Customer Violence and Employee Health and Safety

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2374716
AutoresCarol Boyd (University of Glasgow), Carol J Boyd (0000-0003-2651-6614, autor de correspondencia)
Año2002
Volumen16
Número1
Páginas151-169
Fecha de publicación2002-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaWork Employment and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0950-0170 • E-ISSN: 1469-8722
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/09500170222119290
OpenAlexW1990488392
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas34
Referencias citadas14

This paper seeks to extend current perspectives on occupational health and safety (OHS) by integrating 'emotional labour' into OHS debates. We focus on the growing incidence of customer violence in the airline and railway industries and how this intensifies the demands made on employees' emotional labour. We argue that, just as physical labour is considered in terms of volume and intensity, so should emotional labour. Moreover, we argue that high demands on emotional labour may be equally detrimental to employee health. Based on 1173 questionnaire responses, we explore the nature of demands on emotional labour and the related OHS outcomes. We also explore a range of secondary literature which examines the external and internal factors of work organization that have contributed to a rise in customer abuse, where we argue that customer abuse is perpetuated by a range of cost-rational and profit-centred policies. The paper concludes by arguing that, as a factor in OHS, emotional labour is likely to be shown equal disregard to physical labour in terms of management's relative freedom to utilize (exploit) these as far as possible, regardless of possible health and safety implications

Business · Economics · Emotional health · Emotional labor · Exploit · Mental health · Microeconomics · Occupational safety and health · Political science · Profit (economics · Psychiatry · Public relations · Work (physics · Emotional Labor in Professions · Employment and Welfare Studies · Engineering · Labor Movements and Unions · Psychology · Social Psychology · Marketing