Let’s Protect Our Frontline Workers from Rude Customers

From videos of drunk and disorderly airline passengers to stories of hospital visitors angrily refusing to wear masks, customer-facing work seems to have gotten a lot more difficult – even dangerous -- over the past few years. It's important that organizations understand the experience of frontline workers now, and help to better protect their employees, says Christine Porath, professor of management at Georgetown University. She's studied incivility for 20 years, and has spoken to workers in many industries in the last few years about what it's like working with customers today - with stress, anger, and incivility seemingly on the rise. And she has advice for managers and leaders. Porath is the author of the HBR Big Idea article "Frontline Work When Everyone Is Angry."

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[HBR IdeaCast podcast series]

HBR IdeaCast
Episode 885

Let’s Protect Our Frontline Workers from Rude Customers

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A conversation with Georgetown’s Christine Porath about how to improve customer-facing work in an era of incivility.

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November 22, 2022

From videos of drunk and disorderly airline passengers to stories of hospital visitors angrily refusing to wear masks, customer-facing work seems to have gotten a lot more difficult – even dangerous — over the past few years. It’s important that organizations understand the experience of frontline workers now, and help to better protect their employees, says Christine Porath, professor of management at Georgetown University. She’s studied incivility for 20 years, and has spoken to workers in many industries in the last few years about what it’s like working with customers today – with stress, anger, and incivility seemingly on the rise. And she has advice for managers and leaders. Porath is the author of the HBR Big Idea article “Frontline Work When Everyone Is Angry.”

Note: This podcast mentions threats of violence and sexual assault.

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This article is about WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

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Related Topics:

• Managing conflicts

• Managing employees

• Customer service

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