Occupational Stress on French Customer Service Employees: Impact of Human Ressource Management Modes

Dealing with angry individuals, enduring verbal abuse without reacting negatively appears as an inherent part of the work of customer service employees. This research presents and tests a framework to examine, not the effects of customer behavior, but the results of negative management modes on occupational stress. The study includes semi-directive interviews involving 86 customer service employees from five different companies: two call centers, one retail company and two passenger transportation companies (rail and air). The survey’s results provide new insights on how the employees’ well-being and the quality of service may be improved by appropriate human resource practices.