“Service With A Smile” Requirement And Reliance On Tips Puts Workers At Risk Of Sexual Harassment

By Emily Reynolds “Service with a smile” — having a friendly, cheerful demeanor when working with customers in retail or hospitality — has long been identified as having a negative impact on worker wellbeing. One 2019 study, for example, found that “faking it” was of significant detriment to service workers, whilst the term “emotional labour” was first used by sociologists to describe jobs which require workers to display positive emotions. And when this requirement to provide service with a smile is combined with a reliance on tips for income, there can be horrible consequences, a new study suggests. A team led by the University of Notre Dame’s Timothy G. Kundro finds that the combination of financial dependence and deference to customers that tipping and emotional labour involves can lead to customers feeling like they have more power and ultimately sexually harassing workers. For the first study, the team recruited 92 employees working at least 35 hours per week and receiving regular tips from customers. First, participants indicated how financially dependent they were on customer tips by reporting what percentage of their total income came from them, and also answered questions about how much they had to appear friendly, sensitive, and composed. The psychological power of customers versus workers was also measured, with participants indicating whether they felt customers had more power than them and whether or not they had to be...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Occupational Source Type: blogs