能减轻其对工作绩效的负面影响，对服务行业管理者有实践启示。
This study examined the moderating roles of human resource management (HRM) practices in employees’ reactions to customer mistreatment. Drawing upon the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and stress appraisal theories, this study hypothesised that training and participation could buffer the negative effect of customer mistreatment on service employees’ work outcomes (i.e. emotional exhaustion and job performance). Data were collected from 730 service representatives and their team leaders at two time points. Results showed that customer mistreatment was less positively related to emotional exhaustion in teams where employees were provided with more participation opportunities, and customer mistreatment was less negatively related to performance in teams where employees received more training. The results suggest that different types of HRM practices could effectively buffer the negative impact of customer mistreatment on different work outcomes for service employees. Theoretically, this study extends the customer mistreatment literature by demonstrating the importance of studying HRM practices in the customer mistreatment context, and supports the integration of JD-R model as an overarching framework and stress appraisal theories as an explanatory theory to understand the role of HRM practices. Practically, the findings provide implications to managers in protecting employees from customer-related interpersonal stressors and maintaining a healthy and productive workforce.