Hospitality Frontline Employees Research Articles

Stress Management on Factors Affecting the Frontline Hospitality Employees in City of Dreams Hotel, Manila

Stress Management on Factors Affecting the Frontline Hospitality Employees in City of Dreams Hotel, Manila

How Does Inclusive Leadership Curb Workers' Emotional Exhaustion? The Mediation of Caring Ethical Climate and Psychological Safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the politics, economy, and society of the world, which has dealt the most severe blow to the hospitality industry. Meanwhile, the pandemic and government control policies have brought high psychological pressure to hospitality front-line employees, resulting in emotional exhaustion. As a part of burnout syndrome, emotional exhaustion poses a threat to employees’ mental health, career sustainability, and well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to investigate the curb effectiveness of inclusive leadership on emotional exhaustion and to explore the mediation roles of ethical climate and psychological safety between them. Time-lagged data were collected from 65 teams and 358 hospitality front-line employees working in Chinese hotels in two stages with a one-month gap. This research verified that inclusive leadership has a negative impact on emotional exhaustion both indirectly through the mediation roles of ethical climate and psychological safety. And the ethical climate and psychological safety played partial mediation roles between inclusive leadership and emotional exhaustion. In theory, the findings explored the dual mediation mechanism of the inhibitory effect of inclusive leadership on emotional exhaustion. In practice, we provided the training and correct guidance to develop inclusive leadership for hotel enterprises and to resolve the emotional exhaustion of employees, which can enhance sustainability in careers.

Does customer mistreatment hinder employees from going the extra mile? The mixed blessing of being conscientious

This article aims to simultaneously examine frontline hospitality employees’ functional and dysfunctional coping mechanisms for customer mistreatment, which are meaningfully manifested in their organizational citizenship behavior toward organizations (OCBO) and toward individual coworkers (OCBI). Utilizing the multisource and multistage survey data collected from 11 hotels in Southern China, this study reveals that customer mistreatment heightens the emotional exhaustion of frontline hospitality employees, which, in turn, drives them to engage in less OCBO and, conversely, more OCBI. Furthermore, trait conscientiousness was found to accentuate both the negative linkage between customer mistreatment and OCBO and the positive linkage between customer mistreatment and OCBI, thereby suggesting that being conscientious can be a mixed blessing for exhausted individuals.

The role of initiative climate as a resource caravan passageway in developing proactive service performance

PurposeThe study aims to examine the role of initiative climate as a resource caravan passageway in engaging employees and developing a proactive frontline service workforce to identify the mechanisms whereby scarce resources efficiently yielding the desired outcomes can help organizations improve productivity and gain competitive advantage, thereby helping clarify the leadership–performance relationship in service organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a quantitative research design with a cross-sectional survey conducted among frontline hospitality employees in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the hypothesized relationships.FindingsThe initiative climate is significant as a resource caravan passageway to transmit the positive impact of interpersonal leadership onto the engagement and proactive performance of frontline hospitality employees in whom initiative climate and employee engagement sequentially mediated the relationship between interpersonal leadership and proactive service performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe online data collection procedure conducted through LinkedIn and Facebook and cross-sectional, self-reported survey method are significant limitations of the current study.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study will aid in developing organizational interventions for an engaged and proactive frontline service workforce, as interpersonal leadership can positively impact the engagement and proactive behavior of frontline service employees via initiative climate. Therefore, hospitality managers should value interpersonal leadership and initiative climate as coexisting organizational resources.Originality/valueThe study shows the significance of initiative climate in the relationships between interpersonal leadership, employee engagement and the proactive performance of frontline service employees.

