Unfriendly customers as a social stressor – An indirect antecedent of service employees’ quitting intention

SummaryRecent management research suggests that unpleasant work experiences of service employees cause problems with job performance, affect the bottom line and contribute to high rates of employee turnover. Although various job stressors have been studied as antecedents of employees’ decision to quit, less attention has been given to customer behavior as a possible predictor of quitting intentions. The author proposes a model of service employees’ intention to quit their job. The model includes a new construct, perceived customer unfriendliness, which is linked with several employee-related variables. An empirical study of more than 200 service employees demonstrates that perceived customer unfriendliness has an indirect and direct impact on employees’ job satisfaction which in turn affects quitting intentions. Theoretically, the study complements service research by others that have focused on organizational job stressors in relation to employees’ quitting intentions. Managerially, the findings improve service managers’ understanding of the drivers of employee turnover.