Abstract

This paper analyses the relations among perceived customers aggression, job resources and employees wellbeing in public services that are dealing with a changes in their mission towards customers. Based on the Job Demands - Resources model, the research explored a) if the level of exposure to verbal aggression by customers is related to employees' emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction; b) if a set of resources (control, clarity in role, support from colleagues and supervisors, change) contributes to buffering the negative impact of verbal aggression on burnout; c) if such resources are most beneficial in boosting job satisfaction under conditions of high aggressiveness. Data, gathered through a self-report questionnaire administered to 279 librarians in Italian public libraries (154 respondents), were analysed with a set of moderated hierarchical regression analyses. The results showed that increasing levels of perceived customer aggression are related to higher emotional exhaustion and lower job satisfactions. Only two of the organizational resources taken into consideration (change and support from colleagues) showed protective effects on emotional exhaustion, while the boosting effect was not confirmed.