Unraveling the complex nexus of punitive supervision and deviant work behaviors: findings and implications from hospitality employees in Pakistan

PurposeThe study adopts the conservation of resources (COR) theory for providing a better theoretical understanding of punitive supervision as an antecedent of employees’ minor deviant behaviors (namely, employee time theft and knowledge hiding) via creating cognitive mechanisms (employees’ perceived incivility). The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of employees’ RESILIENCY on employees’ ability to buffer the impacts of punitive supervision.Design/methodology/approachData was gathered from 265 frontline hospitality employees in Pakistan. A survey was administered in person to establish trust and rapport with employees and so, collect reliable data.FindingsThe findings confirmed a direct and mediated impact of punitive supervision on employee minor deviant behaviors via creating perceived incivility. The moderating role of employees’ resiliency was also confirmed, as the employees’ resiliency helped them mitigate the impact of punitive supervision on perceived incivility.Research limitations/implicationsData was collected from employees’ perceptions working in one industry and cultural setting. As employees’ perceptions (influenced by their cultural background) significantly affect their interpretations and reactions to punitive behavior, future research should validate and refine the findings by collecting data from a wider and diversified cultural and industry setting.Practical implicationsThe findings provide theoretical explanatory power of the drivers and the contextual factors leading to minor employee deviant behaviors. The findings guide managers on how to develop pro-active and re-active strategies for deterring the occurrence and eliminating the consequences of punitive supervision.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature in multiple ways. It identifies and validates punitive supervision as an antecedent of Deviant Work Behavior (DWB). It provides a theoretical underpinning for explaining how punitive supervision spurs cognitive mechanisms, which in turn drive DWB. It also studies the nexus between destructive supervision and its outcomes in its entirety by studying the mediated and the moderating impacts of punitive supervision and perceived incivility, respectively.

The impact of exploitative leadership on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance: A social exchange perspective

Abstract Based on social exchange theory, we investigate the impact of perceived exploitative leadership on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance. A three-phase analysis of 207 supervisor–subordinate dyads from three hotels in China demonstrates that exploitative leadership has a negative effect on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance. Furthermore, leader−member exchange (LMX) plays a mediating role in the relationship between exploitative leadership and employee service performance. Moderated path analyses indicate that traditionality weakens the direct influence of exploitative leadership on LMX and an indirect influence of exploitative leadership on employee service performance through reduced LMX. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Emotional Dissonance Among Frontline Hospitality Employees: An Exploratory Study Examining Habituation Theory Using fMRI

The purpose of this exploratory study is to analyze the emotional dissonance among frontline hospitality employees, based on the habituation theory, by examining the responses of brain regions of interest to customers’ incivility. A survey and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)—measuring brain responsiveness—data were collected to compare the life/occupational stress between the frontline hospitality (i.e., customer interacting jobs) and nonhospitality (i.e., minimal or no customer interaction) employees and analyze the responses of brain regions of interest. Although the data from the survey suggested no significant difference between the two groups of employees, the fMRI analysis found significant habituation of the brain regions of interest among the frontline hospitality employees. The analysis outcomes confirm habituation theory and suggest managerial implications such as managing stress or burnout from emotional dissonance and improving employee welfare/fitness to relieve stress from emotional dissonance. The findings suggest the call for more in-depth analysis regarding emotional dissonance.

Study suggests mindfulness training could reduce stress for tourism and hospitality frontline employees

Purpose The authors wanted to explore how mindfulness training could help frontline employees in tourism and hospitality to regulate their emotions. They argued that it could potentially reduce employee burnout and raise levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach The two authors reviewed the existing literature in order to explore the mitigating effects of mindfulness training. They explored two propositions. First, that “training could potentially help to regulate the emotional labor of frontline employees in tourism and hospitality”. Second, that “Mindfulness-related training can potentially reduce burnout and enhance work engagement of tourism and hospitality frontline employees”. Findings Mindfulness training can be useful, the authors say, in helping employees to become more natural and present in the moment. This is because mindfulness practices can “help to regulate and control individual’s emotions, attention, thoughts and feelings”. This makes them better at managing relationships with customers. Originality/value The value of their conceptual paper, they said, is twofold. First, it has practical implications for tourism and hospitality managers. They can use mindfulness training to improve the wellbeing of frontline staff, and also boost work outcomes. Managers can also provide training to alleviate emotional exhaustion. The second benefit is for academics. Researchers could study outcomes of training and identify which factors maximize the effectiveness.

