Customer Service Work Is Distressing. Should I Quit?

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:03 JST, September 8, 2024

Dear Troubleshooter:

I’m a part-time worker in my mid-60s, and I want to get advice about my job.

I’ve been working at my current job for nearly three years. Because this is my first job since retirement, I chose part-time work with minimal mental and physical stress.

Even though I chose this work myself, social anxiety has made serving customers very difficult. Whenever I’m serving them, I make mistakes. I can’t make firm judgments or decisions, so I often confuse customers.

After getting home, I’m so depressed that I often can’t sleep. This is, of course, distressing, but the worst part is that my mistakes are putting a burden on my colleagues.

I’m seriously considering whether I should quit my job and find another one that suits me better. However, I’m hesitant because I’m unsure if there are companies willing to hire someone my age.

F, Saitama Prefecture

Dear Ms. F:

Reading your concerns reminds me of the characteristics of many university students these days. There is a survey that shows they prioritize comfort in the workplace when looking for a job.

Salaries for full-time employees are more or less the same at all companies. There is no job that they find particularly interesting, or even if there is, it is not always possible for them to do it. Therefore, they seem to choose jobs with a minimal mental burden when available.

Even students who should be thinking about their future career take workplace comfort into consideration. There is no reason why you, who have already completed your career once, shouldn’t think the same way.

Perhaps you’re not good at work involving customer service. It is important to think about the atmosphere in your workplace.

The mistakes you have made so far seem to be less serious than you think, considering you have been able to work at your current job for nearly three years. Your colleagues also help you, right?

You mentioned that you can’t make firm judgments and decisions. But I believe few people can accomplish their work without mistakes. I’m guessing you are a perfectionist.

How about weighing your workplace hardships against the atmosphere? Keep working, even if you are a bit bad at the work, in case you find there is no workplace with as good an atmosphere. Quit when you think you cannot stand the current job anymore. Why not take this kind of position?

Masahiro Yamada, university professor