Mental health or job performance: Workers today face an impossible choice

New research highlights the tough choices employees make when dealing with hostile customers — prioritising performance at the cost of mental health, or safeguarding wellbeing at the risk of lower job performance.

When faced with rude or aggressive customers, employees must constantly navigate their emotional responses, often making a difficult trade-off. According to new research from Em Lyon Business School, workers use different emotional regulation strategies in these challenging moments, but none provide a perfect solution for both performance and wellbeing.

The study, conducted by Professor Gordon Sayre, Professor of Management at EM Lyon Business School, along with Professor Alicia Grandey from Pennsylvania State University and Robert Melloy from Culture Amp, examined how employees handle hostile situations and what emotional strategies they use to balance job performance with personal well-being.

Six strategies for coping with hostility

The research identified six key emotional regulation strategies that employees use when confronted with workplace hostility:

1. Suppressing emotions
2. Distraction
3. Avoidance
4. Modifying emotions
5. Taking action
6. Seeking support

While these strategies can help employees manage difficult interactions, they come with trade-offs. The study found that engaging emotionally in a situation can boost performance but often harms mental wellbeing. On the other hand, distancing oneself from hostility may protect mental health, but can lead to lower job performance.

Real-world impact: Studies from educators' experiences

To explore these effects in practice, the researchers conducted a study with teachers at an alternative school for children with behavioural challenges. Every time a teacher encountered a hostile student requiring disciplinary action, they reported how they managed their emotions and rated their own wellbeing. Meanwhile, school administrators assessed their handling of the situation.

The results revealed that teachers often combined multiple strategies, with some combinations leading to higher performance but poorer mental health, and others prioritising wellbeing but resulting in lower effectiveness in managing student behaviour. This suggests that employees are constantly forced to choose between doing well at their jobs or safeguarding their mental health, without a clear way to achieve both simultaneously.

Professor Sayre stated: "Contending with this hostility is not easy, and our research shows that workers responding to this hostility are forced to make a choice— maximise their performance or protect their mental health.”

To address this issue, the researchers recommend that organisations shift away from a "customer is king" mindset and instead promote a culture of mutual respect between employees and clients or customers.

Additionally, organisations can support employees by providing training on emotional regulation strategies, equipping them with the skills to flexibly manage their emotions based on the demands of each situation. This can help employees strike a healthier balance between their professional responsibilities and their mental wellbeing.