External job satisfaction factors improving the overall job satisfaction of selected five-star hotel employees

L Coughlan,H Moolman,R Haarhoff

doi:10.4102/sajbm.v45i2.127

Abstract

One of the 2011 South African National Tourism Sector Strategy objectives is to "provide excellent people development and decent work within the tourism sector". The hospitality industry is, however, not regarded as a provider of decent work and a close link exists between decent work and job satisfaction. External job satisfaction can be defined as satisfaction relating to the work environment of employees. The purpose of this study was to identify the external job satisfaction factors which contribute to overall job satisfaction of employees in selected five-star hotels. The instrument used to gather the quantitative data was a newly developed index based on the literature review conducted. The empirical study was conducted among 124 employees of four five-star hotels in the Western Cape. All three factors identified (supervision, work environment and work itself) were found to be significantly and positively correlated with overall job satisfaction in five-star hotels in the Western Cape.

Highlights

Five-star hotels in South Africa are considered to match international standards and to denote exceptional quality (Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA), 2011)
Employee satisfaction can result in guest satisfaction (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002:273; Vilares & Coelho, 2003:1704) and in order for five-star hotel employees to render a world class visitor experience, the provision of decent work and job satisfaction of these employees is of great importance
The term decent work was coined by Juan Somavia, the former Director General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), when he stated that the ILO's primary goal was "to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity" (ILO, 2012)

Summary

Introduction

Five-star hotels in South Africa are considered to match international standards and to denote exceptional quality (TGCSA, 2011). These hotels are supposed to provide, in line with objective five of the 2011 National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) (NDT, 2011:19), "a worldclass visitor experience" to its guests. Employee satisfaction can result in guest satisfaction (Harter, Schmidt & Hayes, 2002:273; Vilares & Coelho, 2003:1704) and in order for five-star hotel employees to render a world class visitor experience, the provision of decent work and job satisfaction of these employees is of great importance. The ILO states that the international society is becoming progressively anxious about the lack of decent jobs and sub-

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