Abstract

Tourism is the main economic sector in the Balearic Islands (Spain) and hotel housekeepers (HHs) are a large occupational group, in which stress is becoming a major issue. This study aims at exploring in-depth factors perceived as stressors by HHs and key-informants, and their effects on work-life balance (WLB). A qualitative design with phenomenological approach was used, conducting six focus groups with 34 HHs and 10 individual interviews with key-informants. Results were analyzed adopting the job demands-resources model and a gender perspective. High demands, e.g., work overload, time pressure, physical burden…, lack of enough resources and little control, derived from role conflict, unexpected events…, were the most important factors explaining HHs’ stress. Additionally, this imbalance was perceived as leading to health problems, mainly musculoskeletal disorders. Working schedule was mentioned as a facilitator to WLB, whereas an imbalance between job demands and resources led to work-home conflict, preventing them from enjoying leisure time. Multiple roles at work and at home increased their stress. HHs experienced their job as invisible and unrecognised. Regarding practical implications, our recommendations for hotel organization include reducing workload and increasing resources, which would improve the job demands-resource balance, diminish negative mental and physical outcomes and improve WLB.

Highlights

  • Tourism accounted for 13.4% of employment in Spain and 25.6% in the BalearicIslands in 2019 [1]

  • Individual interviews with hotel housekeepers (HHs) and a supervisor allowed us to explore the main topics related to their job; interviews with other key informants allowed us to broaden the perspective of the phenomenon and to contrast different explanations and experiences given by HHs

  • We qualitatively explored in-depth the experience of HHs in their job under the framework of the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and from a gender perspective

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Summary

Introduction

Tourism accounted for 13.4% of employment in Spain and 25.6% in the BalearicIslands in 2019 [1]. Tourism accounted for 13.4% of employment in Spain and 25.6% in the Balearic. Hotel housekeepers (HHs) are the second-largest occupational group [2]. An estimated 13,000 HHs work in the Balearic Islands [3], a femaledominated sector in Spain (almost 100%) [4]. Working conditions in the tourism sector have been studied, the case of HHs needs special attention due to the hardness of their job. The work of HHs consists basically of cleaning and tidying up the guests’ rooms and bathrooms, and communal hotel areas. HHs are exposed to various risk factors related to work including physical [5], chemical [6], biological [7], and psychological [8] risks

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