Understanding the role of customer incivility and supervisor monitoring in the relationship between customer orientation and frontline employees' emotional exhaustion

Abstract

PurposeBased on the resource conservation theory, this research paper aims to evaluate the positive impact of customer orientation on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion and the moderating effects of customer incivility and supervisor monitoring.Design/methodology/approachTwo-wave data from 484 frontline employees in power supply business halls were analyzed. This study used AMOS 23.0, SPSS22.0 and PROCESS macro for data statistics and analysis.FindingsOur empirical research demonstrates that customer orientation has a significant positive impact on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion. At the same time, supervisor monitoring moderates the relationship between customer orientation and emotional exhaustion. The higher the interactional or observational monitoring, the stronger customer orientation's effect on frontline employees' emotional exhaustion. Moreover, a three-way interaction model exists between customer orientation, customer incivility and supervisor monitoring.Practical implicationsThis study yields practical implications for helping the frontline employees of service-oriented organizations alleviate multiple interpersonal workplace pressures.Originality/valueBased on resource conservation theory, this paper used a novel approach to focus on customer orientation, customer incivility and supervisor monitoring as interpersonal stressors.

Sleepless nights at work: examining the mediating role of insomnia in customer mistreatment

“…Second, this study provides a significant contribution by elucidating the mediating mechanism in the relationship between customer mistreatment and proactive behavior (Arnold and Walsh, 2015; Xie et al. , 2023; Zhan et al.…”

“…Insomnia, characterized as a sleep disorder stemming from stress or anxiety (Scott and Judge, 2006), has been conspicuously linked to customer mistreatment, which often acts as a stressor resulting in heightened anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion, and compromised psychological well-being (Arnold and Walsh, 2015;Xie et al, 2023;Zhan et al, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023). Furthermore, previous research has demonstrated that employees experiencing sleep deprivation tend to exhibit reduced performance, decreased work effort, and an increased likelihood of burnout, turnover intention, and deviant behavior (Haar and Harris, 2021;Lages et al, 2023;Opoku et al, 2023).…”

“…In the context of interactions between customers and employees, it is evident that mistreatment by customers serves as a pronounced situational stressor (Chaudhuri et al, 2023;Lages et al, 2023). Such adversities, encompassing derogatory remarks, unreasonable criticisms, or excessive demands, can catalyze a noticeable drain on an employee's emotional and cognitive resources (Park and Kim, 2019;Xie et al, 2023). This depletion may consequently impede one's inclination to exhibit proactive behaviors-intentional, futurecentric actions directed at eliciting change and bolstering progression (Frey-Cordes et al, 2020).…”

“…Second, this study provides a significant contribution by elucidating the mediating mechanism in the relationship between customer mistreatment and proactive behavior (Arnold and Walsh, 2015;Xie et al, 2023;Zhan et al, 2023). Frontline employees, who frequently engage in direct customer interactions, are particularly susceptible to experiencing insomnia due to the high stress and emotional demands inherent in their roles Zhang et al (2023) These demands often arise from dealing with challenging, and at times hostile, customer behaviors, leading to heightened stress levels (Jeong and Lee, 2022;Kashif et al, 2020).…”

“…, 2023). Such adversities, encompassing derogatory remarks, unreasonable criticisms, or excessive demands, can catalyze a noticeable drain on an employee’s emotional and cognitive resources (Park and Kim, 2019; Xie et al. , 2023).…”