Spicing up hospitality service encounters: the case of Pepper™

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the implications of integrating humanoid service robots into hospitality service encounters by evaluating two service prototypes using Softbank Robotics’ popular service robot Pepper™: to provide information (akin to a receptionist) and to facilitate order-taking (akin to a server). Drawing both studies together, the paper puts forward novel, theory-informed yet context-rooted design principles for humanoid robot adoption in hospitality service encounters.Design/methodology/approachAdopting a multiple method qualitative approach, two service prototypes are evaluated with hospitality and tourism experts (N = 30, Prototype 1) and frontline hospitality employees (N = 18, Prototype 2) using participant observation, in situ feedback, semi-structured interviews and photo-elicitation.FindingsThe adoption of humanoid service robots in hospitality is influenced by the following four layers of determinants: contextual, social, interactional and psychological factors, as well as extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of adoption. These empirical findings both confirm and extend previous conceptualizations of human-robot interaction (HRI) in hospitality service.Research limitations/implicationsDespite using photo-elicitation to evoke insight regarding the use of different types of service robots in hospitality, the paper mostly focuses on anthropomorphized service robots such as Pepper™.Practical implicationsAdopting humanoid service robots will transform hospitality operations, whereby the most routine, unpleasant tasks such as taking repeat orders or dealing with complaints may be delegated to service robots or human-robot teams.Social implicationsWorking with and receiving service from Pepper™ changes the service encounter from direct practical, technical considerations to more nuanced social and psychological implications, particularly around feelings of self-esteem, social pressure and social judgment.Originality/valueThis paper presents one of the first empirical studies on HRI in hospitality service encounters using Softbank Robotics’ Pepper™. In doing so, the paper presents a novel framework for service robot adoption rooted in first-hand user interaction as opposed to previous, theory-driven conceptualizations of behavior or empirical studies exploring behavioral intention.

Frontline employee-driven innovation through suggestions in hospitality firms: The role of the employee’s creativity, knowledge, and motivation

Abstract As most hospitality firms turn to informal processes to create knowledge, employee-driven innovation becomes paramount in the sector, especially the one generated from frontline employees’ suggestions. The work studied creativity, knowledge and motivation as internal aspects of frontline hospitality employees for making innovative suggestions. The study of these three broad aspects leads to the presentation of six research hypotheses after discussing the potential influence of six specific factors on the generation of innovative suggestions; those factors are creativity, work experience and formal education (knowledge), along with internal motivation, direct rewards, and the perception of the validity of the suggestion system (motivation). Those hypotheses are tested with data from 153 front office employees from hotels in Tenerife (Spain). Results show the relevance of frontline employees’ creativity, work experience and perception that suggestions will be analysed and heeded, along with the positive effect of working in leisure hotels (versus business ones).

Driving Hospitality Frontline Employees’ Boundary-spanning Behaviors: A Social Exchange and Role Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT The present study explores the antecedents of frontline employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors in the hospitality industry. Based on social exchange theory and role theory, a conceptual model was built to explore how three dimensions of perceived organizational support (perceived supervisory support, internal communication, and training) cultivate frontline employees’ boundary-spanning behaviors through job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Based on the analysis of 597 hospitality frontline employees in the United States, which were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk, this study shows the differential impacts of organizational support types on driving boundary spanning staff to effectively operate on the boundary. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are articulated.

Hospitality employee’s mindfulness and its impact on creativity and customer satisfaction: The moderating role of organizational error tolerance

