occupational stress, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty in
TRANSCRIPT
Occupational stress, job satisfaction,and employee loyalty in hospitalityindustry: a comparative case studyof
twohotelsinRussia
MasterThesissubmittedinfulfillmentoftheDegree
MasterofScience
inInternationalTourism
SubmittedtoDr.FlorianAubke
EvgeniaAntonova
1111525
Vienna,8thofJune,2016
I
AFFIDAVIT
IherebyaffirmthatthisMaster’sThesisrepresentsmyownwrittenworkandthatIhaveused
nosourcesandaidsotherthanthoseindicated.Allpassagesquotedfrompublicationsorpara-
phrasedfromthesesourcesareproperlycitedandattributed.
Thethesiswasnotsubmittedinthesameorinasubstantiallysimilarversion,notevenpartial-
ly,toanotherexaminationboardandwasnotpublishedelsewhere.
Date Signature
II
III
ABSTRACT
Themodernrhythmoflifeisincreasinglydemandingformanypeople.Consideringthatmost
peoplearespendingasignificantamountoftimeatwork,theirworkingconditionsandtheir
generalphysicalandmentalstateattheworkplaceareplayinganincreasinglyimportantrole.
Thus,work-related stresshasbecomea significantand relevantproblem for theemployees,
causing physiological, psychological, or even mental health problems. Occupational stress
amongemployeescanalsonegativelyaffecttheirefficiency,productivity,andincreaseturno-
verrates,whichinturnwillimplycostsforthecompany.Nevertheless,occupationalstressisa
complexandmultifacetedconceptanditneedstobeinvestigatednotonlyassuch,butalsoin
relationtootherimportantfactorsinfluencingjobconditions,suchasjobsatisfactionandem-
ployeeloyalty.
Hospitalityindustryasaworkplacehashigherrisksofoccupationalstressduetothenatureof
the service sector and theemotional labour.At the same time, people areoneof themost
valuableassetsinthehotels,whichmakesitevenmorecrucialtoaddresstheissue.
Whilethereisavarietyofaresearchaboutoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployee
loyalty in thehospitality industryas such, thepotentialdifferences in these factorsbetween
chain and independent hotels are insufficiently studied. Therefore, the current research is
aimingtoaddressthisunderstudiedissue.Acomparativecasestudyanalysisoftwohotelsin
Russiahasbeenconducted.Oneofthemainfindingswasthatthereisasignificantdifference
in occupational stress and employee loyalty between the two hotels.More precisely, inde-
pendenthotelemployeeshavehigherstress levelsand lower loyalty.These findings indicate
thatfurtherresearchinthisfieldisneeded.
IV
V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First,Iwouldliketothankmysupervisor,Dr.FlorianAubke,forhisinfinitepatience,valuable
suggestionsandhelpfulhints.
Iwouldliketoalsothankmyfriendsfortheirsupportandkindwords.
MyspecialthanksgotomyfriendNatalieforhergreathelpandencouragement,andtoTaya
formotivatingandcheeringmeup.
Mostimportantly,Iwouldliketoexpressmysinceregratitudetomybrothersandmyparents,
Mikhail and Elena, whowere always there forme, believing,motivating, supporting, giving
advises,orsimplylistening.
VI
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Affidavit.........................................................................................................................................I
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................III
Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................V
ListofFigures................................................................................................................................X
ListofAbbreviations....................................................................................................................XI
1 Introduction...........................................................................................................................1
1.1 Contextandpreviousresearch...........................................................................................1
1.2 Researchaimsandobjectives.............................................................................................2
1.2.1 OccupationalstressandJobsatisfaction.........................................................................................4
1.2.2 OccupationalstressandEmployeeloyalty......................................................................................4
1.2.3 Jobsatisfactionandemployeeloyalty............................................................................................4
1.2.4 Moderatingroleofgender..............................................................................................................4
1.2.5 Moderatingroleofmaritalstatus...................................................................................................5
1.2.6 Moderatingroleofage....................................................................................................................5
1.2.7 Moderatingroleofeducation.........................................................................................................6
1.2.8 Moderatingroleofparenthood......................................................................................................6
1.2.9 DifferencesinOccupationalstress,Jobsatisfaction,andEmployeeloyaltybetweenindependent
andchainhotels.............................................................................................................................7
1.3 Structureofthesis...............................................................................................................7
2 Literaturereview....................................................................................................................9
2.1 Stress...................................................................................................................................9
2.1.1 Classificationsofstress..................................................................................................................10
2.1.2 Stressors........................................................................................................................................13
2.2 OccupationalStress...........................................................................................................15
2.2.1 EffectsofOccupationalStress.......................................................................................................23
2.2.2 ManagingOccupationalStress......................................................................................................24
2.2.3 OccupationalStressintheHospitalityIndustry............................................................................25
2.3 Jobsatisfaction..................................................................................................................26
2.4 Employeeloyalty...............................................................................................................29
2.5 Chainvsindependenthotels.............................................................................................34
3 Methodology........................................................................................................................36
3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................36
3.2 Selectionofmethodology.................................................................................................36
VII
3.3 Researchinstrument..........................................................................................................37
3.3.1 Occupationalstress.......................................................................................................................37
3.3.2 Jobsatisfaction..............................................................................................................................38
3.3.3 Employeeloyalty...........................................................................................................................38
3.4 Selectionofstudysite........................................................................................................38
3.5 Dataanalysis......................................................................................................................39
4 Results...................................................................................................................................40
4.1 Descriptionofthesample..................................................................................................40
4.2 Testingthehypotheses......................................................................................................43
4.2.1 Correlationsbetweenoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyalty.....................43
4.2.2 Moderatingroleofgender............................................................................................................44
4.2.3 Moderatingroleofmaritalstatus.................................................................................................45
4.2.4 Moderatingroleofage.................................................................................................................45
4.2.5 Moderatingroleofeducation.......................................................................................................47
4.2.6 Moderatingroleofparenthood....................................................................................................49
4.2.7 Differencesinoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltybetweenindependent
andchainhotels...........................................................................................................................49
4.3 Conclusion.........................................................................................................................52
5 DiscussionandConclusion....................................................................................................54
5.1 Interpretationofresults....................................................................................................54
5.1.1 RQ1:Whatare the relationshipsbetweenoccupational stress, jobsatisfaction,andemployee
loyaltyinchainhotelandindependenthotel?............................................................................54
5.1.2 RQ 2: Which demographic characteristics play moderating roles in occupational stress, job
satisfaction,andemployeeloyaltyinchainhotelandindependenthotel?................................55
5.1.3 RQ3: Are there any differences in occupational stress, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty
betweenchainandindependenthotels?....................................................................................56
5.2 Limitationsandfutureresearch.........................................................................................57
6 Bibliography..........................................................................................................................59
Appendices..................................................................................................................................72
Appendix1:Questionnaire..........................................................................................................72
Appendix2:DescriptiveStatistics...............................................................................................82
Appendix3:Correlationsandstatisticaltests.............................................................................84
VIII
LISTOFTABLES
Table1Sourcesofstressatwork(Cooper&Marshall,1976)....................................................17
Table2Stress-relatedhazardsatwork(Lekaetal.,2004).........................................................20
Table3CharacteristicsofthecasestudyHotels........................................................................39
Table 4 Correlations between occupational stress, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty in
HotelA........................................................................................................................................43
Table 5 Correlations between occupational stress, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty in
HotelB........................................................................................................................................44
Table6Differencesinoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltybetweenmen
andwomeninHotelA................................................................................................................45
Table 7Differences inoccupational stress, job satisfaction, andemployee loyaltydue to the
ageinHotelA(Kruskal-WallisTest)............................................................................................46
Table 8Differences inoccupational stress, job satisfaction, andemployee loyaltydue to the
ageinHotelB(Kruskal-Wallistest).............................................................................................47
Table 9Differences inoccupational stress, job satisfaction, andemployee loyaltydue to the
educationinHotelB(Kruskal-Wallistest)..................................................................................48
Table10OccupationalstressdifferencesbetweenhighschoolandbachelorgraduatesinHotel
B..................................................................................................................................................48
Table11EmployeeloyaltydifferencesbetweencollegeandbachelorgraduatesinHotelB....49
Table12JobsatisfactiondifferencesbetweencollegeandbachelorgraduatesinHotelB.......49
Table13Descriptivestatisticsofoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltyin
casestudyhotels........................................................................................................................50
Table 14 Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test results for occupational stress, job satisfaction, and
employeeloyaltyacrosstwocasestudyhotels..........................................................................51
Table 15 Mann-Whitney Test results on differences in job satisfaciton between case study
hotels..........................................................................................................................................51
IX
Table16T-Testresultsondifferencesinoccupationalstressbetweencasestudyhotels.........52
Table17T-Testresultsondifferencesinemployeeloyaltybetweencasestudyhotels............52
Table18Resultsofhypotesestesting.........................................................................................53
X
LISTOFFIGURES
Figure1TheHumanFunctionCurve(PortoleseDias,2012)......................................................13
Figure2Aheuristicmodeloforganizationalhealth(Hart&Cooper,2001)..............................19
Figure3ThelinksintheService-ProfitChain(Heskettetal.,1994)...........................................30
Figure4GenderofRespondentsintheCaseHotels..................................................................40
Figure5AgeofRespondentsintheCaseHotels........................................................................41
Figure6Employees'educationintheCaseHotels.....................................................................41
Figure7Employees'maritalstatusintheCaseHotels...............................................................42
Figure8ParenthoodstatusesofEmployeesintheCaseHotels................................................42
XI
LISTOFABBREVIATIONS
GAS–GeneralAdaptationSyndrom
GJSQ–GenericJobStressQuestionnaire
NIOSH–NationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth
SPSS–StatisticalPackagefortheSocialSciences
WHO–WorldHealthOrganization
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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1 INTRODUCTION
Thecurrentstudyisaimingtoinvestigatesuchimportantworkplacerelatedaspectsandissues
asoccupational stress, jobsatisfaction,andemployee loyaltywith regards todifferencesbe-
tweenchainandindependenthotels.Thischaptergivesanintroductiontothecontextofthe
study,previousresearch,formulatestheaimsandobjectivesoftheresearch,anddefinesthe
researchquestionsaswellashypothesesthatshouldbeaddressed.
1.1 Contextandpreviousresearch
Wellbeingandhealth represent an importantpartofour lives.Medical and scientificbreak-
throughsmadeitpossibletocuremanyseriousdiseases,howevernowadayspeoplearefacing
newchallengesofmentalandphysicalwelfare.Modernrhythmoflife,characterizedbysuch
phenomenaasglobalization,urbanization,intensetechnologicaldevelopments,isparticularly
demandingformanypeople.Consideringthatmostpeoplearespendingasignificantamount
oftimeatwork,theirworkingconditionsandtheirgeneralphysicalandmentalstateatwork-
placeareplayinganincreasinglyimportantrole.
Stressatworkhasbecomeasignificantandrelevantprobleminthemodernworld.Itcanaf-
fect employees’ health andwellbeing, causingnotonlyphysiological, but alsopsychological,
emotionalandevenmentalproblems.Moreover,occupationalstresscannegativelyinfluence
theirwork efficiency, performance, and service quality, and boost turnover rates; hence in-
crementing costs for both the employee and the company (Villanueva & Djurkovich, 2009;
O’Neill&Davis, 2009).However, occupational stress is a complicated andmultifaceted con-
cept;thusitneedstobeinvestigatednotonlyassuch,butalsoinrelationtotheotherfactors
influencingthejobsituationofanindividual.Evidenceshowsthatthereisstrongnegativerela-
tionship between occupational stress and job satisfaction (Richardson & Burke, 1991;
Cavanaughetal.,2000;Rizwanetal.,2014),whichinturncaninfluenceemployee’sloyaltyina
positiveway(LaLopa,1997).
Peopleworkinginhospitalityindustryarealsoatahigherriskofoccupationalstressduetothe
natureoftheservicesector,whereemployeeshavedirectinteractionwiththecustomersand
playanimportantrole intheproductionandconsumptionofaservice.Oftenbeinganinter-
mediarybetweentheconflictingdemandsofthecompany,management,andcustomers,em-
ployees are facing dissonance (Ruyter et al., 2001). Moreover, hotel business is operating
twenty-fourhours,sevendaysaweek,andthatdictatessomespecialjobaspects,suchasshift
workor irregularworkinghours.At thesametime,employeesareoneof themostvaluable
assets in the hospitality industry; thus understanding the nature of occupational stress and
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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associatedfactorswillalloweithertopreventthepotentialnegativeconsequencesortoman-
agethemproperly.
Occupational stress, job satisfaction and employee loyalty, as well as their nature, conse-
quences,andstrategiesformanagingthemhavebeenofinterestformanyresearchersduring
the lastdecades.However,these important factors influencingemployees invariousways in
thehotelindustryarestillremainingunderstudied.Moreover,theresearchonthesetopicsin
termsofdifferencesamongvarioustypesofhotels isevidently lackingandneedsfurtherde-
velopment.
1.2 Researchaimsandobjectives
Theaimofthispaperistoinvestigatethedifferencesbetweenchainandindependenthotels
intermsofoccupationalstress, jobsatisfactionandloyaltyoftheiremployees.Bothtypesof
thehotelsarecontinuouslyexaminedandcomparedintermsoftheircompetitivenessorrev-
enues. However, there is a marked lack of the literature and research aimed at studying
whether different ownership types in the hospitality industry can significantly influence the
above-mentionedjob-relatedfactors.Understandingofthoseiscrucialforefficientandeffec-
tivemanagementofthemostvaluableassetintheindustry–thepeople.Moreover,concep-
tualizationof thedifferencesbetween chain and independenthotels in termsof the special
aspectsofworkplacesand,mostimportantly,theirpotentialeffectonemployees’healthand
satisfactioncanbeextremelyusefulandvaluablefortheprospectiveemployees.
Scientificevidenceshowsthatoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltyhave
certaindegreeofinterrelation(Chandraiahetal.,2003,Kimetal.,2009;Abdullahetal.,2009).
Different jobstressors,aswellas theoccupational stressasawhole,wereproved tosignifi-
cantly influence job satisfaction in a negative way (House & Rizzo, 1972; Cavanaugh et al.,
2000; Kim et al., 2009; Luthans, 2011). However, one has to admit that certain challenge
stressorshaveapositiveimpactonthejobsatisfaction(Cavanaughetal.,2000;Karatepeetal.,
2014). Job satisfaction, in turn, has a strong positive relationshipwith employee loyalty (Ja-
wahar,2006;Wan,2012).Moreover,Wan(2012)arguesthatemployeeloyaltyactuallyarises
from the job satisfaction.Unfortunately, there is notmuch literature on the correlation be-
tweenemployeeloyaltyandoccupationalstress,butithasbeenprovedthatstressedemploy-
eesaremore likelyto leavethecompany(Porter&Steers,1973).Asturnover intentionsare
stronglyandnegativelycorrelatedwiththeemployeeloyalty(Bhatnagar,2012;Mohsinetal.,
2015),itcanbeexpectedthatemployeeloyaltywillalsohavenegativerelationshipwithwork-
related stress. The current research is therefore also aiming to examine these above-
mentionedrelationswithrespecttothetwocasestudyhotels.
Additionally,themoderatingrolesofdemographicfactorsonthesevariableshaveveryoften
beenof interest fortheresearchers.However,theexistingstudieshave identifiedquitecon-
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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tradicting results. Thus, it has been found that if there is a significant differencedue to the
gender of respondents, then women tend to experience more stress (Almedia & Kessler,
1998),bemoresatisfiedwiththeir jobs (Al-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010),andexpresshigher
loyalty (ManpowerGroup, 2002). In terms of age, it can be assumed based on previous re-
search that the younger employees are experiencingmore stress (Chandraiah et al., 2003),
reportlessjobsatisfaction(Chandraiahetal.,2003;Al-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010),andtend
tobelessloyalthantheolderones(Taylor,2006).Educationseemstoresultinmorestressfor
the employees (Doughty, 2013), but at the same time in higher job satisfaction levels (Al-
Ababneh&Lockwood,2010).However,influenceofthelevelofeducationonemployeeloyal-
tywasnotfoundtobesignificant(Sheikhy&Khademi,2015).
Marital status has beenproved tohave certain effects on job situation as such. Thus, some
researchershavefoundthatmarriedemployeesareexperiencingmorestressthanunmarried
ones(Kessler,1979).However,resultsonhowmarriageinfluencesthejobsatisfactionofthe
employeesarecontradictive.Somestudiessuggestthatmarriedemployeesaremoresatisfied
with their jobs (Saner and Eyüpoğlu, 2013), while the others are not finding any significant
differences(Azimetal.,2013).Beingaparentcanalsohavecertaineffectsondifferentaspects
ofthework,yettheresearchershavenotcometoaconsensusinthistopic.Severalresearch-
ershaveconcludedthatemployeeswithchildrenaresufferingfromworkstressmorethanthe
oneswithoutkids(Lamanna&Riedmann,2012;Hobart,2015).Nevertheless,someinvestiga-
tions have found no differences between parents and non-parents in terms of occupational
stress (O’Neill & Davis, 2009). Job satisfaction was proved to be lower with the increasing
numberofchildren(Bilgic,1998).However,otherstudieshavenotfoundanysignificantinflu-
ence (Forgionne & Peeters, 1982, cited by Bilgic, 1998). Employee loyalty with respect to
parenthoodisnotstudiedwell,yetthereisevidencethatemployeeswithchildrentendtostay
attheirjoblonger(Sibbaldetal.,2003).
Basedontheabove-mentionedaimsandobjectives,aswellasontheexisting literature, the
followingresearchquestionsareaddressedinthisstudy:
1. Whataretherelationshipsbetweenoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemploy-
eeloyaltyinchainhotelandindependenthotel?
2. Which demographic characteristics are playing moderating roles in occupational
stress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltyinchainhotelandindependenthotel?
3. Arethereanydifferencesinoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyalty
betweenchainandindependenthotels?
Basedontheresearchquestionsandtheassociatedliterature,thefollowinghypotheseswere
developedinordertoguidetheanalysisofthedatacollected.
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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1.2.1 OccupationalstressandJobsatisfaction
Thepreviousstudieshaveshownthatstressatworkhasastrongandnegativecorrelationwith
job satisfaction (Richardson&Burke,1991;Cavanaughetal.,2000;Rizwanetal.,2014).Re-
searchobservingthesamerelationshipinthehospitalitysectorhasfoundonlyonejobstress-
or,namelyinterpersonaltensions,tohaveasignificantnegativecorrelationwithjobsatisfac-
tion.Roleambiguitywasprovedtohaveasignificantlynegativerelationtothegeneralwork
stressaswell(Yang,2010).Thefollowingnullhypothesisisformulatedtoinvestigatethepat-
ternsinthetwocasestudyhotels:
H1:Occupationalstressisnotcorrelatedwithjobsatisfaction.
1.2.2 OccupationalstressandEmployeeloyalty
Therehasbeenevidence inpreviousresearchthat jobstresshasanegativecorrelationwith
organizational commitment (Garg & Dhar, 2014). Besides, it has been proven that more
stressedemployeetendtohaveincreasedintentionto leavethecompany(Cavanaughetal.,
2000;Bhattietal.,2010).Thenullhypothesisisofferedfortestingthisrelationship:
H2:Occupationalstressisnotcorrelatedwithemployeeloyalty.
1.2.3 Jobsatisfactionandemployeeloyalty
AccordingtoLaLopa(1997),employeeswhoaresatisfiedwiththeirjobtendtobecommitted
totheemployerandstay intheir jobfora longerperiodoftime.Abdullahetal. (2009)have
supportedtheevidenceofapositivecorrelationbetweenjobsatisfactionandemployeeloyal-
ty.Followingnullhypothesisisformulated:
H3:Jobsatisfactionisnotcorrelatedwithemployeeloyalty.
1.2.4 Moderatingroleofgender
Severalresearchpapershavepresentedevidencethatwomentendtoexperiencemorestress
thanmen, both general daily stress (Almedia& Kessler, 1998), andwork-related stress (Mi-
chaeletal.,2009).ResearchbyBurkeetal.(2008)reportedthatfemalemanagersareexperi-
encingmorestressthanmaleonesduetothefamily-workconflict.However,researchdoneby
O’NeillandDavis(2009;2011)inthehotelindustryhasnotshownanysignificantdifferences
inoccupationalstressamongmenandwomen.Inordertohaveconsistencyoverthehypothe-
ses,thefollowingnullhypothesisisproposed:
H4a:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinoccupationalstressduetothegender.
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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Similartooccupationalstressandgender,theevidenceongenderinfluencingjobsatisfaction
is controversial.Many researchershavenot found thedifferences tobe significantbetween
menandwomen(Burkeetal.,2008;Civilidag&Sargin,2013;Civilidag,2014).However,there
wassomeevidencethatwomenreportedoverallhigherjobsatisfactionthanmen(Al-Ababneh
&Lockwood,2010).Thustheproposedhypothesisis:
H4b:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinjobsatisfactionduetothegender.
Empiricalresearchhasindicatedthatwomentendtoshowmoreloyaltytowardsthejobthan
men(ManpowerGroup,2002).However,thenullhypothesisisofferedfortesting:
H4c:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinemployeeloyaltyduetothegender.
1.2.5 Moderatingroleofmaritalstatus
Previous researchhasevidencedthatmarriedemployees tendtobemoreexposedtostress
thantheirunmarriedcolleagues(Kessler,1979).Thefollowinghypothesisisgoingtobetested:
H5a:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinoccupationalstressduetothemaritalstatus.
Scientificevidence showedcontroversial results in termsof influence thatmarital statushas
onthejobsatisfactionofemployees.Thus,somestudieshavefoundthatmarriedemployees
tend to bemore satisfied than unmarried ones (Saner and Eyüpoğlu, 2013), whereas other
research indicatednosignificantdifferenceduetothemaritalstatus (Azimetal.,2013). Thefollowinghypothesesisformulated:
H5b:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinjobsatisfactionduetothemaritalstatus.
Even thought the literature on effect ofmarital status on employees’ loyalty is lacking, the
followingnullhypothesisisofferedfortesting:
H5c:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinemployeeloyaltyduetothemaritalstatus.
1.2.6 Moderatingroleofage
Theprevious researchhas shown thatyoungadults (25-35yearsold)andearlymiddleaged
(36-45 years old)were experiencingmore stress due to such job stressors as role overload,
roleambiguity,andstrenuousworkingconditionscomparedtolatemiddleaged(46-60years
old)employees(Chandraiahetal.,2003).Thus,thehypothesisismade:
H6a:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinoccupationalstressduetotheage
Age proved to be a significantmoderating variable in terms of job satisfaction in some re-
search.Thus,themiddle-agedemployees(36-45yearsold)reportedmorejobsatisfactionthan
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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theyoungeradults(Chandraiahetal.,2003).Theemployeesyoungerthan25yearsoldtendto
betheleastsatisfiedwiththejob(Al-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010).Thefollowingnullhypothe-
sisisproposed:
H6b:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinjobsatisfactionduetotheage
Therehasbeenevidencethatolderemployeestendtostaywiththeircurrentemployerfora
longertime(Taylor,2006),thusitcanbeassumedthattheyhaveahigherlevelofloyaltyto-
wards their organization. The following null hypothesis is suggested for testing the relation-
ship:
H6c:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinemployeeloyaltyduetotheage
1.2.7 Moderatingroleofeducation
Ithasbeenfoundthatmoreeducatedemployeesaremoreexposedtostressthantheones,
whoare lesseducated(Doughty,2013).However,thisrelationship isnot linear(Bartholome,
2007).Thus,thefollowinghypothesisisoffered:
H7a:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinoccupationalstressduetoeducation.
Researchhasshownthatmoreeducatedemployeestendtobemoresatisfiedwiththeirjobs
than less educated ones (Al-Ababneh& Lockwood, 2010). Nevertheless, other findings sug-
gested that educationhasnegative relationshipwith job satisfaction (Rogers, 1991, citedby
Bilgic,1998),ornosignificantinfluenceatall(Bilgic,1998).Thus,thenullhypothesisisoffered
toinvestigatetheinfluence:
H7b:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinjobsatisfactionduetoeducation.
ResearchconductedbySheikhyandKhademi(2015)hasnotfoundanysignificantdifferences
inemployeeloyaltyduetotheireducation.Thus,thefollowinghypothesisisofferedfortest-
ing:
H7c:Therearenosignificantdifferencesinemployeeloyaltyduetoeducation.
1.2.8 Moderatingroleofparenthood
ResearchbyO’NeillandDavis(2009)hasnotfoundanysignificantdifferencesonstresslevels
betweenemployeeswhohadordidnothavechildren.However,therehavebeenseveralstud-
iesthathaveidentifiedthatparentswereexperiencingmorestressthannon-parents(Laman-
na&Riedmann,2012;Hobart,2015).Thus,thefollowinghypothesisisoffered:
H8a: There areno significantdifferences inoccupational stressbetweenparents andnon-
parents.
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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Indifferentstudiestherelationshipbetweenparenthoodandjobsatisfactionhasbeenfound
bothnotsignificant(Forgionne&Peeters,1982,citedbyBilgic,1998),andsignificantandneg-
ative(Bilgic,1998).Thenullhypothesisisproposedasfollows:
H8b: There are no significant differences in job satisfaction between parents and non-
parents.
Thereisalackofevidenceaboutthemoderatingroleofparenthoodonemployeeloyalty.Sib-
baldetal.(2003),forinstance,haveindicatedthatemployeeswithchildrentendtostaylonger
withtheorganization.However,thisintentiondoesnotnecessarilymeantheseemployeesare
more loyal to thecompany.The followinghypothesis is formulated inorder to test therela-
tionship:
H8c: There are no significant differences in employee loyalty between parents and non-
parents.
1.2.9 DifferencesinOccupationalstress,Jobsatisfaction,andEmployeeloyaltybe-
tweenindependentandchainhotels
The topic of differences between investigated variables in chain and independent hotels is
highlyunderstudiedandthereforenoassumptionscanbemadepriortotheresearch.Howev-
er,herearethenullhypothesesproposed:
H9:ThereisnosignificantdifferencebetweenindependentandchainhotelinOccupational
stress
H10:ThereisnosignificantdifferencebetweenindependentandchainhotelinJobSatisfac-
tion
H11: There is no significant difference between independent and chain hotel in Employee
Loyalty
1.3 Structureofthesis
Thisresearchstartswiththeliteraturereviewoftheexistingstudiesandtheoriesaboutdiffer-
entaspectsofoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployees’loyalty.Thecertaincharac-
teristicsofthesetheorieswithrespecttothehospitalityindustryareexaminedaswell.Then,
anoverviewof thedifferencesbetween chain and independenthotels is given. Further, the
comparativecasestudymethodologyusedinthecurrentstudy,theresearchinstrumentsand
thedataanalysisaredescribed.Theoccupationalstresslevels, jobsatisfaction,andloyaltyof
the employees are evaluated based on the case study of 2 hotels in Russia. Primary data is
MASTERTHESISTITLE
8
collectedusingquestionnairesandcorrelationsareanalysedwiththehelpofStatisticalPack-
agefortheSocialSciences(SPSS).Thentheresultsoftheresearchandthediscussionarepre-
sented.Finally,theconclusionispresentedincludingimplicationsandpotentialforthefuture
research.
