N2 - Addressing health-related risks for employees in the service

Addressing health-related risks for employees in the service

Published in European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28 January 2021

There is more than obeying display rules. Acting in service frequently includes serving people other than oneself, making it possible for service providers to endanger their own health while meeting the needs of another individual or group. We define health-related risks as those that can cause damage to the physical and/or mental health of the service provider. As such, we argue that the service provider is both the object and the subject of risk management, thereby challenging the traditional view of risk management as a one-sided process in which the service provider is protected by the organization according to a top-down approach. The focus on the service provider is elaborated by arguing that service providers can create, manage, and alleviate health-related risks within their work.