• Examine mindfulness of hospitality frontline employees and its impacts on employee creativity and customer satisfaction. • Identify organizational error tolerance as organization-level contextual cues that facilitate the mindfulness-creativity linkage. • Highlight the individual-environment integrated perspective to understand employee creativity. • Adopt cross-level approach to understanding employees’ mindfulness that is often contingent on organizational cues. Mindfulness refers to the psychological attentional state in which a person is conscious and accepting of the present. It is increasingly emerging as an estimable quality, especially within the hospitality industry where frontline employees’ creativity is critical to sustaining high-reliability organizations (HROs). Drawing on the literature on mindfulness, HROs, and creativity, this study (1) examines the moderating effect of organizational error tolerance on the relationship between employee mindfulness and creativity; and (2) investigates the mediating role of creativity on the relationship between employee mindfulness and customer satisfaction. The results of the multilevel path analyses performed on data collected from 303 restaurant employees and their managers supported the study’s hypotheses. Specifically, the relationship between employee mindfulness and employee creativity was found to be contingent on organizational environmental cues (i.e., organizational error tolerance). The study’s findings have implications for hospitality managerial practice, and research regarding employee mindfulness, creativity, error management, and HROs.

The antecedents and consequences of being envied by coworkers: An investigation from the victim perspective

This study focused on the victims of coworker envy and presented a comprehensive model of being envied by coworkers to explore its antecedents and consequences in the hospitality context. Based on a sample of 232 employee-supervisor dyads in five Chinese hotels, we found that competitive goal interdependence fostered coworker envy, whereas cooperative goal interdependence prevented it. Further, the experience of being envied by coworkers undermined the frontline hospitality employees’ social exchange relationship with coworkers. This in turn prevented them from engaging in organizational citizenship behavior directed at their organizations (OCBO) and specific individuals (OCBI) such as organization members. In addition, envied employees’ others’ approval of the contingent self-esteem was found to strengthen (1) the direct effect of being envied by coworkers on coworker exchange and (2) the indirect effect of being envied by coworkers on OCBO and OCBI via coworker exchange.

Interactive effects of supervisor support, diversity climate, and employee cynicism on work adjustment and performance

This study examined the interactive effects of perceived supervisor support (PSS), diversity climate, and employee cynicism on the work adjustment and performance of temporary migrant workers in the UAE’s hospitality industry. Drawing on the conservation of resources and trait activation theories, we hypothesized a three-way interaction effect of PSS, diversity climate, and employee cynicism on work adjustment. An effect of work adjustment on employees’ in-role performance was also proposed. Using two waves of data collected from 239 hospitality frontline employees and their direct supervisors, we found that PSS impacts more positively on the adjustment of employees with high cynicism when diversity climate is also positive. Employees with low cynicism display high adjustment with PSS even in less positive diversity climates. The indirect effect of PSS on in-role performance (via workplace adjustment) is also significant in inclusive climates for highly cynical employees.

Mindfulness training for tourism and hospitality frontline employees

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore mindfulness training as a viable intervention for frontline employees in tourism and hospitality as a way to aid in the regulation of emotions and reduce or prevent employee burnout while increasing levels of work engagement.Design/methodology/approachBy reviewing related literature, the authors explored the relationships between mindfulness training and emotional labor, and mindfulness, burnout and work engagement.FindingsThe authors suggested the following propositions: mindfulness training can potentially help to regulate emotional labor of tourism and hospitality frontline employees, and mindfulness training can potentially reduce burnout and enhance levels of work engagement of tourism and hospitality frontline employees.Research limitations/implicationsThis study can guide scholars to initiate empirical research to examine the influence of mindfulness training on diverse outcomes related to tourism and hospitality employees.Practical implicationsThis study can help to improve the awareness of leaders and managers of mindfulness training as an intervention to alleviate emotional exhaustion of frontline employees in tourism and hospitality.Originality/valueThis study provides theoretical insights and useful practical implications for ways to establish a suitable work environment that encourages frontline employees to perform genuine or deep acting while minimizing incidents of surface acting and the consequences of emotional labor.

Can taking charge at work help hospitality frontline employees enrich their family life?

Abstract Managing work-family interface has been a key issue for hospitality employees. By integrating the literature on thriving at work into the work-family enrichment model, this study proposes taking charge as a resource-generating behavior that employees could undertake to enrich their family life. Using data collected on two occasions from frontline employees and their supervisors in a hotel in China, we find that those who take charge are more likely to experience thriving at work, which helps them improve the quality of their family life. Furthermore, working under a leader facing high role ambiguity augments this relationship. The study findings advance current work-family enrichment literature, and also carry important practical implications for promoting employees’ work-to-family enrichment in the hospitality sector.

