Abstract
Sources of stress during customer service work include the cognitive demands of handling inquiries. This study investigated predictors of individual differences in subjective stress response to a simulation of the customer service ‘task’. 86 trainee operators completed personality and dispositional coping measures, and then performed the simulated task. Stress states and situational appraisals and coping were assessed using validated questionnaires. Results showed that task performance generated stress reactions characterized by increased distress but decreased worry, similar to reactions to working memory tasks. Both dispositional and situational measures predicted stress states. Multiple regressions showed that effects of dispositional measures were mediated by situational appraisal and coping measures, consistent with cognitive, ‘transactional’ theories of stress. Task-induced stress may be a significant real-world problem requiring intervention. Organizations may also select more ‘hardy” operators using the scales employed in this study.
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