Dealing with a job that is talking to unhappy people all day?

[Mod-Degrassi]

I think that for most people, that kind of work is soul destroying over a prolonged period.

DH worked in a similar setting for about 5 years and it would get him down really badly. Some afternoons I would have to pretty much counsel him when he got home from work as he'd be so depressed. He now works in a blue collar industry and couldn't be happier with the change!

Can you get a role in another department where talking to people is not required? I'm sure you've acquired great experience & skills in that job which will be desirable to a range of other roles and industries.

If it was me, I'd be looking at other avenues, maybe a little counseling via your company for the time being?

Good luck moving forward

[Eleven Eleven]

I used to work where people call up and complain about their traffic tickets.
It was ridiculous!
We did a conflict management course which was really great, maybe find one that hopefully your employee will pay for.
I, like you, felt it was a "shoot the messenger" type situation. I just made sure they understood that I was not going to take abuse or bad language. If they were abusive I would tell them to call back when they were calmed down because it was not part of my job to take abuse. Then hang up.
Most called back after about an hour and apologised for their behaviour and I would help them with what they wanted.
We had all the phone calls recorded and if they threatened us or anything, seeing as they were calling the police service, I assumed they would get into some massive trouble. Luckily I never got any serious threats (and neither did anyone else)