MASTERTHESISTITLE
9
2 LITERATUREREVIEW
Thischapterincludestheliteraturereviewoftherelevanttopics.First,thetheoryofstressis
discussed,andthenthespecialaspectsofoccupationalstressingeneralandinhospitalityin-
dustry are covered. Further, literature on job satisfaction and employee loyalty is reviewed.
Finally,theoverviewofthedifferencesbetweenchainandindependenthotelsispresented.
2.1 Stress
Stress is quite a difficult term todefinedue to its subjectivity and complexity. The fact that
stresshasbeenatopicof interestforresearchersfromfourfairlydifferentdisciplines(medi-
cine,sociology,management,andpsychology)andthattheyproposedtheirownconceptsand
methodology, makes the topic evenmore complex andmultifaceted (Cummings & Cooper,
1998, cited by Fevre et al., 2003). Term “stress” itselfwas first introduced byHans Selye, a
Hungarianendocrinologist,who is also knownas the “fatherof stress” (Fink, 2009). Being a
medical student,hehasnoted thatpatientswithdifferent illnesseshadsomecommonnon-
specificsymptomsatthebeginningoftheir illness.Thisobservationhasledtohisfurtherre-
searchof thebodyreactiontothestressfulstimulianddevelopmentof theGeneralAdapta-
tionSyndrome(GAS)concept(Fink,2009).Selyehasintroducedtheterm“stress”andhasgiv-
enthefirstandmostgenericdefinition:“Stressisthenonspecificresponseofthebodytoany
demand”(Selye,1976b).InhisGAStheory,Selyehasidentifiedthreestages:alarm,resistance,
andexhaustion.Atfirststage,alarm,thebodyisrespondingtothestressorswiththefirstsigns
of changesand thedefenceprocessesareactivated (Ivancevich&Matteson,1980). Later, if
thestressorisnotdisappearingandadaptationisdeveloped,theresistancephaseisachieved.
Longerstresscanresultinthethirdstage,exhaustion,andevenleadtothedeath(Fink,2009).
Thisprocessiscyclical;therefore,ifnewdemandsareputonthebodyagain,thealarmstage
will reoccur. The consequences for the individuals can be sicknesses, fatigues, or decreased
performanceatwork(Ivancevic&Matteson,1980).
While initial research about stress has been done into themedical field, later on stress has
beendefinedfromthedifferentpointsofview.Thus,behaviouralsciencesseestressas“per-
ception of threat, with resulting anxiety discomfort, emotional tension, and difficulty in ad-
justment”(Selye,1976a).Anbazhaganetal.(2013)mentionamoredetaileddefinitionbyTo-
biasSchafer: “Stress isanadaptive response,moderatedby individualdifferences thatarea
consequenceofanyaction,situationoreventthatplacesspecialdemandsonaperson,which
perceivesanimbalancebetweenthelevelofdemandplaceduponthemandtheircapabilityto
meetthosedemands”.Inthiscase,stresscanresultinthepsychological,physiological,orbe-
haviouralresponseofanindividual,whicheventuallycanresultintheillhealth(Palmer,1989).
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Several authorsemphasize that stress shouldbedefinedas aperceptualphenomenon (Cox,
1978), meaning that stress appears from the perception of individuals as that they cannot
handle thedemandsbeingmadeon them (Lazarus, 1966). Lazarus (1991) conducted an im-
portantresearchontherelationshipbetweenstressandemotions,alsodescribingthecoping
processes. The researcher has created a “Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory of Emo-
tion”,wherehehighlyemphasizedthatstressaswellasemotionsarenotcausedbyexternal
factors,butratherbyperson-environmentrelationships,whichcandifferovertimeordueto
circumstances.Therefore,discrepanciescanbefoundbetweentheone’sreactiontothesitua-
tionandtheobjectiverealityofit(Lazarus,1991).
Another important theory in the history of stress-related research is the “Theory of stress,
appraisal,andcoping”, introducedbyLazarusandFolkman(1984). Itstatesthatstressarises
fromtheappraisalofcertainenvironmentaldemandstoattackindividualresourcesandthere-
fore threaten thewell-being (Holroyd& Lazarus, 1982, cited by Dewe et al., 2012). Lazarus
distinguishesbetweentwotypesofappraisal:primaryandsecondary.Primaryappraisalrepre-
sentstheperson’sevaluationofthesituationorencounteranditspersonalmeaning,whereas
secondaryappraisalfocusesonthemeasuresthatcanbetakentodealwiththesituationand
thepersonalresourcesneededforthat(Deweetal.,2012).Thisiswhentheprocessofcoping
with the stress starts, that is, efforts made by an individual to manage the stress. The re-
searchershavedifferentiatedtwocopingapproaches:emotion-focusedandproblem-focused
coping. Emotion-focused coping is focused on dealing with unpleasant emotions caused by
stress,whileproblem-focusedcopingisdealingwiththeproblemsolving(Lazarus&Folkman,
1984).
Generally,stresscanhavesomesignificanteffectsonthe individual’sphysical,psychological,
anemotionalhealth.Stresscanweakentheimmunesystem,whichcanleadtoincreasedrisks
ofcontractingillnessesandinfections,causecardiovascular(e.g.highbloodpressureandheart
diseases),musculoskeletal (e.g.headachesandbackpain), andgastrointestinal systemprob-
lems(e.g.diarrhea)(Luthans,2011).Consequencesofstressonmentalhealthareoftendisre-
garded,yetstill itcantriggeranger,anxiety,depression,nervousness, tension,andboredom
(Luthans,2011).
2.1.1 Classificationsofstress
Sincethetermstressisnotaneasyonetodescribeandthereisnoonecertaindefinitionofit,
it isnowonder that several classificationsof the stresshavebeenproposedbydifferent re-
search.Levi(1971,citedbySzaboetal.,2012)wasthefirstonetoidentifythedifferencebe-
tween“positive”and“negative”stress.Later,Selye (1974) introducedtheappropriateterms
forthesekindsofstress:“eustress”forapositivestress,and“distress”foranegativeone.Se-
lyealsonoticedthatpeoplearequalifyingthestressortobedistressoreustress individually.
Thisdecisionisdependentnotonlyonanactualamountofdemandperceivedbytheindividu-
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11
al,butalsoonothercharacteristics,suchasthetiming,theperceptionofthedesirabilityofthe
demand, if it isbeneficial,whetherthedemand isself-imposedor imposedexternally,and if
imposedexternally,whereexactly itcamefrom(afriend,amanager,apolice,etc.) (Fevreet
al.,2003). Selye (1974, citedbySzabo,2012)hasunderlined inhisworks, that “stress isnot
whathappenstoyou,buthowyoureacttoit”.However,somecommonexamplesofdistress
andeustresscanbefoundintherelevantliterature.Thus,typicaltypesofdistressare:divorce,
punishment,injury,negativefeelings,financialproblems,workdifficulties(TheAmeriсanInsti-
tuteofStress,2016a),deathofafamilymember,conflict ininterpersonalrelationships, legal
problems, etc. (Mills et al., 2008). Eustress can be caused bymarriage, promotion, winning
money, establishing new relationships and making new friends, graduation (The Ameriсan
InstituteofStress,2016a),havingachild,takingavacation,retiring,learninganewhobby,etc.
(Millsetal.,2008).Eustresscanhavesuchpositive impactsas increasedmotivation, focused
energy,feelingofexcitement,orimprovedperformance.Distress,however,canleadtoanxie-
ty,decreasedperformance,mentalorphysicalproblems(Millsetal.,2008).
Lazarus (1966) has specified three kinds of stress: harm, threat, and challenge. Harm is the
psychologicaldamagethathasalreadyoccurredandcannotbechange;threatistheanticipa-
tion of harm that has not happened yet, but might already be unavoidable; and challenge
comes from the difficult demands that one feels confident to meet by mobilizing own re-
sources (Lazarus, 1993). These typesof stress are causedbydifferentpreceding events, not
only in an environment, but alsowithin the person, and can lead to various consequences.
Thus,stateofthreatcancauseseriousproblemswithmentaloperationsandweakenfunction-
ing,whereaschallengecanhaveverypositiveeffects,suchas improvedperformanceand in-
creasedmotivation(Lazarus,1993).
Dr.Albrechtdefinedfourcommontypesofemotionallyinducedstress.Theseare:timestress,
anticipatory stress, situational stress, and encounter stress (Albrecht, 1979). Time stress is
anxiousresponsetotheconceptoftime,forinstanceastrongfeelingoftheneedtodosome-
thing within a certain time period. People experiencing time stress can feel “desperate,
trapped, miserable, and often rather helpless” (Albrecht, 1979, p.89). Anticipatory kind of
stress, also sometimes generally referred to as a “worry” or fear of the future, is a state of
anxiety about some independent occasionwith little or no reason underlining. This type of
stressisexperiencedbyalmosteveryoneatleastoncetoacertainextentandcanbeexplained
asacommonworrythatsomethingwillgowrong(Albrecht,1979).Situationalstressisastate
ofanxietydue toa situation inwhichone feels threatened,has littleornocontrolover the
situationand isafraidto“loseface” intheeyesoftheothersortobephysically injured.En-
counterstressisafearofhavingtodealwithapersonorgroupofpeoplewhoonedoesnot
likeorwouldnotbewillingtodealwithatthecertainmoment.Encounterstresscanalsobea
resultofgettingtiredofinteractingwithtoomanypeople(Albrecht,1979).
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Otherwell-known typesof stressareacute,episodicacute, andchronic stress.Acute stress,
alsoknownas‘fightorflight’response, isthemostcommonkindofstressthateveryperson
experiencesmanytimesthroughoutlife.Usually,acutestressiscausedbycertaineventsinthe
recentpastorbytheanticipationofsomethinginthenearestfuture(AmericanPsychological
Association,2016b).Acutestresstendstobeshort-term,andaftertheresponsetoitisover,it
takes about 90minutes for themetabolism to get normal again (The Ameriсan Institute of
Stress,2016a).Thecommonsymptomsofacutestressare:emotionaldistress,muscularprob-
lems, stomach,gutandbowelproblems,aswell as increasedbloodpressure, sweatypalms,
dizziness, cold hands or feet, shortness of breath, etc. (American Psychological Association,
2016b).Acutestressassuchisnotdangerousandcanbesuccessfullytreatedandmanaged.
Episodicacutestressisamoreserioustypeofstress,whichoccurswhenapersonisexperienc-
ing acute stressmore frequently and does not get adequate relief. In contrast to the acute
stress,whichisrathershort-term,episodicacutestressisusuallyhappeningonthedailybasis.
Thiskindofstressischaracterizedwiththesymptomsofextensivearousal,suchaspermanent
headaches,migraines,hypertensions,andheartdiseases(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,
2016b).
Chronicstressisthemostharmfulanddangeroustypeofstress.Itariseswhenoneisfeeling
trapped in a certain stressful situation and does not see any possible solution. This type of
stresscanbearesultofaPostTraumaticStressDisorderorchildhoodexperience,butalsoit
cancomefromtheuntreatedanduncontrolledeverydaystress(PortoleseDias,2012).Chronic
stressislong-termandthefactthatpeoplecangetusedtoitmakesthediagnosticevenmore
difficult (American Psychological Association, 2016b). Chronic stress can have such serious
physicalandpsychological consequencesasanxiety, insomnia,musclepain,highbloodpres-
sure,weakenedimmunesystem,etc.(AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2016c).Apartfrom
beingaprimarycauseforsuchproblems,chronicstresscanstronglycontributetothedevel-
opmentofotherhealthproblems:heartdiseases,depression,orobesity(AmericanPsycholog-
icalAssociation,2016c).
Inorder todescribehowperformance isaffected throughout thedifferent stress stages,Dr.
Nixonhasdevelopeda‘HumanFunctionCurve’(seeFigure1).Asitcanbeseen,atthedrone
zonethereisnotenoughpositivestresstohaveanimpressiveperformance,thusonecanfeel
boredandnotmotivated.Duringprimarystagesofarousal,namelyhealthytension,theper-
formance is increasingtogetherwiththeamountofstress. In theC’Zonetheperformance is
reachingoneofthehighestlevelsduetoeustress(PortoleseDias,2012).Healthytensionrep-
resents the perfect state for not only top performance, but also for the sustainable success
andpersonalwellbeing(Holden,2008,p.295).Atthisstageonefeelsmentallyandphysically
healthy,motivatedandbalanced(Holden,2008).However,oncethepeakispassed,andstress
isgettingchronic,oneisenteringthefatiguezone(PortoleseDias,2012).Atthisstagenotonly
doestheperformancedecrease,butalsothedangerofnegativeconsequencesincreases.Itis
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importanttorecognizethesignsofchronicstressearlyenoughinordertominimizetheharm-
fuleffects(Holden,2008).Ifthisisnotdoneproperly,thezoneofexhaustionisentered,which
can lead to serious consequences, such as ill health or burnout, anddramatically decreased
performance.
FIGURE1THEHUMANFUNCTIONCURVE(PORTOLESEDIAS,2012)
Whentalkingabouttheclassificationofstress,itisimportanttoalwaysrememberthatithigh-
lydependsonapersonalityandtheperceptioncandramaticallydifferfrompersontoperson.
Forinstance,thesameeventcanbeconsideredbyonepersonasapositiveone,andtherefore
resultineustress,andforanotheroneitmightresultinacutestresswithnegativefeelingsand
consequences.However,therearesomecommoncharacteristicsofstressintermsofreaction
andconsequences.Someof those,mostly fromphysicalandpsychologicalperspective,were
discussed before in this section. However, as one can see from above, there are also other
important aspects that can be strongly affected, such as individual and group performance,
decision-makingprocesses,orperception(Kavanagh,2005).
