International Employment Lawyer
When faced with rude or hostile customers, workers must carefully regulate their emotional responses, often choosing between strategies that either protect their mental health or improve their performance, new research shows.
Researchers from France’s Emlyon Business School say that the strategies employees use to regulate emotions in the face of hostile customers come with trade-offs.
In the meantime, UK employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of staff, which includes harassment by third parties, such as customers or clients, as per guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
“It remains to seen whether this is likely to have a practical impact in protecting staff from abuse by customers,” says GQ|Littler’s Deborah Margolis.
Margolis says employers could to put up posters saying abuse of their staff will not be tolerated, ensure workers are adequately trained on how to deescalate aggressive customers, or have two people work together so they are not alone.
“After an incident, an employer should investigate, ensure the affected employee receives appropriate support – such as access to confidential counselling, time off work, regular check ins and support if they choose to file a police report – and take steps to prevent the person carrying out the assault from accessing their services again,” she suggests.
Margolis adds that the employer should also ensure the incident is recorded in a central register that can be used to detect patterns and decrease the likelihood of future incidents.