Relationships among workplace incivility, work engagement and job performance

PurposeThis empirical study explored how coworker incivility and customer incivility affect the work engagement and job performance of frontline employees.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate the incivility and characteristics of hospitality industry workplaces, this study recruited frontline employees from tourist hotels as study participants. Because complete contact information could not be obtained for this population, convenience sampling was employed. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection.FindingsCoworker incivility and customer incivility reduced work engagement and job performance. The effects of coworker incivility on the work engagement and job performance are greater than those of customer incivility. Furthermore, work engagement has a positive effect on the job performance.Originality/valueAlthough studies have investigated the effects of customer incivility, these effects have not been compared with those of coworker incivility. Moreover, studies on the influence of coworker and customer incivility on job performance and work engagement in the hospitality industry and on those of work engagement on job performance have been scant. The current empirical study investigated the effects of coworker and customer incivility on the job performance and work engagement and of frontline hospitality employees.

Fuel the service fire

PurposeDrawing from self-determination theory, this study aims to examine the effect of leader humor on frontline hospitality employees’ service performance and proactive customer service performance (PCSP) via harmonious passion (HP) for work with employee neuroticism as the moderating mechanism.Design/methodology/approachThis study controlled for the nested effect and tested all the hypotheses with Mplus 7.0 using a time-lagged three-wave survey of 232 Chinese supervisor–subordinate dyads.FindingsThe results indicated that leader humor promotes frontline hospitality employees’ service performance and PCSP by enhancing their HP. Furthermore, neuroticism was shown to strengthen the direct impact of leader humor on employee HP and its indirect impact on employee service performance and employee PCSP through HP.Originality/valueFirst, this research contributes to the leader humor literature through exploring its impact on the service performance and PCSP of frontline hospitality employees. Second, this research develops a new framework to explain the leader humor-employee service outcomes relationship using self-determination theory. Finally, the focus on the moderating role of neuroticism helps to explain the “when” question of leader humor.

THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF CONTEXT AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN PREDICTING PROACTIVE SERVICE PERFORMANCE

The current study addresses the gap in how context and individual differences help in developing a proactive workforce in the hospitality industry. Based on the model of proactive motivation and self-determination theory, this study investigates the simultaneous impact of interpersonal leadership and learning goal orientation through the mediating role of employee engagement. The study sample (N =438) is collected from front line hospitality employees in Malaysia. Results of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) show that both context (i.e., interpersonal leadership) and individual differences (i.e., Learning Goal Orientation) are significant predictors of employee engagement and, in turn, of proactive service performance. Moreover, engagement is found as a significant mediator between both the predictors and the criterion. Interestingly, however, in comparison with interpersonal leadership, learning goal orientation is noticed as a substantial predictor of employee engagement and proactive service performance. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed accordingly.

Predicting proactive service performance: The role of employee engagement and positive emotional labor among frontline hospitality employees

While previous research has improved our knowledge of how leadership influences employee behavior, the role of potential processes and contingencies in this relationship remains relatively unexplored. In the current study, based on the Self-determination Theory (SDT), we intend to contribute to this research by investigating whether employee engagement significantly plays the role of an intervening mechanism between employees’ perceived interpersonal leadership of their supervisor and proactive service performance. Moreover, positive emotional labor (i.e., deep acting) is tested as a moderator to understand whether or not the strength of the relationship between employee engagement and employee proactivity is more for those who show more deep acting. Results of an online survey study among 438 frontline hospitality employees in Malaysia revealed that while employee engagement is a significant mediator in the relationship between interpersonal leadership and proactive service performance, positive emotional labor moderates the relationship between employee engagement and proactive service performance. Therefore, the findings of the current study provide initial evidence about how and for whom positive interpersonal leadership employee perceptions promote employee proactivity of frontline hospitality employees. Implications of the findings for the practice and research are discussed.