2.1.2 Stressors
Theterm“stressor”itselfwasintroducedbySelye(1956)todefine“theexternalforceorinflu-
enceactingontheindividual”(citedbyFevreetal.,2003).However,eventhoughthisisamost
commonterminology,certainresearchershavebeenusingdifferentdefinitions.Forinstance,
someauthors,likeEdwards(1998),wereusingtheterm“stress”todefinetheseexternalforc-
es,and“strain”fortheresultingaction(Fevreetal.,2003).
So,generallyspeaking,stressorsarethesourcesofstressthatcanbebothinternalandexter-
nal.Similarlywiththestressitself,therearevariousclassificationsofstressorsofferedbydif-
ferent researchers. They can differ in terms of their origin, clarity, duration, choice, level of
inducedstressandifthestressorarisesaloneortogetherwiththeotherones(Weber,2011).
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14
One of the common classifications offers a logical division of stressors into four categories:
environmental,organizational,group,andindividualstressors(Anbazhaganetal.,2013).
Environmentalstressorsincludeseveralsocialandtechnicalinfluencingfactors,suchas“tech-
nological change, family demands and obligations, economic and financial conditions, race,
caste,class,ethnicidentity,relocationandtransfers”(Anbazhaganetal.,2013).Moregeneral-
ly,environmentalstressorshavebeendivided into4categories:cataclysmicevents, stressful
lifeevents,dailyhassles,andambientstressors.Cataclysmiceventsincludetheonesthatare
usuallyaffectingthewholecommunity,suchascatastrophes,naturalandtechnologicaldisas-
ters,andwars,butalsoimprisonment(Evans&Cohen,1987).Stressfullifeeventsareusually
the significantones that require somekindof personal or social adaptation, such as, for in-
stance,marital status, social or economic condition changes.Whereas daily hassles are the
situations that everyone is experiencing on a daily-basis and that are usually causing short-
termstress.Thesedailyhassles includeproblemsatworkor in the family,orenvironmental
conditions,suchasnoise,crowding,orweather.‘Ambientstressors’isthetermdevelopedby
Campbell (1983) todescribe the stressors that areoften representedasbackgroundperma-
nentconditionsthathavenegativeimpactsandcanbephysicallyperceptibleandhardlyman-
ageable.Oneof theexamplesofambientstressorswouldbe living inanareawithheavyair
pollution(Evans&Cohen,1987).
Organizational stressors are emerging from within the organization, for instance policies,
strategies, structureanddesign,processesorganizationandworkingconditions (Anbazhagan
etal.,2013).CooperandMarshall(1976)haveintroducedfivemaincategoriesofworkstress-
ors: ones intrinsic to the job, role in the organization, career development, relationship at
work, and organizational structure and climate.Organizational stressorswill be discussed in
moredetailsfurtherinthispaper.
Groupstressorsaretheonesthatoccurwithintheformalandinformalgroups,towhichone
belongs. Examples of such stressors are: lack of group cohesiveness, lack of social support,
interpersonal and inter group conflict. Individual stressors are considered to be the internal
ones, for instance, role conflict and ambiguity, personality traits, life and career changes
(Anbazhaganetal.,2013).
AnotherwidespreadclassificationofstressorsintroducedbyHill(1949,citedbyWeber,2011)
distinguishesbetweeninternalandexternalstressors,basedontheirorigin.Internalstressors
originatewithinapersonandrepresentstress-inducingthoughtsorbehaviour,personalper-
ceptions, and expectations. Common internal stressors are pessimism, putting pressure on
oneself to be perfect, negative self-talk, perfectionism, unrealistic expectations, and lack of
assertiveness(Greene,2013).Externalstressorsareallthatarenotself-induced,theyarecom-
ingfromoutside.Onecanarguethatforsomepeoplecopingwithexternalstressors ismore
challengingastheyareusuallyoutofindividual’scontrol(Weber,2011).Theexamplesofex-
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15
ternalstressorsaremajorlifechanges,work,financialproblems,relationshipandfamilyissues
(Greene,2013).
Asitwasalreadydiscussedabove,sometypesofstress(eustress)canhavepositiveeffectson
individuals,whilstothermighthavenegativeconsequences(distress).Thesimilarclassification
was used in the research about stressors behind positive and negative stress, which were
named challenge and hindrance stressors accordingly. Thus, hindrance stressors are the de-
mandsthatareperceivedbyanindividualasobstructivetheprogresstowardpersonalaccom-
plishments or goal attainment (Colquitt et al., 2010), whilst challenge stressors are the de-
mandsperceivedasopportunities fordevelopment, improvingknowledge,andgoalachieve-
ments (Colquitt et al., 2010). Many studies have been conducted with the focus on work-
relatedhindranceandchallengestressors(Cavanaughetal.,2000;Bingham,Boswell,&Bou-
dreau,2005).Cavanaughetal. (2000), for instance,havefoundthathindrance-relatedstress
hadnegativecorrelationwith jobsatisfactionandpositiveonewith jobsearchandturnover,
whereas challenge-related stress showed positive effects on managers’ motivation and job
satisfaction.
Patterson (1988) has studied the stress experienced by the families and therefore classified
stressorsbehinditbasedontheirorigin:individual,family,andcommunitystressors.Individu-
alstressorsinthiscaseare,forexample,illnessorlossofjob;familystressorsincludedivorce,
sexualabuse,havingachild;andcommunitystressorsareexternalones,likenaturaldisasters,
taxes,bankfailures,etc.(Weber,2011).
AnotherstressorclassificationwithinthefamilystressframeworkofferedbyBoss(1988,cited
byWeber, 2011)differentiates volitional andnonvolitional stressors. The volitional stressors
are the ones coming from voluntary induced events, such as wanted pregnancy, career
change, or start of education (Weber, 2011). Nonvolitional stressors are ones “that are not
soughtoutbutjusthappen,suchasbeinglaidofforthesuddenlossofsomeoneloved”(Boss,
1988,p.40).Apparentlycopingwithnonvolitionalstressorsismoredifficultthanwithvolition-
alduetolackofcontrolandsuddennessoftheincident(Weber,2011).
As it can be seen, there is thewhole variety of classifications of stressors based on diverse
criteria.Manyof thestressor types intersect,whichmakesdistinctiveandclearclassification
notpossible.However,understandingthenatureofstressors,andconsequentlyofstressori-
gins,canhelpnotonlymanagingtheexistingstressbetter,butalsoavoidingstressinthefu-
ture.
2.2 OccupationalStress
Occupationalstressasawidespreadphenomenonnowadayshasbeeninvestigatedandcate-
gorized by several authors. Several research are proving that stress at work is the leading
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sourceofstressamongAmericanadultsandthatithasdramaticallyincreasedduringthelast
decades(TheAmericanInstituteofStress,2016b).AsurveyconductedinCanadareportsthat
38.8%ofCanadiansbetweentheagesof15and75areexperiencingslightstressatwork,25%
are relatively stressed, and 5.4% of respondents are extremely stressed (Statistics Canada,
2002–updatedinSeptember2004,citedbyBrun&Lamarche,2006).Therisinginterestinthis
topiccanbeexplainedbysomeverysignificantconsequencesassociatedwiththeoccupation-
alstressforbothemployeesandemployers(Watkins,2003;Brun&Lamarche,2006).Inorder
tobeabletoanalyseallaspectoftheoccupationstress,itisfirstnecessarytounderstandthe
natureandthefoundationsoftheoccupationalstress.
Justaswiththegeneralstresstermdiscussedabove,thereisnoparticular,agreedupondefini-
tionoftheoccupationalstress,whichisalsosometimescalledjoborworkstress.Ross(1997,
p.42)statesthatoccupationalstressis“theformofphysiologicalandemotionalarousal”expe-
riencedbytheemployeewhenexposedtothethreateningsituationoraconflictwithanother
staffmemberor a client. According to the Leka et al. (2004), “work-related stress is the re-
sponse people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not
matchedto theirknowledgeandabilitiesandwhichchallenge theirability tocope”. It is im-
portanttounderstand,thatpressureatworkby itselfcannotbetotallyavoided inamodern
businessworldandisnotnecessarilydestructive.Onthecontrary,whenaworkerisexperienc-
inganadequateandmanageableamountofpressure,heorshemightfeelalertandinspired
todothejobandtolearn.Nevertheless,theperceptionofanacceptableamountofpressure
isveryindividualandoncethelimitisexceededtheconsequencesonemployee’shealthand
performance can be dramatic (WHO, 2016). According to several research papers, themost
stressfultypesofworkaretheoneswheredemandsandpressurestowardstheemployeesare
notmatchingtheirabilitiesandknowledge,whereworkersdonotgetanopportunitytomake
choicesortohaveanycontrol,andwheresupportfromothersislacking(Lekaetal.,2004).
At first,mostof theresearchonoccupationalstressand itsnaturewere focusedwithinpsy-
chologicalandmedicalfield,thus,puttingemphasisontheindividualbehaviours,personality
qualitiesandcopingmechanisms initiatedandmanagedby the individuals themselves (Lo&
Lamm, 2005). However, more recent studies have acknowledged the need to have amore
multifaceted view on the problem and to include the important environmental factors con-
tributing to the stress. Thus, such factors as employment (e.g. salaries, company rules and
policies,workingconditions),androlesplayedbyotherparties(e.g.employers,tradeunions,
orgovernmentagents)were recognized tobe significant inunderstanding thenatureof the
work-related stress (Lo& Lamm,2005). Furthermore,manyother aspectswere acceptedas
beinginfluentialonstresslevels:forinstance,poorworkorganization,poorworkdesign,poor
management,unsatisfactoryworkingconditions,andlackofsupportfromcolleaguesandsu-
pervisors(Lekaetal.,2004).
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Cooper,DeweandO’Driscoll(2001)havearguedthatoccupationalstresssourcescanbedivid-
edintothreegroups:job-specific,organizationalandindividualsources.Firsttwosourcesare
consideredtobeexternalorenvironmental.Theinvestigationoftheseenvironmentalsources
wasofagreatinterestformanyresearchers.Thus,CooperandMarshall(1976)intheirOccu-
pationalStressModelhavedistinguishedfivesourcesofworkstress:intrinsictojob,roleinthe
organization, career development, relationships at work, and organizational structure and
climate.Table1givesanoverviewofthesesourceswithsomeexamplesofpossiblestressors.
Environmentalsources Stressors
IntrinsictoJob Poorphysicalworkingconditions
Workoverload
Timepressures
Physicaldanger,etc.
RoleinOrganization Roleambiguity
Roleconflict
Responsibilityforpeople
Conflicts areorganizational boundaries (internal&exter-
nal),etc.
CareerDevelopment Overpromotion
Underpromotion
Lackofjobsecurity
Thwartedambition,etc.
RelationshipsatWork Poorrelationswithboss,subordinates,orcolleagues
Difficultiesindelegatingresponsibility,etc.
Organizational Structure and Cli-
mate
Littleornoparticipationindecision-making
Restrictionsonbehavior(budgets,etc.)
Officepolitics
Lackofeffectiveconsultation,etc.
TABLE1SOURCESOFSTRESSATWORK(COOPER&MARSHALL,1976)
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CartwrightandCooper (1997) furtherdevelopedtheabove-mentionedmodelandaddedan-
otherenvironmentalfactor,namelythehome-workinterface.Ithasbeenacknowledgedthat
workandfamilylifeareinterconnectedandcanhavehighimpactoneachother(Huangetal.,
2004, citedbyZhaoet al., 2011).According toGreenhausandBeutell (1985,p. 77, citedby
Zhaoetal.,2011)work-familyconflict is“a formof inter-roleconflict inwhichtherolepres-
suresfromtheworkandfamilydomainsaremutuallyincompatibleinsomerespect”.Lateron,
thisaspectalsobecameoneofthepointsofinterestformanyresearchersinvestigatingoccu-
pationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andotherwork-relatedissues(Chiangetal.,2010;Zhaoetal.,
2011).
IvancevichandMatteson(1980)haveofferedtodifferentiatebetweenextraorganizationaland
intraorganizational jobstressors.Extraorganizaionalstressorsincludesuchfactorsasfinancial
stability, family,health, andother stressors thatappearoutside thework life. Intraorganiza-
tionalstressorscanbedividedintofourcategories:individual,group,organizational,andphys-
ical environment. Schuler (1982) distinguishes seven types of work stressors: job qualities,
relationships,organizationalstructure,physicalqualities,careerdevelopment,changeandrole
intheorganization.
Roleconflictandroleambiguityarethejobstressantecedentsthathavebeenusedbynumer-
ousresearcherstoanalyseandmeasuretheoccupationalstress(Rizwanetal.,2014;Sherazet
al.,2014;Rametal.,2011;Kimetal.,2009).Roleconflictdefinitionsvaryamongtheresearch-
ers.Kahnetal.(1964)havestatedthatroleconflictoccurswhenworkersarerequiredtohave
twoormorecontradictorybehaviours.Theauthorsaredistinguishing five typesof role con-
flict: intersender conflict (whenexpectationsof twopeoplearenotmeetingeachother), in-
trasender conflict (mismatchbetween individual’sexpectationsand the role), inter-role con-
flict(whendemandsfromtwodifferentpositionsaremismatching),person-roleconflict(when
there is discrepancy between an individual and his/her role), and overload of roles (when
there is not enough time to practise two ormore roles that an individual has) (Kahn et al.,
1964).Generally,roleconflictisaresultofthemismatchbetweentheexpectationsofanindi-
vidualandtheactualperceptionoftherole.Roleconflicthasprovedtohavesomeunpleasant
consequencesontheemployeesandtheorganization,suchaspoorjobperformance,jobdis-
satisfaction, increased turnover (House&Rizzo,1972;Bhatti et al., 2010), andpsychological
stress(Bekkeretal.,2000).
Roleambiguityreferstothesituationwhenemployeeshavesomeuncertaintyabouthowthey
shouldbehaveandwhat is expectedof them (Kahnet al., 1964).House andRizzo (1972, p.
