Employee Behavior in a Service Environment: A Model and Test of Potential Differences between Men and Women

Abstract

The authors examine the attitudes and behaviors of employees who provide frontline service and address the extent to which relationships vary among male and female employees. The overall model predicts effects of role stress and work/nonwork conflict on customer-contact employees’ job performance, job and life satisfaction, and quitting intent. Results of structural equations modeling suggest an important role for work/nonwork conflict overall as well as two areas of interesting variation across gender. Specifically, multisample structural equations analyses suggest that role stress affects female service providers’ job performance more negatively than it does males’, and that job satisfaction is related more highly to quitting intent among males. Overall, results suggest interesting similarities and differences across gender.