Retailers and service businesses should consider the role of customers in creating psychosocial risks for employees, according to research from the University of Adelaide.
Published in the Journal of Services Marketing, the study involved in-depth interviews with 13 young gay and bisexual men working in frontline service roles across Australia and New Zealand. Participants had experience in retail, hospitality, banking and finance, trades, consultancy and the not-for-profit sector.
While previous research has focused on discrimination from employers and co-workers, the study found that customers also contribute to workplace discrimination. According to the researchers, interactions with customers can lead many gay and bisexual employees to choose between expressing their sexuality and concealing it to avoid prejudice.
Dr David Matthews, lead researcher from the University of Adelaide’s College of Business and Law, said both choices can affect employee wellbeing and organisational performance.
The study also found that employees’ openness varies across customer groups and workplace settings. Associate Professor Sally Rao Hill said workers were more likely to conceal their sexuality when interacting with male or older customers, and in industries such as trades, banking and finance.
The researchers said businesses can reduce these risks by setting clear expectations for customer behaviour towards employees. Dr Matthews said measures such as displaying notices about acceptable behaviour at stores or service locations could help communicate those expectations, similar to signage used by many retailers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Organisations need to establish a clear line in the sand about what is and is not acceptable behaviour from customers,” Matthews said.
He said overlooking discriminatory behaviour may reduce conflict in the short term, but can lead to lower employee wellbeing, reduced service performance and higher staff turnover over time. The study also recommends training managers to support sexually diverse employees in the workplace.
