As with so many things, most often the person in front of you, or who is the contact point with an organization, is not the person or system responsible for wha

As with so many things, most often the person in front of you, or who is the contact point with an organization, is not the person or system responsible for whatever has cause you the anger and frustration you feel. In short, don't shoot the messenger. It would seem to me that in particularly abusive instances (enraged, harrying, and especially any threats) there is a workplace health and safety angle. In my jurisdiction such conduct from patrons and customers is considered potentially injurious to a worker and an employer has to take reasonable steps to protect employees. While being screamed at over the phone by a stranger is unlikely to give you PTSD as a once-off, a few years of it daily, done out of economic desperation, probably takes its toll on mental health. Though how such a case would go in practice, I don't know.