Sociodemographic characteristics and stress: The case of housekeeping and front office employees

Melita  Josipović; Jelena  Tepavčević; Viktorija  Šimon

doi:10.5937/menhottur2002053J

Authors

Melita Josipović University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Novi Sad, Serbia
Jelena Tepavčević University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Novi Sad, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4202-4687
Viktorija Šimon University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, Novi Sad, Serbia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur2002053J%20

Keywords:

stress, housekeeping, front office, employees, sociodemographic characteristics

Abstract

Stress at the workplace has an influence on job performance, employees’ health, their job satisfaction and turnover intention. Due to frequent and intensive contact with customers, as well as characteristics of working in the hotel industry, stress can occur as a consequence. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to determine whether there is a difference in the perceived sources of stress among front office and housekeeping employees according to their sociodemographic characteristics (gender, age, education level and marital status). The research included 167 employees from the front office and housekeeping departments. The results show that sociodemographic characteristics of employees do not have an impact on their perceptions of sources of stress at the workplace. In addition, the impact of the working department on the perception is not significant. Due to the size of the sample, the generalization is not possible, but the results obtained in this study can be a guideline for the identification and reduction of the sources of stress in observed hotel departments.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acker, G. M. (2004). The effect of organizational conditions (role conflict, role ambiquity, opportunities for professional development, and social support) on job satisfaction and intention to leave among social workers in mental health care. Community Mental Health Journal, 40(1), 65–73. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:COMH.0000015218.12111.26

Almeida, D. M., & Kessler, R. C. (1998). Everyday stressors and gender differences in daily distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(3), 670–680. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.3.670

Arasli, H., Teimouri, R. B., Kiliç, H., & Aghaei, I. (2017). Effects of service orientation on job embeddedness in hotel industry. Service Industry Journal, 37, 607–627. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2017.1349756

Birdir, K., & Tepeci, M. (2003). Otel genel muudurlerinde tükenmislik sendromu ve tükenmisli in genel müdür! erin islerini degistirme egilimlerine etkileri [The burnout syndrome of hotel general managers and its effects on tendency of leaving job]. Anatolia: A Journal of Tourism Research, 14(2), 93–105.

Bitner, M. J., Booms, B. H., & Mohr, L. A. (1994). Critical service encounters: The employee`s viewpoint. Journal of Marketing, 58, 95–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299405800408

Cooper, C., Sloan, S., & Williams, S. (1988). Occupational stress indicator management guide. Windsor: Nfer-Nelson.

Cooper, C. L., Rout, U., & Faragher, B. (1989). Mental health, job satisfaction and job stress among general practitioners. British Medical Journal, 298(6670), 366–370. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.298.6670.366

Davidson, M. J, & Fielden, S. (1999). Stress and the working woman. In G. N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of gender and work (pp. 413–426). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Erkutlu, H. V., & Chafra, J. (2006). Relationship between leadership power base and job stress of subordinates: Example from boutique hotels. Management Research News, 29, 285–297. https://doi.org/10.1108/01409170610674419

Ernst & Young (2015). Global hospitality insights – Top thoughts for 2015. New York: EYGM Limited.

Faulkner, B., & Patiar, A. (1997). Workplace induced stress among operational staff in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 16, 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4319(96)00053-9

Finkelstein, D. M., Kubzansky, L. D., Capitman, J., & Goodman, E. (2007). Socioeconomic differences in adolescent stress: The role of psychological resources. Journal of Adolescent Health, 40(2), 127–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.10.006

Gallo, L. C., & Matthews, K. A. (2003). Understanding the association between socioeconomic status and physical health: Do negative emotions play a role? Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 10–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.10

Gilboa, S., Shirom, A., Fried, Y., & Cooper, C. (2008). A meta-analysis of work demand stressors and job performance: Examining main and moderating effects. Personnel Psychology, 61(2), 227–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2008.00113.x

Harter, J., Schmidt, F., & Keyes, C. (2003). Wellbeing in the workplace and its relationship to business outcomes: A review of the gallup studies. In C. Keyes and J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: The Positive Person and the Good Life (pp. 205–224). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Huhtala, H., & Parzefall, M. (2007), A review of employee wellbeing and innovativeness: An opportunity for a mutual benefit. Creativity and Innovation Management, 16(3), 299–306. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8691.2007.00442.x

Jogaratnam, G., & Buchanan, P. (2004). Balancing the demands of school and work: Stress and employeed hospitality students. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 16(4), 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110410537397

Jones, F., & Brigght, J. (2001). Stress: Myth, theory and research. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall.

