The secondary research objectives included:

Customer-facing industries are segments of the economy where businesses interact directly with customers, such as retail, healthcare, hospitality, travel and tourism, education and financial services. These industries depend heavily on service quality to maintain customer satisfaction, foster loyalty, facilitate value co-creation and enhance overall business performance (Anderson 2025:1; Asa et al. 2024:2). Service quality, which is defined as the extent to which a service encounter meets or exceeds customer expectations and perceptions, plays a significant role in shaping customer satisfaction and ensuring the long-term sustainability of a business (Cayo-Velásquez et al. 2025:116; Huang & Lin 2020:29). In competitive industries, such as retail, banking and hospitality, delivering high-quality service is essential for attracting and retaining customers, maintaining a competitive edge (Tamanna 2020:483) and building brand reputation and trust (Asa et al. 2024:2), as these industries serve as the primary touchpoint with society. Their success often relies on the ability to deliver exceptional service, adapt to changing customer demands and create memorable experiences.

As customer-facing industries are characterised by high levels of interaction between employees and customers, emotional regulation and management are necessary to meet organisational expectations. The interaction between employees and customers often involves emotional labour, where employees must regulate their emotions to meet organisational display rules to maintain a positive image (Grandey & Sayre 2019:131; Sharma & Prakash 2024:10279). According to Choi and Lawry (2020:585), emotional labour involves either surface acting, where employees fake emotions, or deep acting, where they internally adjust their feelings to align with required displays. Both forms can increase job stress (Choi & Lawry 2020:585), emotional exhaustion (Borah, Saikia & Begum 2024:290) and burnout (Riforgiate, Howes & Simmons 2021:396) when poorly managed. Kang et al. (2019:1) also report that employees of customer-facing industries experience higher rates of anxiety, depression and sleep disturbances because of emotional suppression and dealing with difficult customers. Mayr and Teller (2023:8) concur that negative customer behaviours, such as complaints and deviance, contribute to emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction among employees.

Moreover, employees in customer-facing roles are required to manage customer participation and expectations, which can be ambiguous and demanding. Employees are encouraged to express positive emotions to foster customer satisfaction, leading to emotional contagion where customers mirror these emotions (Vincent & Munthe 2023:66). Liu, Chi and Gremler (2019:265) argue that employees’ positive emotions increase customer satisfaction, willingness to return and positive word-of-mouth. However, Grandey and Sayre (2019:131) maintain that while appearing sincere enhances overall work performance, falsifying these emotions can have personal implications for employees’ well-being. The pressure to display positive emotions constantly can lead to emotional exhaustion, especially when customer demands are high and ambiguous (Borah et al. 2024:290). While emotional contagion can enhance customer satisfaction, it may lead to negative outcomes for employees, such as burnout and emotional dissonance, highlighting the need for a supportive organisational practice to mitigate these effects.

Employee well-being, which is defined as the absence of illness and the promotion of a positive environment that fosters happiness, engagement and personal development, is a crucial determinant of service quality. Research has shown that there is a positive association between employee well-being and service delivery. For instance, Benítez et al. (2019:859) state that employees exhibiting high job satisfaction and low burnout levels tend to provide superior service quality. Building on the service-profit chain theory, which states that employee satisfaction and well-being enhance service quality and subsequently customer satisfaction and organisational performance, Benítez et al. (2021) emphasise that employee satisfaction and well-being are vital for improving service quality and overall performance.

Furthermore, Huang and Lin (2020:29) highlight the important role of frontline employee interactions in shaping customer perceptions of service quality and subsequent satisfaction. Specifically, positive interactions stemming from enhanced employee well-being contribute to favourable customer evaluations. In addition, the implementation of wellness programmes has been shown to mitigate job stress and turnover intentions among employees, fostering a more stable and effective service environment (Varga et al. 2021). This stability is essential for maintaining consistent service quality.

However, the effectiveness of wellness programmes depends on the alignment between organisational wellness initiatives and employee engagement. Solnet et al. (2020:9–10) emphasise that both the organisation and its employees must prioritise well-being to achieve the best service outcomes. In essence, effectively integrating these wellness initiatives into the organisation’s overall strategy is vital for enhancing service quality and organisational success.

