TY - JOUR

T1 - The role of supervisor support for dealing with customer verbal aggression. Differences between ethnic minority and ethnic majority workers

AU - Kößler, Franziska J.

AU - Wilbert, Jana B.

AU - Veit, Susanne

AU - Hoppe, Annekatrin

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.

PY - 2023/11

Y1 - 2023/11

N2 - Customer verbal aggression is a core social stressor among retail workers which impairs wellbeing via emotional dissonance. This study examined two moderators—supervisor support and ethnic minority status—in this well-established relationship. In addition, it tested a moderated moderated mediation model to explore whether the moderation effects of supervisor support on the indirect relationship between customer verbal aggression and wellbeing (measured as positive affect) via emotional dissonance vary between ethnic minority and ethnic majority workers. Retail workers of one retail chain (N = 603) completed our paper-pencil survey at two measurement points. Path modeling showed that emotional dissonance mediates between customer verbal aggression and positive affect. Taken alone, neither supervisor support nor ethnic minority status moderated this relationship. However, their combination had a significant moderating effect; supervisor support moderated the indirect effect of customer verbal aggression on positive affect through emotional dissonance only among ethnic minority workers. Surprisingly, supervisor support amplified this mediation. We discuss our findings by considering the role of supervisor support and the status of ethnic minority workers.

AB - Customer verbal aggression is a core social stressor among retail workers which impairs wellbeing via emotional dissonance. This study examined two moderators—supervisor support and ethnic minority status—in this well-established relationship. In addition, it tested a moderated moderated mediation model to explore whether the moderation effects of supervisor support on the indirect relationship between customer verbal aggression and wellbeing (measured as positive affect) via emotional dissonance vary between ethnic minority and ethnic majority workers. Retail workers of one retail chain (N = 603) completed our paper-pencil survey at two measurement points. Path modeling showed that emotional dissonance mediates between customer verbal aggression and positive affect. Taken alone, neither supervisor support nor ethnic minority status moderated this relationship. However, their combination had a significant moderating effect; supervisor support moderated the indirect effect of customer verbal aggression on positive affect through emotional dissonance only among ethnic minority workers. Surprisingly, supervisor support amplified this mediation. We discuss our findings by considering the role of supervisor support and the status of ethnic minority workers.

KW - Customer-related social stressors

KW - emotional labor

KW - ethnic minority status

KW - retail sector

KW - social support

KW - wellbeing

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85145282683&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/7f1d7faf-1ca7-32ac-bae5-04da24756757/

U2 - 10.1177/23970022221140560

DO - 10.1177/23970022221140560

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85145282683

VL - 37

SP - 247

EP - 272

JO - German Journal of Human Resource Management

JF - German Journal of Human Resource Management

SN - 2397-0022

IS - 4

ER -