The current study examines the effect of job stress on frontline employees' customer problem-solving behaviour, drawing from the cognitive activation theory of stress. The study suggests that job stress, directly and indirectly, affects problem-solving behaviour through perceived performance difficulties. Empathetic leadership is proposed as a mitigating contextual factor for the adverse effects of job stress on customer problem-solving behaviours. Data were gathered from 240 customer service employees and supervisors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) hospitality industry. SmartPLS and the Hayes Process Macro were employed for data analysis. The study results revealed that job stress significantly affects employees’ ability to solve customer problems, directly and indirectly, via perceived performance difficulties. Interestingly, this impact is diminished when the supervisor demonstrates empathy. The implications of the study findings for management practice and future research are discussed.

中文翻译：

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工作压力如何影响酒店环境中员工解决问题的行为：探索绩效困难和同理心领导的关键作用

当前的研究借鉴压力的认知激活理论，探讨了工作压力对一线员工解决客户问题的行为的影响。研究表明，工作压力通过感知绩效困难直接或间接影响解决问题的行为。移情领导被认为是减轻工作压力对客户解决问题行为的不利影响的环境因素。数据收集自阿拉伯联合酋长国 (UAE) 酒店业 240 名客户服务员工和主管。 SmartPLS 和 Hayes Process Macro 用于数据分析。研究结果显示，工作压力通过感知绩效困难，直接或间接地显着影响员工解决客户问题的能力。有趣的是，当主管表现出同理心时，这种影响就会减弱。讨论了研究结果对管理实践和未来研究的影响。