Customer mistreatment versus compliments: how three forms of strain shape employee recovery experiences

Purpose This study examines how daily customer interactions influence employees' recovery during nonwork time. Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, we conceptualize customer mistreatment as a daily demand and customer compliments as a daily resource and test how they affect psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery and control through negative emotions, cognitive depletion and physical fatigue. Design/methodology/approach We conducted a two-week experience sampling study with 98 employees from a South Korean insurance company. Participants completed three daily surveys measuring customer interactions, three forms of strain, and after-work recovery experiences. Multilevel structural equation modeling was used to examine indirect effects of daily customer interactions on recovery through multiple strain pathways. Findings Customer mistreatment increased negative emotions, cognitive depletion and physical fatigue, whereas customer compliments reduced these strains. Physical fatigue consistently predicted lower levels of all four recovery experiences. Negative emotions were linked to reduced relaxation and mastery, while cognitive depletion was uniquely associated with impaired psychological detachment. Overall, negative customer interactions showed stronger and more pervasive effects than positive interactions. Originality/value This study shows that daily customer interactions affect recovery through functionally distinct strain mechanisms. Integrating COR theory with a multi-mediator approach, we identify physical fatigue as a foundational pathway constraining all forms of recovery, while emotional and cognitive strains show domain-specific effects. The findings extend the “bad is stronger than good” principle to daily service interactions and employee recovery.