THE MODERATING EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK-LIFE BALANCE AND HOTEL EMPLOYEES’ FEARS

Abstract

Purpose - The hotel environment has changed dramatically during the COVID-19 and has brought many negative social consequences for employees. Among them are employee fears of COVID -19. One of the coping strategies for the consequences of COVID -19 is the Work-Life Balance (WLB). This research mainly examined the influence of WLB on employees’ fears of the threat of COVID-19. The objectives were: (1) Evaluating to what extent the hotel managers practice WLB amid COVID-19; (2) Describing the relationship between WLB and hotel employees’ fears; (3) Identifying the moderating effect of COVID-19 in the relationship between WLB and hotel employees’ fears. Design/methodology - A multiple hotel case study with an online questionnaire (n=370) complemented with seven semi-structured interviews was applied with hotel managers in Egypt. Findings - The results showed that WLB reduced hotel employees’ fear of COVID -19. COVID -19 positively moderated the relationship between WLB and employee fears. Originality - The value of this research expands our knowledge regarding the social outcomes of COVID-19 among hotel staff by offering empirical evidence of the WLB mechanism in reducing fears of COVID-19 depending on social support theory and theory of risk. Critical implications for the hotel managers are highlighted to understand the inevitability of WLB initiatives to overcome staff perceived fears.