Influence of meaningfulness of work and leadership characteristics on customer-directed counterproductive work behavior resulting from customer mistreatment

This study explored the impact of customer mistreatment on counterproductive work behavior (CWB) and the moderating role of supervisor responses (self-sacrificial and self-serving leadership) to clarify why customer-directed CWB occurs and how it can be reduced. A sample of 392 customer-facing employees in the USA completed measures assessing the meaningfulness of work and self-sacrificial and self-serving leadership experiences. The meaningfulness of work moderated the relationship between customer mistreatment and employee anger, and a three-way interaction was found between employee anger and self-sacrificial and self-serving leadership on customer-directed CWB. Implications for managing customer mistreatment and fostering meaningful work to promote employee well-being are discussed.