Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disturbance among Customer-Facing Workers

Mental health problems are a growing issue among customer-facing workers. This study aimed to investigate the workers' symptoms of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance caused by customer complaints and the suppression of one's emotions at work.

This study used the data from the fifth Korean Working Conditions Survey 2017 database. The subjects comprised 23,128 workers (men, 11,007; women, 12,121). The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multiple logistic regression models, to determine the effect of the exposure level of engaging with angry clients and suppressing one's emotions at work on mental health.

Among the workers engaging with angry customers, compared to the "Rarely" group as a reference point, the "Always" group showed elevated OR values (at [95% CI]) of 1.52 (1.10-2.10), 1.86 (1.05-3.27), 4.43 (3.11-6.33), 3.74 (2.51-5.55), 3.89 (2.65-5.70) for men workers; and 2.86 (1.94-4.22), 2.55 (1.73-3.75), 3.75 (2.82-4.98), 3.81 (2.84-5.09), 3.84 (2.88-5.12) for women workers, for depression, anxiety, difficulty falling asleep, waking up during sleep, and extreme fatigue after waking up, respectively. For suppressing one's emotions at work, the OR values of the "Always" group were 2.32 (1.53-3.51), 2.46 (1.73-3.50), 2.54 (1.88-3.43), 2.64 (1.92-3.64), 2.42 (1.81-3.24) for men workers; and 2.23 (1.53-3.25), 2.31 (1.61-3.33), 2.26 (1.72-2.96), 1.53 (1.19-1.97), 2.15 (1.62-2.85) for women workers, for depression, anxiety, and difficulty falling asleep, waking up during sleep, and extreme fatigue after waking up, respectively.

The emotional labor demanded from customer-facing workers, incurred by facing customer complaints and suppressing one's emotions at work, was found to be significantly associated with the development of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance symptoms among the Korean working population.