Abstract
Employee strain is a significant and costly issue for hospitality organizations. This study investigated the change trajectory of strain pre, during, and post a discrete stressful event and how cohesion and group emotional variability altered the shape of the trajectory. Using an experience sampling method approach, we gathered 402 daily observations from 84 workers in a period that included a specific stressful event, the opening of a one-night “theme dinner” restaurant that catered to dinner guests from the general public. We used latent growth curve modeling to investigate the change of strain among employees over time. The results showed that indicators of strain displayed inverted U-shaped trajectories (i.e., strain increased before and decreased after the stressful event) and that group cohesion and emotional variability affected the starting value and the change trajectory of strain. By investigating strain on a daily basis and considering group-based influences in response to discrete stressful events, this study provides significant implications to the hospitality literature and suggestions to hospitality managers on how to alleviate the impact of strain among their workforces.
Highlights
The hospitality industry is relatively stressful due to the dynamic nature of most jobs, the need for employees to interact with a variety of customers, and unusual working hours (Shi et al, 2021)
We provide the first comprehensive model that incorporates the impact of the group-level affect on the dynamic stressor– strain relations in response to highly stressful events
The purpose of this research was to extend the current literature on strain by examining the dynamic nature of strain around a stressful event and by examining the impact of group cohesion and perceived group emotional variability as moderators of strain over time
Summary
The hospitality industry is relatively stressful due to the dynamic nature of most jobs, the need for employees to interact with a variety of (sometimes unhappy) customers, and unusual working hours (Shi et al, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear how the stress, anxiety, and depression that many hospitality workers experience even in the best of circumstances can take a mental and physical toll. Many hospitality workers are underemployed and those that are working report anxiety related to working in potentially unsafe conditions, fears of losing their jobs, and pressure to perform at the peak of their abilities to help contribute to the financial health of the organization (Baskin, 2020). Many hospitality organizations are struggling financially, and individual employees bear much of the burden as well (Baum et al, 2020). Chronic stress is related to negative well-being outcomes, including anxiety, depression, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, and heart disease (e.g., Almeida, 2005; Ganster & Schaubroeck, 1991) and negative organizational-related consequences, including reduced task performance, reduced organizational citizenship behavior, reduced satisfaction with the job, reduced motivation, and absenteeism (e.g., Halbesleben & Wheeler, 2011; LePine et al, 2004)
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