Employee wellness programmes take many different forms, but generally include the following (Arevin et al. 2024; Chawla, Sareen & Gupta 2022; Kohli 2025; Varga et al. 2021): physical health initiatives such as exercise classes and health screenings, which aim to improve fitness and reduce healthcare costs; mental health support through counselling and stress management workshops, fostering a supportive environment; community engagement programmes that enhance satisfaction and team cohesion via volunteer work; and personalised wellness solutions that use technology to offer tailored health plans that adapt to individual needs and lifestyles. On the other hand, employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are workplace initiatives designed to support employees in managing personal, family and work-related issues that may affect their job performance and overall well-being. These programmes typically include confidential counselling and support services, work-life balance support (e.g. childcare and legal referrals), crisis support and resources for mental health issues (Cai 2022; Couser et al. 2023; Kohli 2025).

Workplace wellness programmes are therefore strategic efforts by organisations to foster workplace wellness, creating an environment that promotes their employees’ physical, mental and emotional well-being (Arevin et al. 2024:606). Identified as essential tools (Chawla et al. 2022), these programmes aim to empower employees’ personal and professional lives by helping them maintain an active and stress-free lifestyle that facilitates personal health and reduces healthcare-related costs (Solnet et al. 2020:3). Wellness programmes have been linked to numerous benefits for both employees and organisations (Arevin et al. 2024; Kohli 2025; Varga et al. 2021), including enhanced productivity and performance, improved employee motivation and engagement, increased job satisfaction and higher employee morale. These programmes contribute to significant return on investment (ROI) through reduced healthcare costs, decreased absenteeism and improved employee retention (Kohli 2025:2). Moreover, wellness initiatives create a positive organisational culture, promote collaboration and inclusivity, enhance corporate reputation and support employee well-being and stress management (Arevin et al. 2024:607).

As mentioned, this systematic review examined the relationship between workplace wellness initiatives, their impact on employee well-being and, in turn, service quality in customer-facing industries. To provide a robust theoretical foundation, this study integrated the JD-R model, social exchange theory (SET) and the service performance (SERVPERF) model.

Customer-facing industries are characterised by high levels of employee–customer interaction and present unique challenges that can significantly impact both employee well-being and service quality. As highlighted by Anderson (2025) and Asa et al. (2024), these industries rely heavily on delivering exceptional service to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty. However, the demanding nature of customer interactions often involves emotional labour (Grandey & Sayre 2019; Sharma & Prakash 2024) and introduces significant job demands. The JD-R model suggests that job demands, such as emotional regulation, service variability and managing customer expectations, can lead to negative outcomes such as job stress, emotional exhaustion and burnout (Borah et al. 2024; Choi & Lawry 2020; Riforgiate et al. 2021). Furthermore, Mayr and Teller (2023) emphasise the impact of negative customer behaviours on employee well-being, further exacerbating these job demands.

To mitigate these demands, organisations can implement workplace wellness initiatives, which serve as crucial job resources (Princewill 2024:12). The JD-R model predicts that by providing resources such as physical health programmes, mental health support and EAPs, organisations can enhance employee well-being and reduce the negative impact of job demands. This, in turn, is expected to positively influence service quality.

The SET confirms this relationship. When employees perceive that their organisation values and invests in their well-being, they are more likely to respond through enhanced job performance and service delivery. As Benítez et al. (2019, 2021) demonstrate, higher employee well-being, characterised by job satisfaction and low burnout levels, correlates with improved service quality. Thus, by fostering a supportive and caring work environment, wellness initiatives can enhance employee motivation and commitment, ultimately leading to improved customer interactions (Arevin et al. 2024).

In addition to understanding how employee well-being impacts the perceived performance of service quality, this review utilised the SERVPERF model. This model focuses on the customer’s perception of service performance, emphasising that service quality is best measured by assessing actual service delivery rather than the gap between expectations and perceptions (Cronin & Taylor 1994). SERVPERF assesses service quality based on the exact dimensions as service quality (SERVQUAL) (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy), but only measures perceptions of performance. As Huang and Lin (2020) observe, positive employee interactions from enhanced well-being significantly influence customer perceptions of service quality. Employees with high levels of well-being are more likely to exhibit empathy, responsiveness and reliability, thereby improving customer satisfaction and loyalty (Kori 2024:3), which SERVPERF measures directly.

