Retail workers most likely to encounter unruly customers; effects include...
Hostile interactions with customers are becoming increasingly common and having an impact on employees.
More than half (53%) of all frontline employees who deal directly with the public have recently encountered customers who are verbally abusive, threatening or unruly, according to a new report from Perceptyx. Retail workers are the most likely to encounter unruly customers, with 61% of them having dealt with a recent incident, followed by those in information, and then finance and insurance.
Perceptyx’s survey of 21,000 frontline workers revealed that employees who have faced unruly customers, compared to those who have not, are:
- 1.3x as likely to be actively looking for a new job.
- 1.9x as likely to disagree they work in a safe environment.
- 1.5x as likely to disagree the organization cares about their health and well-being.
- 1.5x as likely to disagree they are valued in the organization.
- 1.6x as likely to feel uncomfortable speaking up about safety concerns.
- 1.8x as likely to say stress from work has harmed their productivity more than three days in the past week.
- 2.2x as likely to say stress from work is impacting their physical health.
- In addition, nearly two-in-three have had to seek help from a manager to handle the customer behavior, creating further productivity impacts across the organization.
“From being cursed at on the phone or at the customer service counter to threats of violence in a hospital ER, frontline workers in all fields deal with difficult customer interactions,” said Emily Killham, senior director and head of the Center for Workforce Transformation at Perceptyx. “Added to the high-pressure conditions, unpredictable workloads, and safety concerns, they are also more likely to deal with limited career growth opportunities, inequitable benefits, and inconsistent communication from leadership than their non-customer-facing counterparts.”
[READ MORE: Survey: 40% of retail workers fear job loss from AI]
More than a third of employees who have dealt with hostile customers have been required to stay in a situation with a customer where they felt physically unsafe. As a result, 81% feel burned out, and 40% say their manager rarely or never checks in on their stress or emotional health.
“There’s a gap between frontline and other employees in perceived support for difficult customer interactions,” added Killham. “That in turn impacts morale, productivity, and retention. Employers can close this gap by ensuring frontline workers have a manager who supports and cares about them and a place to share their own ideas about how to make the workplace safer.”
