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Do social conflicts with customers at work encroach upon our private lives? A diary study
Judith Volmer1, Carmen Binnewies, Sabine Sonnentag
1Department of Psychology and Sport Sciences, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany. judith.volmer@sozpsy.phil.uni-erlangen.de
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
|July 4, 2012
Summary
Workplace customer conflicts negatively impact employee well-being and nonwork life. These conflicts increase negative affect and hinder psychological detachment, spilling over into personal time.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health Psychology
- Organizational Behavior
- Workplace Psychology
Background:
- Workplace social interactions significantly affect employee well-being.
- Previous research has not fully explored the daily impact of customer conflicts on employees' nonwork experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between daily social conflicts with customers (SCCs) and employees' well-being.
- To examine the effect of SCCs on employees' psychological detachment and negative work reflection at home.
- To understand the mediating role of negative affect (NA) in this relationship.
Main Methods:
- Utilized experience-sampling methodology over five working days.
- Collected data from 98 civil service agents.
- Employed hierarchical linear modeling for daily-level analysis.
Main Results:
- Daily SCCs were associated with increased employee NA.
- SCCs negatively impacted psychological detachment from work.
- SCCs positively correlated with negative work reflection after work, mediated by NA.
Conclusions:
- Social conflicts with customers detrimentally affect both employee well-being and nonwork experiences.
- Workplace conflicts extend beyond work hours, impacting personal life.
- Findings highlight the pervasive effects of customer-employee interactions on overall employee functioning.
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