Kaiser, H. F. (1974). An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika, 39(1), 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02291575

Karatepe, O. M., & Baddar, L. (2006). An empirical study of the selected consequences of frontline employees` work-family conflict and family-work conflict. Tourism Management, 28(1), 238–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2005.10.024

Karatepe, O. M., & Uludag, O. (2007). Conflict exhaustion, and motivation: A study of frontline employees in Northern Cyprus hotels. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26, 645–665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2006.05.006

Kim, H. J, Shin, K. H., & Umbreit, W. T. (2007). Hotel job burnout: The role of personality characteristics. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 26, 421–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2006.03.006

Kim, H. J. (2008). Hotel service providers` emotional labor: the antecedents and effects on burnout. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 27, 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2007.07.019

Kuruüzüm, A., Anafarta, N., & Irmak, S. (2008). Predictors of burnout among middle managers in the Turkish hospitality industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20(2), 186–198.

Lambert, E., & Hogan, N. (2009). The importance of job satisfaction and organizational commitment in shaping turnover intent: A test of causal model. Criminal Justice Review, 34(1), 96–118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016808324230

Lo, K., & Lamn, F. (2005). Occupational stress in the hospitality industry – an employment relations perspective. New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 30, 22–48.

Luecken, L. J, Suarez, E. C., Kuhn, C. M., Barefoot, J. C., Blumenthal, J. A., Siegler, I. C., & Williams, R. B. (1997). Stress in employed women: Impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain. Psychosomatic Medicine, 59(4), 352–359.

Malhotra, N., & Ackfeldt, A. (2016). International communication and prosocial service behaviors of front-line employees: Investigating mediating mechanisms. Journal of Business Research, 69(10), 4132–4139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2016.03.038

Michael, G., Anastasios, S., Helen, K., Catherine, K., & Christine, K. (2009). Gender differences in experiencing occupational stress: The role of age, education, and marital status. Stress and Health, 25, 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.1248

O’Neill, J. W., & Davis, K. (2011). Work stress and well-being in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(2), 385–390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.07.007

Papadopoulou-Bayliss, A., Ineson, E. M., & Wilkie, D. (2001). Control and role conflict in food service providers. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 20, 187–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-4319(00)00052-9

Rabenu, E., Tziner, A., & Sharoni, G. (2017). The relationship between work-family conflict, stress, and work attitudes. International Journal of Manpower, 38(8), 1143–1156. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-01-2014-0014

Rook, K., Dooley, D., & Catalano, R. (1991). Age differences in workers` efforts to come with economic distress. In J. Eckenrode (Ed.), The Social Context of Coping (pp. 79–105). New York: Plenum.

Ross, G. F. (1995). Work stress and personality measures among hospitality industry employees. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 7(6), 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596119510095334

Rossen, L. N., Wright, K., Marlowe, D., Bartone, P., & Gifford, R. K. (1999). Gender differences in subjective distress attributable to anticipation of combat among US soldiers deployed to the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Storm. Military Medicine, 164, 753–757. https://doi.org/10.1093/milmed/164.11.753

Ruyter, K., Wetzels, M., & Feinberg, R. (2001). Role stress in call centers: its effects on employee performance and satisfaction. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 15(2), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1002/dir.1008

Sagbas, M., & Sürücü, L. (2020). Differences of perception of job stress according to the demographic characteristics of hotel employees. Journal of Tourism and Gastronomy Studies, 8(2), 805–815. https://doi.org/10.21325/jotags.2020.580

Siegrist, J., & Theorell, T. (2006). Socioeconomic position and health: The role of work and employment. In J. Siegrist and M. Marmot (Eds.), Social Inequalities in Health: New Evidence and Policy Implications. Oxford University Press, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198568162.003.0004

Sparks, K., Faragher, B., & Cooper, C. (2001). Wellbeing and occupational health in the 21st century workplace. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74(4), 489–509. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317901167497

Throits, P. A. (2006). Personal agency in the stress process. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 47, 309–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650604700401

Varca, P. (1999). Work stress and customer service delivery. Journal of Services Marketing, 13(3), 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1108/08876049910273853

Warr, P. B., & Parry, G. (1982). Paid employment and women`s psychological well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 91, 498–516. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.91.3.498

Wildes, V. J. (2007). Attracting and retaining food servers: How internal service quality moderates occupational stigma. Journal of Hospitality Management, 26, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2005.08.003

Wright, T., & Cropanzano, R. (2000). Psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction as predictors of job performance. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(1), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.5.1.84

Zohar, D. (1994). Analysis of job stress profile in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 13, 219–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-4319(94)90022-1