In conclusion, by integrating the JD-R model, SET and SERVPERF, this review provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how workplace well-being initiatives influence employee well-being and, in turn, shape service quality in customer-facing industries (see Figure 1). This theoretical foundation will guide the analysis of empirical evidence, highlighting the strategic benefits of investing in employee well-being to achieve superior service outcomes as perceived by the customer.

The eligibility of studies for this systematic review was determined by a set of clearly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies were included based on the following criteria: studies published in English between 2015 and 2025 that examined the impact of workplace well-being initiatives on employees in customer-facing industries (including hospitality and tourism, retail and financial services), how these initiatives influenced employee well-being and the subsequent effects on customer-related outcomes, particularly perceptions of service quality. These initiatives included, but were not limited to, workplace mental health support programmes, flexible work arrangements, stress management programmes and physical wellness programmes. The review considered quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research designs that reported on at least one of the following service quality indicators: customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention, sales, feedback and customer-centric behaviours. In addition, studies reporting on relevant employee outcomes such as morale, job satisfaction and absenteeism were included. The types of publications considered were peer-reviewed journal articles, dissertations and theses.

The exclusion criteria were set as follows: (1) Studies older than 10 years or not in English were excluded. (2) Studies that did not specifically investigate workplace wellness initiatives or lacked a clear description of interventions were excluded. (3) Research that focused on employees in industries other than customer-facing industries was excluded. (4) Theoretical articles without empirical data, opinion pieces, editorials, non-peer-reviewed publications, duplicate studies and those lacking sufficient data were excluded.

The following electronic databases were searched: EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, Business Source Ultimate, Scopus, ProQuest, Emerald Insight, Web of Science, Science Direct and Sage Direct. A comprehensive search strategy was developed using relevant keywords and Boolean operators. For example, a sample search string in EBSCOhost was: (“workplace well-being” OR “employee wellness” OR “employee morale”) AND (“service quality” OR “customer satisfaction” OR “customer loyalty”) AND (“retail” OR “hospitality” OR “customer service”). Reference lists of included studies were reviewed to identify additional relevant articles.

The selection of studies for this review followed a systematic process involving multiple stages of screening and eligibility assessment in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted across several electronic databases, including Emerald Insight (n = 969), Scopus (n = 110), PsycINFO (n = 72), Science Direct (n = 44), EBSCOhost (n = 2) and Web of Science (n = 2), yielding a total of 1199 records. No records were identified from Business Source Ultimate, ProQuest, Sage Direct, citation searching, grey literature or other sources. Duplicate records (n = 484) were automatically identified and removed using Covidence (2025) software, resulting in 715 unique records for screening. Title and abstract screening was conducted, resulting in the exclusion of 688 records that did not meet the predetermined inclusion criteria, based on the reviewers’ discretion and expertise. The remaining 27 full-text articles were retrieved and assessed for eligibility; 20 of these were excluded because of reasons such as wrong exposure (n = 14), wrong outcomes (n = 4), wrong population (n = 1) and wrong methodology (n = 1). Ultimately, seven studies were included in the final review.

The PRISMA process is illustrated in Figure 2. Comprehensive records of the screening process, including justifications for exclusion, were maintained to ensure transparency and replicability. Following successful full-text screening, data extraction commenced for the included studies. To ensure consistency and reliability in the screening process, a pilot test was conducted on a sample of articles among the reviewers before the full-scale screening.

Following the full-text screening of the included studies, data extraction was conducted using Covidence (2025). A tailored data extraction template was developed to capture relevant information about study characteristics, participant details, intervention specifics (including workplace mental health support programmes, flexible work arrangements, etc.) and reported outcomes (service quality indicators and employee outcomes). The two authors independently extracted data from each included study using this template within the Covidence interface. Any discrepancies in the extracted data were resolved through discussion and consensus among the authors. Upon completion of the data extraction and consensus process, the finalised dataset was exported from Covidence to MS Excel for further analysis and synthesis.

The quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system (http://www.gradeworkinggroup.org/), considering study limitations, ambiguity, inconsistency, indirectness and publication bias to determine the certainty of findings and inform the strength of recommendations. An understanding of the evidence quality allowed for a more informed and cautious interpretation of the findings. While some studies statistically ruled out common method bias using techniques such as the variance inflation factor (VIF < 3.3) (Kristiana et al. 2025) and Harman’s single-factor test (Öksüz, Tosyali & Tosyali 2023), most relied on self-reported data, introducing risks of social desirability, recall and response bias (Marshall 2020; Torres & Zhang 2021; Varga et al. 2021; Yu, Zhang & Zhang 2024). Selection bias was also prevalent because of convenience or purposive sampling approaches (Öksüz et al. 2023; Solnet & Golubovskaya 2023; Torres & Zhang 2021), with some studies acknowledging researcher or narrative bias resulting from selective interpretation (Solnet & Golubovskaya 2023). The use of platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk further raised concerns about generalisability (Varga et al. 2021), and the lack of control groups in quasi-experimental designs limited causal inference (Torres & Zhang 2021).

This systematic review provides crucial insights for customer-facing industries, demonstrating that wellness initiatives are not merely supplementary benefits but rather strategic interventions that significantly improve employee outcomes and, consequently, service quality.

Theoretically, the findings contribute to the SET by illustrating that when organisations invest in employee well-being, employees reciprocate through heightened engagement and service performance. Furthermore, from a JD-R perspective, well-being initiatives such as job crafting and supervisor support act as vital job resources that can mitigate demands and enhance overall employee outcomes.

Practically, organisations in customer-facing industries (especially in the hospitality and retail sectors) should strategically integrate wellness initiatives that address holistic well-being (physical, emotional, social and financial well-being) (Varga et al. 2021). By addressing physical, mental, social and other dimensions of health, holistic strategies lead to higher job satisfaction, productivity, engagement and organisational resilience (Murtaza, Kun & Molnàr 2023; Pawar & Kunte 2022). Effective strategies – as identified in this systematic review – include comprehensive wellness programmes, service-oriented job crafting, supervisor support and EAPs, which all contribute to employee satisfaction, retention and service excellence (see Table 3).

In addition, to be effective, wellness initiatives must be aligned with the diverse needs of an organisation’s workforce, taking into consideration the various job roles, schedules and work environments. Incorporating employee input during design and offering flexible delivery formats are crucial (Varga et al. 2021), as programmes that ignore employee voices or adopt a one-size-fits-all approach often result in low participation and limited success.

Moreover, Solnet and Golubovskaya (2023) point out that the most effective outcomes arise when there is a shared commitment between the organisation and employees, which they term ‘coproduction/harmony’. A wellness culture, where support is embedded at all levels (from top leadership to direct supervisors), significantly increases the likelihood of sustained behaviour change and service quality improvement. In addition, wellness initiatives that are aligned with organisational values and framed as part of CSR are more likely to enhance employee engagement and loyalty (Yu et al. 2024). This strategic framing strengthens employees’ emotional connection to the organisation and fosters service commitment.

Lastly, for wellness initiatives to be effective, they must be implemented over extended periods and their long-term effects must be tracked (Torres & Zhang 2021). Such implementation and monitoring include baseline and follow-up tracking of employee and service outcomes, and adjusting wellness initiatives based on data and feedback to improve relevance and efficacy. Integrating wellness monitoring into regular Human Resources (HR) and performance metrics is crucial for ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.

This systematic review presents several limitations that constrain the generalisability and depth of its findings. Firstly, the review focuses predominantly on the hospitality sector, which limits the applicability of results across other customer-facing industries. The small number of included studies (n = 7) further restricts the breadth and diversity of insights. Geographical representation is also skewed, with studies primarily conducted in countries such as Indonesia, Turkey and the United States, and minimal coverage of underrepresented regions like Africa, specifically South Africa. Additionally, the review focuses primarily on employee outcomes and does not incorporate customer perspectives – an essential component of service quality – largely because of the limited number of available studies. Lastly, inconsistent measurement of service quality across studies poses challenges for the comparison and synthesis of results.

To address these limitations, the following recommendation is made: Future research should prioritise empirical, longitudinal studies in customer-facing industries in South Africa to generate robust, empirically validated data on the long-term impact of employee wellness initiatives. Subsequently, qualitative follow-up studies are crucial to capture direct customer perceptions of service quality, thereby bridging the current research gap by integrating the essential customer perspective.