474)definedroleambiguityas“thelackofclarityandpredictabilityoftheoutcomesofone’s
behaviour”.Roleambiguityoccurswhenemployeesdonothaveastructuredandconsistent
jobdescription,whentherearenodirectionsonhowtomeetthejobrequirements,orwhen
theirperformanceassessmentisnotwell-defined(Sherazetal.,2014).Employeesexperienc-
MASTERTHESISTITLE
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ing roleambiguityaremore likely toavoidmakingdecisions, to feelanxiousanddissatisfied
abouttheirwork(House&Rizzo,1972).
Hart andCooper (2001)haveofferedanorganizational health approach to theoccupational
stress,which is illustrated inFigure2.Theauthorsbelievethatboth individualandorganiza-
tional factorshavean influenceonemployee’swell-being that is, in turn,affectingorganiza-
tional performance. ‘Individual characteristics’ in this model represent personalities of the
employees,theircopingmechanisms,attitudesandbehaviors,while‘organizationalcharacter-
istics’ include both objective qualities of the organization (e.g. resources and structure) and
workers’ subjective perceptions of those (e.g. organizational climate andwork experiences)
(Hart&Cooper,2001).Oneofthestrengthsofthismodelisthatithasnotonlyacknowledged
theinteractionsbetweenindividualandorganizationalaspectsandtheirinfluenceonemploy-
ee’s well-being, but also included a solid link to organizational performance (Lo & Lamm,
2005).Moreover,themacro levelhasalsobeenincludedinthemodel,recognizingthe influ-
ence of external factors, such as government policies and legislation, interactions with the
customersandthepartners,anddemandsfromshareholders(Lo&Lamm,2005).
FIGURE2AHEURISTICMODELOFORGANIZATIONALHEALTH(HART&COOPER,2001)
Asalreadymentionedbefore,veryoftenoccupationalstressiscausedbythepoorworkdesign
andmanagementoftheorganization.Hazardsrelatedtoworkstresscanalsobedividedinto
twocategories:workcontentandcorkcontext(WHO,2016).Literatureonoccupationalstress
usuallydistinguishesninestress-relatedhazards,whicharepresentedintheTable1.However,
itisimportanttorememberthatsomehazardsarenotuniversalandsomeculturesmightnot
find themharmful (Lekaetal.,2004).As it canbeseen in theTable1,bothcategorieshave
many risk factors, which should be addressed for both preventing andmanaging thework-
stresslevelintheorganizations.
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Workcontent Workcontext
• Jobcontent
⇒ Monotonous,under-stimulating,meaningless
tasks
⇒ Lackofvariety
⇒ Unpleasanttasks
⇒ Aversivetasks
• Workloadandworkpace
⇒ Havingtoomuchortoolittletodo
⇒ Workingundertimepressures
• Workinghours
⇒ Strictorinflexibleworkingschedules
⇒ Longandunsocialhours
⇒ Unpredictableworkinghours
⇒ Badlydesignedshiftsystems
• Participationandcontrol
⇒ Lackofparticipationindecision-making
⇒ Lack of control (e.g. over work methods,
workpace,workinghours,andtheworken-
vironment
• Careerdevelopment,statusandpay
⇒ Jobinsecurity
⇒ Lackofpromotionprospects
⇒ Under-promotionorover-promotion
⇒ Workof“lowsocialvalue”
⇒ Pieceratepaymentschemes
⇒ Unclearorunfairperformanceevaluation
systems
⇒ Being over-skilled or under-skilled for a
job
• Roleintheorganization
⇒ Unclearrole
⇒ Conflictingroleswithinthesamejob
⇒ Responsibilityforpeople
⇒ Continuously dealing with other people
andtheirproblems
• Interpersonalrelations
⇒ Inadequate, inconsiderate or unsupport-
ivesupervision
⇒ Poorrelationshipswithco-workers
⇒ Bullying,harassmentandviolence
⇒ Isolatedorsolitarywork
⇒ No agreed procedures for dealing with
problemsorcomplaints
• Organizationalculture
⇒ Poorcommunication
⇒ Poorleadership
⇒ Lackofclarityaboutorganizationalobjec-
tivesandstructure
• Home-workinterface
⇒ Conflictingdemandsofworkandhome
⇒ Lackofsupport fordomesticproblemsat
work
⇒ Lack of support for work problems at
home
TABLE2STRESS-RELATEDHAZARDSATWORK(LEKAETAL.,2004)
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While organizational characteristics as well as environmental factors that can contribute to
employees’well-beingandstress levelshavebeenalready thoroughlydiscussedabove, indi-
vidualcharacteristics,toucheduponintheHartandCooper’smodel,areworthmentioningin
moredetails.Therearemany individualcharacteristicsthatcanhave influenceon jobstress,
butthisresearchwillgiveanoverviewonsomeofthem,namelyjobexperience,TypeAbehav-
iorpattern,andBigFivepersonalitycharacteristics.
Somestudieshaveestablishedthatthemoreexperiencetheindividualhas,thelessheorshe
isexposedtotheoccupationalstress.Thisrelationshipcanbeexplainedbyatleasttwotheo-
ries.First,theideaofselectivewithdrawal,thatstatesthatpeoplearemorelikelytovoluntary
leavethejobiftheyareexperiencingmorestress,which,inturniscausedbycertainpersonal
characteristics.Therefore,employeesthattendtostaywiththecompanyforlongertimeare
theoneswhoaremorestress-resistant(Motowidloetal.,1986).Theotherreasonisadapta-
tion. According to this concept, people tend to improve their coping mechanisms over the
time, thusmore experienced employeesmight becomemore stress-resistant (Motowildo et
al.,1986).
TypeAbehaviorisasyndrome,whichischaracterizedbyaggressiveness,competitiveness,and
impatience (Ivancevich&Matteson,1984).PeoplewithTypeAbehavior tendtobecontinu-
ouslyengaged inmanyactivities that implyovercomingobstacles ina shortamountof time
(Rose,1987).Thus,employeeswithsuchbehaviorareexpectedtobeinvolvedinmorestress-
fuleventsandperceivesomesituationsasmorestressful(Motowidloetal.,1986).
Even though the role of the Big Five personality characteristics in the occupational stress is
understudied,thistopic isstillofasubstantial interestfortheresearchersandthere issome
evidencethatsupportstheinterrelations.TheBigFivetheorydistinguishesbetweendifferent
personality characteristics, namely neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and
conscientiousness(Costa&McCrae1989,citedbyHart&Cooper,2001).Neuroticismrefersto
atendencyofapersontoconcentrateonnegativeaspectsofoneselfandtheenvironmentand
toexperiencenegativeemotions (Costa&McCrae1989,citedbyHart&Cooper,2001).This
typeofpersonalityhasbeenprovedtohaveoneofthestrongestrelationshipswiththestress
levels(Hart&Cooper,2001).Extraversiontypeofpersonalityreferstotheindividuals,whoare
tendingtobeactive,talkative,optimistic,affectionate,andperson-oriented(Costa&McCrae
1989,citedbyHart&Cooper,2001).Extraversionincludessuchaspectasgregariousness(the
extentofsocialinteractionofaperson),empathy(thelevelofinterpersonalwarmththatone
ispredisposedto),andpositiveaffectivity(theextentof individual’spositiveattitudeto life).
Scientific evidence shows that this personality trait is strongly linked with problem-focused
coping, positive life experiences, and psychological health (Hart& Cooper, 2001). The three
otherpersonalitytypes(openness,agreeableness,andconscientiousness)havenotyetyielded
anystrongscientificevidenceintermsofinterconnectionwiththeoccupationalstress,butone
can argue about potential relations. Thus, agreeableness refers to people, who tend to be
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compliant,helpful,andeasygoing(Costa&McCrae1989,citedbyHart&Cooper,2001).These
peoplemighthavebetterrelationshipswiththecolleaguesandsupervisorsduetotheircalm
and non-confrontational nature, and consequently lower levels of stress (Hart & Cooper,
2001).Opennesstypeofpersonalityrepresentspeoplewhoareopentonewideasandexperi-
ences (Costa&McCrae1989, citedbyHart&Cooper, 2001). This typeof personalitymight
havebothnegativeandpositivecorrelationswithoccupationalstress.Ontheonehand,these
peoplemightbehighlyengagedandmotivated,butontheotherhand,theycanbetoocrea-
tiveanddreamyforsomeorganizations,wherethisisnotencouraged(Hart&Cooper,2001).
Thelastbutnotleastpersonalitytype,conscientiousness,ischaracterizedbythetendencyto
bedevoted, respectful, and insistent (Costa&McCrae1989, citedbyHart&Cooper, 2001).
Theworkershaving thosepersonality traits canbeexpected tobemorepassionateanden-
gagedinthejob,whichinturnmayimprovetheirwell-beinganddecreasestresslevel(Hart&
Cooper,2001).
Apart from individualcharacteristicsandenvironmental factors, stress levelswereproved to
varyamongthedifferentdemographicgroups.Thus,womentendtosuffermorethanmennot
only from general stress (Almedia & Kessler, 1998; Rosch, 2014), but also from the work-
related stress (Michael et al., 2009). Research by Burke et al. (2008) reported that female
managersareexperiencingmorestressthanmaleonesduetothefamily-workconflict.Rosch
(2014) explains this phenomenon by hormonal differences (women’s hormone level is less
stablethanmen’s),orwomen’sgeneticpredispositionfordepression.Interestingly,thediffer-
ences in stresscanalsobeexplainedby the fact thatwomentend toconsultadoctormore
oftenthanmen,andthusaremore likelytobediagnosed(Rosch,2014).Possiblythis isalso
oneofthereasonswhyresearchdonebyO’NeillandDavis(2009;2011)inthehotelindustry
hasnotshownanysignificantdifferencesinoccupationalstressamongmenandwomen.
Some researchers haveproved thatmarital status influences stress levels of the individuals.
Thus, married employees tend to experience more stress than their unmarried colleagues
(Kessler,1979;Vanagas,2004).Parveen(2009)hasinvestigatedthedifferencesofoccupation-
alstressbetweenmarriedandunmarriedwomenandhassimilarlysupportedthenotionthat
marriedemployeeshaveexperiencedmore stress thanunmarriedones. These resultsmight
be explained bywork-family pressures, obligations, and increased home stressors (Parveen,
2009;O’Neill&Davis,2009).
Anotherpotentialfactorinfluencingthestresslevelsofindividualsishavingchildren.Asitwas
alreadymentionedbefore,havingachilditselfisconsideredtobeastressor.Thus,thereisno
surprisethatparentsaremoreexposedtothestressthannon-parents,especiallywhenthey
areemployed(Lamanna&Riedmann,2012;Hobart,2015).However,thestudybyO’Neilland
Davis(2009)hasnotfoundanysignificantdifferencesinstressexperiencedbytheemployees
whohadordidnothavechildren.
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Ageofindividualsisanotherfactorthatcaninfluencethelevelofstress.Researchonthestress
levelsamongAmericanshasshown,thatindividualsbetween18and47yearsoldreporthigh-
erstress levels thantheolderones (AmericanPsychologicalAssociation,2016a).Anotherre-
searchhasalsofoundthatyoungadults(25-35yearsold)andearlymiddleaged(36-45years
old)wereexperiencingmorestressduetosuchjobstressorsasroleoverload,roleambiguity,
andstrenuousworkingconditionscomparedtolatemiddleaged(46-60yearsold)employees
(Chandraiahetal.,2003).Theseresultsmight reflect thedifferences inperceptionofcertain
stressorsandthecopingmechanismsthatpeoplehaveatdifferentages.Thus,manystressors,
such as marriage, divorce, having children, or changes at work are more relevant for the
youngeradults,andtheeverydayhasslesthat influencethestress levelareperceivedas less
stressfulforolderpeople(Aldwinetal.,1996).
Lastbutnotleast,theleveloftheeducationoftheemployeescanalsoinfluencetheoccupa-
tionalstressexperiencedbythem.Thus,researchhasshownthatbettereducatedpeopletend
tobemoreexposedtostressatwork(Doughty,2013).Thereasonunderlyingthisphenome-
nonmight be that individuals with higher qualifications and abilities havemore demanding
jobs and facemore responsibilities (Doughty, 2013). However, the research among hospital
nurseshasshowncontradictingresults,indicatingthatnurseswithsecondaryschooleducation
werefeelingmorestressfulatworkthantheoneswithacollegedegree(Golubicetal.,2009).
Thestudyonstressamongpoliceemployeeshasfoundthattherelationshipbetweeneduca-
tionandoccupational stress is non-linear. The results indicated that the respondentswith a
high school diplomahad thehighest stress levels,whereas employeeswithmaster’s degree
sufferedfromstressleastofall.Butatthesametimeofficerswithbachelor’sdegreewereless
exposedtostresscomparedtocollegegraduates(Bartholome,2007).
2.2.1 EffectsofOccupationalStress
Stressatworkcanhaveimpactsonbothindividualsandtheorganization.Individualssuffering
fromworkstresscanhavevariousproblems,suchasinabilitytorelaxortoconcentrate,diffi-
cultieswith thinking logically andmakingdecisions, feelingdistressed and irritable.One can
also have troubles with sleeping, feeling tired, depressed, or anxious, or even have serious
physicalproblems,suchasheartdiseases,disordersofthedigestivesystem,increasesinblood
pressure,headaches,ormusculo-skeletaldisorders(Lekaetal.,2004).Inextremecases,when
stress is leftuntreatedand isnotmanagedproperly, theconsequencesmaybeasseriousas
psychiatricdisordersandpsychologicalproblems(Lekaetal.,2004).Whenworkersaresuffer-
ingfromstressandnotgettingenoughsupport,orsimplyarenotawareofthewaystoman-
agethestress,theymightalsogetengagedinunhealthyactivities,suchassmoking,consuming
alcoholortakingdrugs(Lekaetal.,2004).
