Employees’ evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs

Anna Schneider,Corinna Treisch

doi:10.1108/ijchm-08-2018-0675

Anna Schneider, Corinna Treisch

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1108/ijchm-08-2018-0675

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Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine employees’ evaluative repertoires of tourism and hospitality jobs and segments them based on a set of job attribute preferences. Understanding the social–cultural underpinnings of employees’ job preferences is vital if employers are to overcome the challenging task of finding and retaining talented employees in the tourism and hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach A discrete-choice experiment with waiters, barkeepers, cooks and front-desk employees working in the Tyrolean tourism industry was conducted. Employees were categorized into distinct segments using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis and a cluster analysis. Findings Results show that flexible working hours and the ability to balance professional and private aspirations are the most important job attributes for employees. Overall, the evaluative repertoires of the “green” and “domestic (family)” conventions are most prevalent. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to literature on talent management by providing insights into employees’ evaluations of jobs and their evaluative repertoires embedded in the broader social–cultural context. Practical implications Industry representatives and employers can adapt their recruiting and retention strategies based on employees’ job preferences. Social implications Adapting job attributes according to employees’ evaluative repertoires helps to ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry workforce. Originality/value Applying the Economics of Convention (EC) perspective, combining organizational job attributes and socially embedded evaluative repertoires provides a new approach to analysing and understanding employees’ job preferences.

Highlights

Working conditions, both anticipated and experienced, play an important role in employees’ choice of a profession or job or their decision to change it, especially in the tourism and© Anna Schneider and Corinna Treisch
5.1 Conclusions The results show that employees perceive “working hours” as the most important job attribute
The green convention, “balancing professional and private aspirations” is the most valued job attribute level. This strong preference for the green convention underscores the importance of the meaning of work (Holman, 2013; Sledge et al, 2008) for employees’ job decisions (Tepeci and Bartlett, 2002), informed by employees’ interests (Charlesworth et al, 2014; Muñoz de Bustillo et al, 2011), which are shaped by their social–cultural context such as personal lifestyle, relationships, values and experiences (Holman, 2013; Sledge et al, 2008)

Summary

Introduction

Both anticipated and experienced, play an important role in employees’ choice of a profession or job or their decision to change it, especially in the tourism and© Anna Schneider and Corinna Treisch. Employers determine (anticipated) working conditions (Ladkin and Buhalis, 2016), these conditions are situated within broader societal perceptions of the reputation or status of an industry, job or profession (Kusluvan and Kusluvan, 2003; Blomme et al, 2008; Ramakrishnan and Macaveiu, 2019). Some insightful studies explain these different employee perceptions in terms of worker characteristics (Knox et al, 2015; see Kong et al, 2018 for an overview), few studies have sought to analyze how tourism and hospitality employees assess jobs through evaluative repertoires related to broader social– cultural values. This study seeks to provide a more comprehensive understanding of tourism and hospitality employees’ job preferences by identifying employees’ ideal and preferred job attribute constellations and explaining them in terms of societal values

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