When the customer is unethical: The explanatory role of employee emotional exhaustion onto work–family conflict, relationship conflict with coworkers, and job neglect.

Abstract

We integrate deontological ethics (Folger, 1998, 2001; Kant, 1785/1948, 1797/1991) with conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, 1989) to propose that an employee's repeated exposure to violations of moral principle can diminish the availability of resources to appropriately attend to other personal and work domains. In particular, we identify customer unethical behavior as a morally charged work demand that leads to a depletion of resources as captured by employee emotional exhaustion. In turn, emotionally exhausted employees experience higher levels of work-family conflict, relationship conflict with coworkers, and job neglect. Employee emotional exhaustion serves as the mediator between customer unethical behavior and such outcomes. To provide further evidence of a deontological effect, we demonstrate the unique effect of customer unethical behavior onto emotional exhaustion beyond perceptions of personal mistreatment and trait negative affectivity. In Study 1, we found support for our theoretical model using multisource field data from customer-service professionals across a variety of industries. In Study 2, we also found support for our theoretical model using multisource, longitudinal field data from service employees in a large government organization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

Customer Mistreatment: A Review of Conceptualizations and a Multilevel Theoretical Model

“…Consistent with previous empirical studies documenting the effects of resource depletion, customer mistreatment has been linked with employee sabotage (Shao & Skarlicki, 2014;Wang et al, 2011), incivility toward customers, job demands (van Jaarsveld, Walker, & Skarlicki, 2010), withdrawal (e.g., absences, Grandey et al, 2004), reduced performance (e.g., Sliter, Sliter, & Jex, 2012), and burnout (e.g., Ben-Zur & Yagil, 2005;Dormann & Zapf, 2004;Grandey et al, 2007;Greenbaum, Quade, Mawritz, Kim, & Crosby, 2014). For example, Wang et al (2011), using a sample of call center employees, reported that customer mistreatment was positively related to employee sabotage and this positive association was mitigated by job tenure (i.e., cognitive resource) and service rule commitment (i.e., motivational resource).…”

Daily mistrust: A resource perspective and its implications for work and home

“…For example, in line with the idea that emotionally exhausted employees have fewer resources to attend to family roles and are less motivated to self-regulate effectively, Greenbaum et al (2014) found that emotional exhaustion predicted work-family conflict. Similarly, Liu et al (2015) found that emotional exhaustion due to work was associated with displaced aggression towards family members in the evening.…”

“…For example, in line with the idea that emotionally exhausted employees have fewer resources to attend to family roles and are less motivated to self‐regulate effectively, Greenbaum et al. () found that emotional exhaustion predicted work–family conflict. Similarly, Liu et al.…”

“…Mistrust is expected to prompt these behavioral reactions by consuming the trustees' resources because it represents an adverse and stressful experience that potentially threatens trustees' reputation, status, access to information, help, and guidance from others (e.g., Dirks & Skarlicki, 2009;Kim et al, 2009;Lewicki et al, 1998). Several studies in the work-family conflict domain support the idea that workplace stressors like felt mistrust may evoke emotional exhaustion, which then leads to withdrawal from the offending context at work (e.g., Boswell, Olson-Buchanan, & Harris, 2014) but an inability to engage properly and to restrain from conflict at home (e.g., Greenbaum, Quade, Mawritz, Kim, & Crosby, 2014;Ilies, Huth, Ryan, & Dimotakis, 2015;Krannitz, Grandey, Liu, & Almeida, 2015). Consistent with these arguments, we expect that emotional exhaustion will mediate the association between perceived mistrust and withdrawal at work and conflict at home.…”

“I don't want to be near you, unless…”: The interactive effect of unethical behavior and performance onto relationship conflict and workplace ostracism

“…These behavioral expectations have been woven into the fabric of today's society, such that generally accepted moral norms tend to exist (Cropanzano, Goldman, & Folger, ; Folger, , ; Folger & Skarlicki, ; Greenbaum, Quade, Mawritz, Kim, & Crosby, ). People abide by generally accepted moral norms to keep from infringing on another person's “playing field,” with people then expecting others to play by the same “rules of the game” (Folger, , ).…”