Researchershavealsofoundthatstresscanbeoneofthemainfactorsinsuchaggressiveac-
tionsassabotage,interpersonalaggression,hostility,andcomplaints(Luthans,2011).Moreo-
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ver,theseactionsareprovedtobesignificantforpoorjobperformance,loweredself-esteem,
resentmentofsupervision,inabilitytoconcentrateandmakedecisions,andjobdissatisfaction
(Luthans,2011;O’Neill&Davis,2009).Alltheseconsequencesofstressarecostlyfortheem-
ployerand,therefore,ofcourse,unfavourable.
Othereffectsofoccupationalstressonthecompaniesaresometimesmoreapparent, for in-
stancethedamagedonetotheorganization’s imageboth internallyandexternally,andcon-
sequently,increasedcomplaintsfromcustomersandclients.Unsafeworkingenvironmentand
increasednumberofaccidentsatworkcanleadtodirectcostsfortheorganizationintermsof
insurance and legal claims (Luthans, 2011; Leka et al., 2004). Last but not least, stress can
heavily increasenotonlyemployees’absenteeism,butalsoboosttheturnoverrates(Lekaet
al.,2004;O’Neill&Davis,2009).
Accordingtoexistingliterature,therearefourwaysinwhichemployeescanreactonthework
stressandjobdissatisfaction:exit,voice,loyalty,andneglect(Farrell,1983,citedbyHonetal.,
2013).Workers canchose to leave theorganization (exit), theycanprefer to stayand tobe
activelyinvolvedinseekingforimprovementsandreducingthesourcesofstress(voice),some
mightdecidetostayinthecompanyandacceptthesituationasitiswithoutanyattemptsto
improve it (loyalty), or they can remain and passively demonstrate withdrawal behaviours
(neglect).AccordingtoFarrell(1983,citedbyHon,2013),theexitadvoicereactionsarecon-
structivefortheorganization,whileloyaltyandneglectaredestructiveones.
2.2.2 ManagingOccupationalStress
Managing stress atwork is important due to the various consequences thatwere discussed
above.Eventhoughmanyofthemaredealingwithindividuals,theyallmightresultinnegative
counter-productive consequences for the organization (e.g. job dissatisfaction, absenteeism,
increasedturnoverintention(Kimetal.,2009).CooperandPayne(1998,citedbyRoss,1997)
insistthatpreventativemeasurestakenbythemanagementoftheorganizationcanmaximize
theprofitmargins andensureemployees’productivity and satisfaction. Therefore,organiza-
tionsshouldbeconcernedaboutandengagedintheactionsandmeasurestonotonlyprevent
excessiveoccupationalstressamongtheemployees,butalsotobeabletoproperlymanageit
inordertominimizethenegativeeffects.
AccordingtotheWorldHealthOrganization(1986,citedbyLekaetal.,2004)healthisnotonly
theabsenceofdisease,butastateofcompletephysical,mentalandsocialwell-being.There-
fore,ahealthyworkingenvironmentdoesnotonlymeantheabsenceofharmfulconditions,
butalsoactivelypromotinghealthyones(Lekaetal.,2004).Thiscouldincludesuchactionsas
“continuousassessmentofriskstohealth,theprovisionofappropriateinformationandtrain-
ingonhealth issuesandtheavailabilityofhealthpromotingorganizationalsupportpractices
andstructures”(Lekaetal.,2004).
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Inordertominimizetheoccupationalstress,employeesshouldhavetheopportunitytocon-
trol theirwork, be engaged, and receive enough support from the colleagues and theman-
agement (WHO, 2016). Research conducted by Hon et al. (2013) states that feedback from
supervisorscanencourageemployees’creativityandthushelpthemtoperceivestressasra-
ther challenge-related andpositive. Ross (1997) has found that clear and autonomouswork
role, improved communication among the employees andwith themanagement, andmore
attentionfromthemanagementtotheneedsoftheworkersandtheirfamiliescancontribute
totheeffectivestressavoidanceorminimization.
2.2.3 OccupationalStressintheHospitalityIndustry
The occupational stress in “low risk industries” that are employing emotional and aesthetic
labour(Hannifetal.,2006)hasalreadybeendiscussedinseveralresearchpapers.Eventhough
hospitality industrybelongstothose“lesshazardous” industries, thereareseveral important
characteristicsthatmakehotelbusinessenvironmentratherstressfulfortheemployees.First
ofall,manyhotelworkershavetoconstantlybeinadirectcontactwithcustomers,providing
servicesinafriendly,positive,andempatheticway(Lo&Lamm,2005).Moreover,employees
inmanycustomer-oriented industriesareoftenmoreexposedto theworkstressdueto the
conflictingdemands from thecompany, the supervisors,and theclients (Ruyteretal.,2001,
citedbyO’Neill&Davis, 2009).Also theworking conditions inhospitality industry areoften
characterisedbylowwages, irregularworkinghours,highworkdemandsandintensiveinter-
actionswiththeclients(Lo&Lamm,2005).
Some authors argue that hotelwork environment is especially stressful due to the dichoto-
mous nature of the hotel industry, meaning that the emphasis put on fluctuating financial
profits and tightmargins are going alongwith the necessity to deliver quality service (Lo&
Lamm,2005).Variousstudieshavealsoprovedoccupationalstresstohavenegativeinfluence
onprovidingqualitycustomerserviceduetotheincreasedexhaustionoftheworkers(Varca,
1999;O’Neill&Davis,2009).
Studies about thework-related stress in hospitality industry have found the correlation be-
tween stress and the physiological symptoms the employees are facing, such as headaches,
fatigue,indigestion,ulcers,bloodpressure,heartattacks,andstrokes(Kroneetal.,1989).The-
seconsequencesmightdecreasetheefficiencyofemployeesandincreasehealthexpenditures
fortheemployer(O’Neill&Davis,2009).
O’NeillandDavis(2011)intheirresearchaimedtounderstandthenatureandquantityofhos-
pitality employee stress. The authors identified twomost common stressors – interpersonal
tensions andoverloads, and came to a conclusion thathotelmanagers are feeling themost
stressors.Theyalsostatedthatjobstressandhealthproblemshavepositivecorrelation.
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A studybyBrymeretal. (1991)has investigated theperceived stress levelof thehospitality
managersbyasking them toestimate their stress levelon the scale from1 (very low) to10
(very high). The average response was 7.55, which demonstrated a relatively high level of
stressamongthemanagers(Brymeretal.,1991).Hannifetal.(2006)intheirarticle“Occupa-
tional Stress In The Service Sector: ANewDimension” have studied how service sector em-
ployees perceive stress andmanage it. They came to a conclusion that although employees
perceivetheirstress levelas lowtomoderate,absenteeismandstaffturnoverratesarehigh
andincrease.Anbazhaganetal.(2013)intheirresearchpaperhaveusedOccupationalStress
Index in order tomeasure occupational stress of hotel employees in Puducherry. The study
showed that 93.33% of the employees are suffering from stress andmoderate level of job
stressisprevailingintheindustry.Karatepeetal.(2014)haveevidencedthatchallengestress-
orscanhavepositiveinfluenceonthejobsatisfactionandjoboutcomesinthehotelindustry
aswell.Theauthorscametoaconclusionthatchallengestressors leadtoworkengagement
thatinturnenhancesjobperformance(Karatepeetal.,2014).
2.3 Jobsatisfaction
Jobsatisfactionisoneoftheimportanttopicstostudywhenitcomestohumanresources.The
fact that inhotelbusinessemployeesareconstantly interactingdirectlywithcustomersonly
proveshowessentialitistoknowwhichfactorscaninfluencejobsatisfactionandwhatconse-
quencestheremightbe.
It isbelieved that theconceptof job satisfactionwas first introducedby Landsberger (1958,
citedbyKhuong&Tien,2013).Althoughhedidnotmention jobsatisfactionas such,Lands-
bergerintroducedthebasisforthisterm.HisHawthorneeffectindicatedthatemployeesare
workingnotonlybecausetheyarepaidforthat.Furtheron,theconceptwasthoroughlyinves-
tigatedandthejobsatisfactionideaemerged.Themostcommondefinitionofjobsatisfaction
wasofferedbyLocke(1969,p.317),whodefinedjobsatisfactionas“thepleasurableemotion-
alstateresultingfromtheappraisalofone’sjobasachievingorfacilitatingones’jobvalues”.
Manystudies identify jobsatisfactionas“anaffectiveoremotionalresponsetothecompari-
sonbetweenactualanddesiredjobcharacteristics”(Edwards&Shipp,2007,p.220).Another
definitionofferedbyBrief(1998,p.86)statesthatjobsatisfactionis“aninternalstatethatis
expressedbyaffectivelyand/orcognitivelyevaluatinganexperiencedjobwithsomedegreeof
favourordisfavour”.Thelatterdefinitiondenotesanimportantfactthatjobsatisfactioncon-
sistoftwocomponents:anaffectivereaction(i.e.,whethertheemployeelikesordislikesthe
job), and a cognitive appraisal (i.e., whether the job is valuable for the employee) (Locke,
1976). However, this dichotomous view on job satisfactionwas found rather confusing and
thus two solutionswereoffered.Onewaywouldbe todefine job satisfactionexclusivelyby
cognitive component, that is as “a positive (or negative) evaluative judgement one makes
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aboutone’sjoborjobsituation”(Weiss,2002,p.175).Theotheroptionwouldbetoconcen-
trateonaffectiveterms,andthustreatthecognitiveappraisalasaseparatefactor(Edwards&
Shipp,2007).
Theantecedentsof jobsatisfactioncanbedivided into twogroups: theones intrinsic to the
jobenvironmentandrelatedtothejobitself,andtheonesarisingfromtheindividual’scharac-
teristicsandtraits(Spector,1997,citedbyAl-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010).Armstrong(2003)
offered a more detailed classification and distinguished between extrinsic factors, intrinsic
factors, social relationshipsatwork, individual’scapabilities todothe job,andthequalityof
supervision.
Thefactorsinfluencingthejobsatisfactioncanbesummarizedalongthefollowingdimensions:
the work itself, pay, promotions, supervision, work group and working conditions (Luthans,
2011).Thus,theinterestingandchallengingcontentofwork,careerdevelopmentopportuni-
ties,andfamily-friendlyjobenvironmentcanpositivelyinfluencethejobsatisfaction.Fairand
competitivewagesandsalariesarehighlycontributingtothejobsatisfactionofanemployee,
alsobecausetheemployeesperceivepayasanindicatorofhowvaluabletheyarefortheor-
ganization(Luthans,2011).Promotionopportunitieshavequitediverseoutcomesintermsof
jobsatisfaction.Forinstance,employeespromotedonthebasisoftheirperformancearefeel-
ingmoresatisfiedthantheonespromotedonthebasisofseniority.Supervisionaffectsthejob
satisfactionintermsofpersonalinterestofsupervisorsintheemployee’slife,andtheoppor-
tunities for the employees to participate in the decisions that influence their jobs.Having a
strong,friendly,effective,andcooperativeteamatworkcanpositivelyinfluencethejobsatis-
factionoftheemployees.However,havinga“good”teamatworkisnotcrucialtobesatisfied.
Butthenegativeinfluenceofbadrelationshipsinthegrouphasmuchmoresignificanceforthe
lowerjobsatisfaction.Thesameprincipleappliestotheworkingconditions:iftheyaresuita-
ble,theeffectonsatisfactionisnotsignificant,buthavingpoorworkingconditionscanheavily
decreasejobsatisfaction(Luthans,2011).Researchhasfoundthatsuchindicatorsassalaries,
relationshipswithcolleaguesandsupervisors,andwork itselfarethemost importantfor job
satisfaction (Gallardoet al., 2010).HRmanagementpractices, jobdesign and characteristics
canalsoinfluencejobsatisfactionofemployees(Kusluvanetal.,2010).
Studyhasshownthathygienefactorsarethemostrelevantwhendefiningthejobsatisfaction
levels in the hospitality industry due to lower expectations of the employees in this sector
(Mullins,1998).Thesefactorsincludeworkingconditions,interpersonalrelations,supervision,
job security, benefits, companypolicies andmanagement, and salary (Herzberg et al., 1959,
citedbyAl-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010).Themotivationalfactorsfromthetheoryintroduced
by Herzberg et al. (1959, cited by Al-Ababneh & Lockwood, 2010), namely recognition, ad-
vancement,achievement,autonomy,workitselfandresponsibility,werefoundtohavesignifi-
cantly less impact on job satisfaction in tourism industry. Accordingly, several studies have
already evidenced that, for instance, sales managers facing high job demands, work-family
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conflict,andhavinglowjobcontroltendtohavelowerjobandlifesatisfaction(Chiangetal.,
2010;Zhaoetal.,2011).
Clearly,jobsatisfactionisanimportantaspectinthelivesofemployeesandenhancingitcan
bringbenefitsforthecompanyaswell.Forinstance,jobsatisfactioncanmoderatelyincrease
job performance. Of course, job satisfaction alonewill notmake the employees stay in the
company and remain loyal, but it candefinitely help to avoid extremelyhigh turnover rates
anddecreaseabsenteeism.Moreover,increasingjobsatisfactionoftheemployeescanreduce
occupationalstress(Luthans,2011).Thus,employersshouldratherbeinterestedinhowthey
can improve job satisfaction among their employees. For instance, having fair salaries and
wages, benefits, and offering promotion opportunities have proved to be important factors
enhancingjobsatisfaction(Luthans,2011).AccordingtoLametal.(2001),oneofthewaysto
increase job satisfaction among employees canbe organizing trainingworkshops anddevel-
opment plans, especially for new employees. Making jobs more fun can also decrease the
chancesthatemployeesfeeldissatisfiedwiththeirjob(Luthans,2011).
