A healthy work environment contributes to good results in companies

Brazilian families are expected to spend close to R$8.2 trillion over the course of 2025. Based on the current estimate of 2% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) , this movement will correspond to a real increase of 3.01% compared to 2024. Data from IPC Maps 2025 - an annual survey conducted by the consultancy IPC Marketing Editora - show that the national economy remains buoyant. And so do sales.

In a scenario like this, business owners tend to try to get the most out of their teams. But what is the limit to the pressure that can be exerted on employees? This is an ever-present question. And one that has more than one answer.

Thiago Lupatini, founding partner of FoodClub mentoring, highlights the impact of a harmonious work environment on customer relations. "Good service comes from a healthy, structured and humane work environment. Providing good customer service cannot mean emotionally draining the person delivering the experience," he argues.

It is worth remembering that excellent service cannot be achieved by improvising. Clear processes, achievable goals and standardized best practices guide the way to this point. Gustavo Malavota, whose company, Mola Educação, has trained more than 170 thousand salespeople, says: "I really like talking about pressure in my lectures. For example, I talk about the pressure cooker. It is used to speed up the process, not to burn the food. The same goes for teams. When we get the pressure limit right, according to the capacity of the team and the individuals, we can achieve great results. When we miss this limit, the team and productivity are compromised."

Variables

A salesperson almost always deals with the most unpredictable of all variables: human behavior. Sometimes a difficult customer comes along. Shouldn't we ask that the customer also have empathy for the salesperson, and not just the other way around?

"About customer empathy: it is desirable, but it cannot be a precondition for good service. The team needs to be trained to deal with different profiles and situations. However, the company has a duty to protect its employees from excesses, as well as to create a space where they can get support for extreme cases", says Jacinto Miotto Neto, partner at Auddas, a strategy, management and governance consulting firm.

The debate about the limits of demands on frontline employees, who deal directly with buyers, is broad and encompasses reflections on structural changes in the role of these professionals.

Trust

"Today, selling is not about convincing. It's about understanding. We live in a scenario in which purchasing decisions are increasingly complex," says Bruno Rodrigues, CEO of BCR.CX, a company focused on customer service solutions. "Consumers - whether individuals or companies - are more discerning, more pressured and, at the same time, more lost amid so many options. In this context, the salesperson needs to take on the role of advisor and trust. Someone who doesn't push products, but who helps the customer see clearly which path will solve their problem."

However, industry experts believe that a company's sales department will always have the same characteristics - and demands - as it does. "Nowadays, given the competitiveness between companies, all employees tend to feel pressure," says Douglas Zela, a speaker and owner of a radio program about entrepreneurship. "Customers have the option of the internet to compare products and prices, purchase options, and a large amount of information. And Artificial Intelligence is knocking on our doors, potentially replacing some professions and exposing companies to the emergence of new competitors at any time."

Others, however, call for attention to the limits of what can be demanded of employees. Legal limits, even. "From a legal standpoint, there is undoubtedly room for companies to demand results from their employees. But this is only possible if they do so within the limits of legality and human dignity, which is a fundamental legal value in our system," warns lawyer and legal consultant Daniel de Lima Cabrera. "What characterizes organizational moral harassment is not the demand itself, but the repeated, abusive and humiliating way in which this demand is conducted, causing embarrassment, fear or degradation of the work environment."

Cabrera adds a consideration: "The limit for pressure on employees is inversely proportional to the level of organization of a company. As there are rules, corporate values, and internal policies, this limit becomes clearer to everyone. This brings greater quality of monitoring, in addition to greater agility in finding alternatives to pressure that undermines the dignity of the employee."

Differential

Rodrigues, from BCR.CX, highlights the importance of team preparation. "The pressure for results continues to exist - and it should. But without preparation, clarity of role and support from leadership, it becomes exhaustion. We have learned that selling well is not born from scripts or pressure. It is born from repertoire, business intelligence and real problem-solving capacity. Technology helps us - with platforms that provide data, timing and integration -, but the difference will always be human. The best customer service is the one who can understand the customer better than the customer himself."