“Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda”. Workers’ Proactivity in the Association between Emotional Demands and Mental Health

Greta Mazzetti, Silvia Simbula, Chiara Panari, Dina Guglielmi and Alessio Paolucci
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Greta Mazzetti: Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Silvia Simbula: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy
Chiara Panari: Department of Economics, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
Dina Guglielmi: Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Alessio Paolucci: Department of Education Studies, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: The present study aimed to explore the mediating role of hostile customer relations in the association between emotional dissonance and workers’ mental health. Moreover, the moderating role of proactive personality as a buffer against hostile customer relations was assessed. Emotional demands become crucial within professions that involve a direct relationship with clients and, if poorly managed, can negatively affect workers’ health and performance. Accordingly, data were collected on a sample of n = 918 mass-retail employees working for one of the leading Italian supermarket companies. Most participants were women (62.7%) with a mean age = 40.38 (SD = 7.68). The results of a moderated mediation analysis revealed that emotional dissonance was related to more hostile customer relations that, in turn, were associated with higher rates of mental health symptoms. Proactive personality emerged as a protecting factor that prevented the onset of conflicts with clients, particularly among workers experiencing high levels of emotional dissonance. The identification of resources enabling management of emotional demands could suggest suitable adaptive strategies for customer-facing roles, thus preventing the occurrence of adverse mental health symptoms.

Keywords: mental health; emotional dissonance; proactivity; customer relations; emotions; retail distribution sector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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