Differencesinjobsatisfactionaccordingtoseveraldemographiccharacteristicswereofinter-
est forseveralresearchers.For instance,studiesonthedifferencesduetothegenderofthe
respondents have yielded controversial results. Thus,many researchers have not found the
differencestobesignificantbetweenmenandwomen(Burkeetal.,2008;Civilidag&Sargin,
2013;Civilidag,2014).However,therewassomeevidencethatwomenreportedoverallhigher
jobsatisfactionthanmen(Al-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010).
SanerandEyüpoğlu(2013)intheirresearchonjobsatisfactionamongacademicshavefound
thatmarriedrespondentsindicatehighersatisfactionthanunmarriedones.However,Azimet
al.(2013)havenotfoundanysignificantdifferencesinjobsatisfactionduetothemaritalsta-
tus.
Ageprovedtohavesignificantinfluenceonthejobsatisfactioninsomeresearchpapers.Thus,
middle-aged employees (36-45 years old) reported more job satisfaction than the younger
adults (Chandraiah et al., 2003; Al-Ababneh& Lockwood, 2010). The lowest job satisfaction
levelswerereportedbytheemployeesunder25yearsold(Al-Ababneh&Lockwood,2010).
Intermsofeducation,aresearchbyAl-AbabnehandLockwood(2010)hasfoundthatemploy-
ees holding a degree are significantlymore satisfiedwith their job then the oneswithout a
degree.However,therehavebeenresearchers,whofoundeducationtoeitherhavenegative
influenceon the job satisfaction (Rogers, 1991, citedbyBilgic, 1998), orno significant influ-
enceatall(Bilgic,1998).
Studiesoneffectsofparenthoodonjobsatisfactionofemployeesdidnotcometoacommon
conclusion.Someresearchershavefoundthathavingchildrendoesnotaffectjobsatisfaction
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(Forgionne&Peeters,1982,citedbyBilgic,1998),whileothershaveconcludedthatnumberof
childrennegativelyinfluencesjobsatisfaction(Bilgic,1998).
Ithasalreadybeenmentionedbefore,that jobsatisfactioncanbe influencedbytheoccupa-
tionalstress.Theinterrelationsbetweenthesetwoimportantaspectsofworkhavebeenofa
great interestofmanyscientists.Thus, ithasbeen found that stressatworkhas strongand
negative correlation with job satisfaction in different industries (Richardson & Burke, 1991;
Cavanaughetal.,2000;Rizwanetal.,2014;Xiangetal.,2014).Researchconductedinthehos-
pitality sectorhas foundsuchstressorsas interpersonal tensionsand roleambiguity tohave
significantnegativecorrelationwithjobsatisfaction(Yang,2010).
2.4 Employeeloyalty
Employeeloyaltycanbedefinedasa“psychologicalattachmentorcommitmenttotheorgani-
zation” (Wan, 2012, p. 2). It arises form the increased job satisfaction and further develops
intothesenseofcommitmentandemotionalattitudetowardsthecompany.Aloyalemployee
ismorelikelytoworkefficientlytowardstheorganizationalgoalsanddemonstrateproductivi-
tyandcustomerorientation(Wan,2012).
However,themoderndefinitionofemployeeloyaltyisrathercomplexandhassteppedaway
from the traditional understating of loyalty as a “lifetime relationshipwith a particular em-
ployer”(Wan,2012,p.3).Nowadays,a longertenurewithanemployerdoesnotnecessarily
meanemployee loyalty.For instance,manyemployeesclaimthattheyarestayingatcurrent
jobbecausetheyfeelobligedtostay(34%),theybelieveitwouldbedifficulttoleave(41%),or
becausetheyareafraidofnotbeingabletofindanotherjob(27%)(Wan,2012).Thenumbers
indicatethatasignificantnumberofemployeesarestayingwiththeircurrentemployerrather
outofnecessitythanloyalty.
Thelatestinvestigationsonemployeeloyaltyaroundtheworldshowcontradictingresultson
thelevelsofemployeeloyalty.Ontheonehand,theinternationalsurveyonemployeeloyalty
conductedbyManpowerGroup(2002)confirmsthattheemployee loyalty isgrowingallover
theworld, although it varies across geographical locations and demographic groups. For in-
stance, the highest loyalty levelswere observed inMexico, theNetherlands and theUnited
States,whereasthelowestloyaltylevelswerereportedinJapanandItaly. Intermsofdemo-
graphiccharacteristics, ithasbeenfoundthatwomen(76%)aremoreloyaltowardtheirem-
ployer thanmen (68%) (ManpowerGroup,2002).On theotherhand, researchconductedby
NextGenerationConsulting, Inc. (2002,citedbyWan,2012)suggeststhat jobrotationshave
alreadybecomeanormandbytheageof32employeeshavehadontheaverageninejobs.
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ThereportofWalkerEmployeeRelationsBenchmark1999(Wan,2012)hasidentifiedthat33%
of employees arenot committed to the companyandareplanning to leavewithin thenext
twoyears.Themainreasonsfordecreasedloyaltyandintentionstoleavetheorganizationare
“lackofmeaning,lackofefficacy,lackofvalues,lackofpersonalgrowthandlackofcommuni-
ty”(Wan,2012,p.4).
Employeeloyaltyisanimportantfactorfortheorganizations,especiallyintheserviceindustry.
Therehasbeenscientificevidencethatemployeeloyaltypositivelyinfluencescustomerloyal-
ty,whichinturnincreasesrevenuesforthecompany(Ruccietal.,1998,citedbyWan,2012).
The service-profit chain concept, developed byHeskett et al. (1994), found the relationship
betweensuchfactorsasprofitability,customerloyalty,andemployeesatisfaction,loyalty,and
productivity.AsitcanbeseeninFigure3,inordertohavesatisfied,andthusloyal,customers,
thevalueoftheserviceprovidedshouldbemeaningful.Thiscanbeachievedwiththehelpof
thesatisfiedandthusproductiveandloyalemployees.Thisconceptonceagaindemonstrates
thatsatisfactionoftheemployeesisdirectlyandstronglycorrelatedwiththeirloyalty(Heskett
etal.,1994).
FIGURE3THELINKSINTHESERVICE-PROFITCHAIN(HESKETTETAL.,1994)
Therehavebeenmanystudiesontheantecedentsoftheemployeeloyaltyandorganizational
commitment.Ofcourse,monetary rewards, sufficientand fairwages,andbenefitsare influ-
encing loyaltyoftheemployees.But ithasbeenprovedthatthereareother,non-monetary,
factors that are more critical and should not be underestimated. For instance, work-family
balanceandmanagementacknowledgingthesignificanceofpersonalandfamilylifearesome
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oftheessentialfactorscontributingtoemployeeloyalty(Wan,2012).Onthecontrary,work-
familyconflictisarecognizedproblemthathasbeenoftenprovedtohavehighimpactonem-
ployee turnover, poormorale, decreasedperformance and commitment (Zhao et al., 2011).
ResearchconductedbyKaratepeandUludag (2008) similarlyconfirms the fact that frontline
hotelemployees’ tendency to leave the job is significantlyandpositivelycorrelatedwith the
conflictsrelatedtoworkandfamilyimbalance.
Another important factor influencingemployee loyaltymentioned inmany studies isperfor-
manceappraisalandfeedback(Jawahar,2006;Wan,2012).Notonlyfair,objective,andclear
evaluationofemployee’sperformancecaninfluencetheloyalty(Wan,2012),butitalsoplaysa
significantroleintherelationshipbetweenemployeeloyaltyandsatisfaction(Jawahar,2006).
Furthermore, relationships with supervisors and managers are of importance for employee
loyalty.Qualityofsupportandsupervision,strongleadership,effectivemanagement,appreci-
ation and positive attitude from the supervisors lead to higher levels of employee loyalty
(Locke,1976;ManpowerGroup,2002;Wan,2012).Amongotherdriversforemployeeloyalty
aretheopportunitiesforpersonalgrowth,appropriateskillstraining,theorganizationsatisfy-
ing the needs of the customers or the society (Wan, 2012), good teamwork, trustworthy
brand,varietyandpersonalinterestinthejob(ManpowerGroup,2002).
Servicesectoremployeesreported‘openandhonestcommunication’asoneofthemost im-
portantfactorsfortheirloyalty(ManpowerGroup2002).Otherreasonsforhigherstaffturno-
veridentifiedbythehotelemployeesinthestudyconductedbyFallonandRutherford(2010,
p.454)are:“treatmentbysuperiors,amountofworkhours,jobpressure,scheduling,training,
fringebenefitpackages,betteropportunitieselsewhere,andphysicaldemandofthejob”.
Admittedly, therehavenotbeenmanystudies thatexplored the influenceofdemographical
groups on the employee loyalty. However, several studies have included this aspect in the
framework.Thus,as itwasalreadymentionedabove,womentendtoshowmore loyalty to-
wardsthejobthanmen(ManpowerGroup,2002;Sheikhy&Khademi,2015).Studyconducted
bySheikhyandKhademi(2015)hasnotfoundanysignificantdifferencesintheloyaltyofthe
employeesduetotheireducation.
Another studyhas indicated thatemployees in theage from55 to64are stayingwith their
current employer for much longer period of time (median of 9.3 years) compared to the
youngerworkersintheagefrom25to34(medianof2.9years)(Taylor,2006).However,long-
er tenuredoesnotnecessarilyequal tohigheremployee loyalty.As itwasdiscussedbefore,
theremightbeotherfactorsthatcancauselongertenure.
Theeffectsofhavingchildrenonthe loyaltyofanemployeearenotsufficientlystudied.The
researchbySibbaldetal.(2003)hasindicatedthatemployeeswithchildrenunder18yearsold
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were less likely to leave the company. Thismight be explainedby the bigger amount of re-
sponsibilitiesthatparentshave,however,doesnotnecessarilymeanthattheloyaltyishigh.
Morerecentstudieshavealsoshownthatorganizationalloyaltyhasverystrongnegativecor-
relation with turnover intentions (Wright & Kehoe, 2009; Bhatnagar, 2012; Mohsin et al.,
2015),meaningthatengagedand loyalworkersaremore likely tobesatisfiedwiththeir job
and therefore less exposed to the problem of absenteeism and turnover. Thus, it is of im-
portanceandinteresttohaveacloserlookattheturnoverissues.
Staffturnoverhasbeenatopicofinterestformanyresearchersinrecentyears.Employeesin
theserviceindustryareessentialforthesuccessofthecompanyastheyaredirectlyinvolved
inservicedeliveryprocessandcanaffectcustomersatisfaction.However,staffturnover,espe-
ciallyinthehospitalityindustryhasbecomeexceptionallyhighinthelastdecades(Yang,2010)
andisoftenaround200%to300%peryear(Demiretal.,2007,p.477).Theseaspectsmakeit
ofahighinterestandimportancetoinvestigatethereasonsunderlyingthephenomena.
Turnoverintentionisa“consciousanddeliberatewilfulnesstoleavetheorganization”(Tett&
Meyer,1993,p.262)anditrepresentstheindividual’sownsubjectivepossibilityorprobability
to leave the job in the nearest future (Halawi, 2014).Mobley et al. (1979, cited by Halawi,
2014) distinguished four cognitive stages of turnover intention: (1) Thinking of quitting; (2)
Planningtostayorleave;(3)Searchingforalternativecareer;(4)Adesiretoleavecurrentca-
reer.
PorterandSteers (1973) introducedoneof the firstmodels investigating theantecedentsof
turnover.Theyhavegroupedthefactorsaffectingtheturnoverasfollows:organization-wide,
immediateworkenvironment,jobcontent,andpersonalfactors.Organization-widefactorsare
payandpromotion,jobsecurity,andorganizationalsize.Whiletheimpactofthefirsttwofac-
torsontheturnoverisratherclearandisrepresentedbynegativecorrelation,thethirdone,
organizational size,didnot showsignificant impacton staff turnover,however, absenteeism
was considerably higher in larger companies (Porter& Steers, 1973). Immediatework envi-
ronmentfactorsincludesupervisorystyle,workunitsize,andthenatureofpeergroupinterac-
tion.Jobcontentfactorsarerepresentedbythegeneralnatureofwork,jobstressandrepeti-
tiveness, job autonomy and responsibility, and role ambiguity and conflict. The evidence
showed that turnover has positive correlation with such factors as job dissatisfaction, job
stress and repetitiveness, perceived lack of job autonomyor responsibility (Porter& Steers,
1973,Ahmadetal.,2012).Roleambiguityandroleconflictcaninfluenceturnoverintwoways:
first, theclarityofthe jobrequirementscanhelptohirepeoplewhoareappropriateforthe
jobandareawareoftheexpectationandtherewardsinthefirstplace,andsecondly,precise
roleperceptionscanhelptoadjusttheexpectationsofexistingemployeestorealisticlevels.In
bothcases,theexpectationsoftheemployeesaremore likelytobemetandthereforetheir
satisfaction is expected to be higher and decrease the turnover intentions (Porter& Steers,
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1973). Last but not least, personal factors that can affect staff turnover include age, tenure
with the organization, similarity of job and vocational interest, personality traits, and family
considerations. While age and the time spent in the organization are negatively correlated
withtheturnover,similaritybetweentheactualjobandthevocationalinterestshasapositive
relationshipwithemployee’swithdrawalintentions.Accordingtotheresearch,moreextreme
personalitytraitscanleadtoincreasedturnover.Marriageandfamilyconcernseffectonturn-
overdifferbygender.Thus,womentendtowithdrawduetofamilycircumstances,whilemen
donotshowanytendencyduetothisfactor(Porter&Steers,1973).
