Customer incivility and employee outcomes in the new service marketplace

Abstract

Purpose

Due to volatile changes and crises in the business environment, frontline service employees (FSEs) are faced with increasing work stressors in the new service marketplace. Of these, customer incivility has been found to negatively affect their work outcomes. This study aims to examine the moderating effect of experiencing an imminent environmental crisis (i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic) on the relationship between customer incivility, work engagement and job crafting, using pre- and postpandemic samples.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors administered two-wave surveys to 276 FSEs (prepandemic sample) in July and October 2019 and to 301 FSEs (postpandemic sample) in March and April 2020.

Findings

Moderation analyses showed that the relationship between customer incivility, work engagement and job crafting varied between FSEs who experienced the pandemic and those who did not; the relationship was stronger for the postpandemic than the prepandemic sample. There was a positive relationship between work engagement and job crafting; it was weaker for the postpandemic sample.

Research limitations/implications

The deleterious effect of customer incivility exacerbated after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the authors did not explore why the pandemic aggravated the negative effect. The mechanism underlying the moderating effect of the pandemic and the effect of more diverse types of incivility should be explored in future research.

Practical implications

It is critical to provide FSEs with instrumental and emotional support to cope with the crisis brought on by the pandemic. Service organizations must monitor customers’ uncivil behaviors to identify their causes and develop interventions to improve service quality. Furthermore, service organizations are advised to enhance the coping capabilities of FSEs by using diverse interventions, such as emotion regulation training, debriefing sessions, short breaks and job crafting.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to reveal the moderating effect of the pandemic on the relationships between customer incivility, work engagement and job crafting, using pre- and postpandemic samples. This study offers necessary insights to improve FSEs’ engagement at work and enhance their job crafting in the new service marketplace.