Thereisageneralnotionthatthelongeraworkerstaysintheorganization,themorevaluable
heorshebecomes(Iqbaletal.,2015).However,therearecertainresearcherswhopointout
thedichotomousunderstandingoftheturnoverprocessassuch.Wood(1992,p.95)mentions
thattherearetwoopinionsaboutthelabourturnover:“Thefirstseeslabourturnoverasprob-
lematicfortheindustry,thesecondregardshighturnoverasanunavoidableandevenneces-
saryanddesirablefeatureofhotelsandcatering”.Manley(1996)discussesbothviewsonthe
turnoverproblemandstressestheneedforbetterresearchandunderstandingofthetopicin
ordertobeabletomanagetheturnoverissueappropriately.
Oneofthemainargumentsfortheturnoverhavingpositiveeffectsisthevalueofmobilityfor
thestaff(Bowey,1976,citedbyDeery&Shaw,1997).Riley(1980)supportstheideathathigh-
er turnover facilitates the development of skills among the employees. However, it is im-
portant to understand that these arguments are coming from the employee’s point of view
ratherthanmanagement’sororganisation’s.Sullivan(2009)converselyarguesthatthereare
positiveeffectsofturnoverontheorganizationaswell.Hedistinguishesbetweenthreetypes
ofstaffturnoverintheorganizations:desirable,neutral,andundesirable.Desirableturnoveris
referredtolosingtheemployeeswithpoorperformance,irrelevantskills,ortendencytocre-
ateproblems.Neutralturnovermightimplysomereplacementcostsbutisstillconsideredto
beacceptable.Examplesofneutralturnoverwouldbeemployees leavingthepositionthat is
notdifficulttofillagain,theoneswhowerehiredforshort-terminthefirstplace,orworkers
quitting the jobdue to illnessorotherunpredictablecauses.Theworst typeof turnover for
thecompanyis,ofcourse,criticalorundesirableturnover.Thisturnoverincludestopemploy-
ees,whoarecriticalforperformingcertaintasks,providingveryspecificknowledgeorexperi-
ence,leadingormanagingtheteam.Ifanemployeehasbeenanessentialpartofthesucces-
sionplanorifheorsheleftthejobtogotothedirectcompetitor,theconsequencesforthe
organizationcanbesevere(Sullivan,2009).
Amongother potential negative consequences for the organization causedby high turnover
rates are decreased quality of services and goods, high replacement and recruitment costs,
andreducedproductivityandprofitability(Johnson,1981,citedbyDeery&Shaw,1997;Man-
ley,1996).Anothereffectofturnoverthatisparticularlyrelevantforthehotelindustryisthat
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loyalguestsarenotrecognizedbythenewstaff,andtheriskoftheguestsfollowingfavorite
stafftootherhotels(Manley,1996).
Previousresearchhasalsofoundevidencethatjobstresshasnegativecorrelationwithorgani-
zational commitment (Garg&Dhar, 2014).Althoughmoredecent researchon the interrela-
tionsbetweenoccupationalstressandemployeeloyaltyislacking,thereissufficientevidence
thatemployeesexperiencingmorestressarealsomorelikelytoleavetheorganization(House
&Rizzo,1972;Cavanaughetal.,2000;Bhattietal.,2010).
Itcanbeconcludedfromtheabovethatmostoftheantecedentsareusuallyundercontrolof
the management, meaning that once the drivers for employee loyalty are understood, the
appropriatestrategiescanhelptoincreaseloyaltyanddecreasetheturnoverintheorganiza-
tion.Wan(2012)hasgivenadecentoverviewofthepossiblemeasuresthatcanimprovethe
loyalty of the employees. For example, creating dialoguewith employees, listening to their
needs,providingconstructivefeedback,advocatingforthem,andhavingthebroaderperspec-
tiveoftheirliveswillhelptoovercomecommunicationandwork-lifebalanceissues.Establish-
inggoodworkingconditions,ensuringacompetitivesalary,providingpropertraining,empow-
eringandengagingemployeeswillcertainlyenhancetheirloyaltytothecompany(Wan,2012).
Nevertheless, thestrategiesshouldbechosenpurposefullyandmustaddressclearlydefined
problemsandobjectives.
2.5 Chainvsindependenthotels
Inordertobeabletoanswertheresearchquestionofthecurrentpaper,itisalsonecessaryto
giveanoverviewofwhatismeantbytheindependentandchainhotelsandwhatarethedif-
ferencesbetweenthem.Thedistinctionbetweenchainandindependenthotelisbasedonthe
principleofownershipandaffiliation.Thus,independenthotelismanagedindividuallyandhas
no affiliationwith other properties (Kasavana& Brooks, 2005, cited by Kapiki, 2013). Chain
hotelisonebelongingtoagroupofhotelswithasharedcommonbrandandacertaindegree
ofcommonmanagement(Becerraetal.,2016).Chainaffiliationoptionsincludemanagement
contracts,franchises,andreferralgroups(Kasavana&Brooks,2005,citedbyKapiki,2013).
Belongingtoahotelchaincanhavecertainbenefitsforthehotel.Firstofall,positiveeffectsof
belongingto thehotelchainarereflected in the financialperformancesandhighercompeti-
tivenessinthemarket(Becerraetal.,2016).Researchhasshownthatchainhotelshavelower
failureratesthrougheconomiesofscaleandtransferofknowledgewithinthechain(Ingram&
Baum,1997,citedbyBecerraetal.,2016).
However,belonging toa chain canbevery costly fora company,e.g. costsofmaintaininga
franchise represent6-8%ormoreof the revenue (Kapiki, 2013).Besides, somestudieshave
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not indicated significant differences in revenue or performance between independent and
chainhotels(Becerraetal.,2016).Moreover,astudyconductedbyO’NeillandCarlbäck(2011)
hasstatedthatwhilechainhotelshavehigheroccupancyrates,independentpropertiesbene-
fitfromhigheraveragedailyratesandrevenuesperavailableroom.Aresearchconductedby
Kapiki(2013)hasconcludedthat,forinstance,theindependenthotelsinGreeceperformcon-
siderablybetterthanthechainones.So,forcertaintypesofhotels,dependingontheirmarket
positioning and segmentation, it is more advantageous to operate independently (Raleigh,
1999,citedbyKapiki,2013).
Mostofthestudiesconductedtocomparethechainandindependenthotelswerefocusingon
their performance, revenues, or competition (Kapiki, 2013; Becerra et al., 2016). However,
littleresearchhasbeendonetoevaluateandcomparetwotypesofhotelsintermsofrather
humanrecoursesandorganizationalbehaviourissues,suchasoccupationalstress,jobsatisfac-
tion,andemployeeloyalty.Althoughthesetopicsarewellcoveredbythestudieswithrespect
tothehospitalityindustryasawhole,thereisacertainlackofcomparativeresearchdonein
thisarea.LoandLam(2005) intheirstudyinvestigatedtheoccupationalstressformtheem-
ploymentrelationsperspectiveanddidthisbycomparinganindividualandachainhotel.The
resultsof theperceivedoccupational stressby theemployeeswerequite similar,withchain
hotelemployeesfacingslightlyhigherlevelsofstress(Lo&Lamm,2005).However, itcannot
be reliably concluded that thedifferencesbetween the twohotels are causedby thediffer-
enceintheownership.Consequently,furtherresearchonthisparticulartopicisneeded.
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3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter describes themethodology that has beenused for testing the hypotheses pre-
sentedintheintroduction.Theaimofthispaperistoanalysethedifferencesbetweenchain
andindependenthotelsintheoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyalty.The
investigationofthesefactorsfromdifferentpointsofviewisalsooneoftheobjectivesofthis
research. The study addresses the correlations betweenoccupational stress, job satisfaction
and employee loyalty in both hotels. Further, all variables are also tested on the significant
differences based on various demographic characteristics. Last but not least, the significant
differencesbetweenthehotelsare tested.Followingsectionsgiveamoredetailedoverview
onthemethodologyusedinthisresearch.
3.2 Selectionofmethodology
Duetotheexploratorynatureofthecurrentresearch,aquantitativecomparativecasestudy
method is selected. Case study is a detailed analysis of specific social settings or its certain
aspects(Black&Champion,1976,citedbyPizam,1994).Yin(2009)statesthatcasestudyisan
empiricalmethod,whichthoroughlyanalysesacontemporaryphenomenonwithinitsreal-life
context. Case studymethodology is widely used in tourism and hospitality related research
(Beeton,2005).Takingintoconsiderationthecomplexityofthisfield, it is impossibletohave
oneappropriatemethodology for the research; therefore, thecombinationsofmethodsand
differentalternativesaresoughtfor.
Casestudymethodischosenforthecurrentresearchduetoseveralreasons.Oneofthemain
advantagesofthecasestudymethodologyisthatitallowsflexibilityinusingdifferentkindsof
data-collection(Black&Champion,1976,citedbyPizam,1994).Moreover,casestudymeth-
odologyallowsnotonlytoperformanexploratorypartoftheinvestigation,butalsotoinclude
interpretation,reasoningandlogic,andthushelptogetplace-specificconceptualvisionsthat
canbefurthertestedforwiderapplicabilityeitherbydoingadditionalcasestudiesorbyapply-
ingothertypesofmethodology(Beeton,2005).Inotherwords,casestudiescanhelptocollect
background informationand togenerate furtherhypotheses (Pizam,1994).Thecomparative
natureofthecurrentcasestudymethod,therefore,givesanopportunityforeducingandde-
finingnewdimensionsanddissimilaritiesintheinvestigatedtopic.
Asmentionedbefore, case study approaches arewidely used in the tourismandhospitality
research.Veal (1992)distinguishesbetweendifferent typesofcasestudiesperformed in the
tourism sector. For instance, case studies can consist of single individuals (e.g. Rapoport &
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Rapoport, 1975),whole countries (e.g.Williams& Shaw, 1988), or companies and organiza-
tions(e.g.Harris&Leiper,1995).Luetal.(2013)haveconductedacasestudyresearchonthe
businesshotelchains.LoandLamm(2005)intheirresearchonoccupationalstressinthehos-
pitality industryhavechosenacomparativecasestudyanalysis,alsocomparingtwotypesof
hotels:chainandindividuallyowned.
3.3 Researchinstrument
Aquantitativeresearchmethod isusedforprimarydatacollection in this research.Apaper-
and-pencilself-administeredquestionnaire(Appendix1)techniqueischosenduetothenature
oftheresearchandthemeasurementscaleschosen.Inordertoensureanonymityandelimi-
nateinterviewerbias,standardizedquestionsaredesigned.
Thequestionnaireisdividedinto4sections.Thefirstone,BackgroundInformationpartisde-
signedinordertocollectdemographiccharacteristics,suchasgender,age,maritalstatus,ed-
ucation, number of children at home (if any), aswell as the position of an employee in the
hotel.Theother threeparts includequestions fromthescales thatwerechosen tomeasure
threevariablesanalyzedinthecurrentstudy,namelyoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,and
employeeloyalty.Themeasurementscalesarediscussedinthefollowingsections.
3.3.1 Occupationalstress
Occupational stress isdeterminedusing theGeneric JobStressQuestionnaire -GJSQ (NIOSH
GenericJobStressQuestionnaire,n.d),whichwasdevelopedwithinTheNationalInstitutefor
OccupationalSafetyandHealth(NIOSH)andbasedonframeworksproposedbyCaplanetal.
(1975),CooperandMarshall(1976),andHouse(1974)(RationaleforNIOSHGenericJobStress
Questionnaire,n.d.).Thequestionnaireisadaptedtothecurrentresearchgoalsandinterests.
TheQuestionnaire thoroughly covers various aspects of job, fromwhich the following parts
have been used: Conflict AtWork; Job Requirements; Mental Demands;Workload and Re-
sponsibility;YourJob;YourJobFuture(NIOSHGenericJobStressQuestionnaire,n.d).
ThefollowingeightoccupationalstressorsaremeasuredbymeansofadaptedNIOSHGeneric
JobStressQuestionnaire(n.d.):roleconflict(Cronbach’sα=0.82),roleambiguity(Cronbach’s
α=0.74;), intragroupconflict(Cronbach’sα=0.86), intergroupconflict(Cronbach’sα=0.85),
job future ambiguity (Cronbach’s α =0.65),workload (Cronbach’s α =0.85), responsibility for
people(Cronbach’sα=0.62),andmentaldemands(Cronbach’sα=0.75).Asgenerallyaccept-
edlevelofthereliabilityofmeasurementscales,representedbyCronbach’sα,variesbetween
0.70and0.95 (Tavakol&Dennick,2011), itcanbethat theallbutone jobstressor fulfil the
criteria. Intermsofvalidity,thescalesincludedintheNIOSHGJSQwerealreadychosenwith
theconditionofacceptablereliabilityandvalidity.Moreover,theNIOSHGJSQitselfwastested
andprovedtobereliableandvalid(Kazronianetal.,2013).
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Allquestionsaremeasuredonthebasisof5-pointLikertscaletoguaranteeconsistentresults.
Thequestionsaredesignedinsuchaway,thatafterreversingnecessaryitems,theaverageof
allitemswascomputedinordertopresenttheoverallstresslevelscoreforanindividual.The
higherthescore,thehigheristhestresslevel,withaminimumof1andamaximumof5.
3.3.2 Jobsatisfaction
In order tomeasure the job satisfaction, the questions covering this topic from the above-
mentionedNIOSHGenericStressQuestionnaire(n.d.)areadapted.Themeasuresweredevel-
opedbyCaplanetal.(1975)withCronbach’sα=0.83,whichrepresentstheacceptablelevelof
reliability (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011). Again, after reversing the scores, the average score is
computed,withthefollowingmeaning:thehigherthescoreis,thehigherthejobsatisfaction
is,withaminimumof1andamaximumof3.
3.3.3 Employeeloyalty
Employee loyalty isanalysedusingtheAntecedentsofEmployeeLoyaltyScale,developedby
ChenandWallace(2011)forinvestigatingthefactorsinfluencingemployeeloyalty.Thisscale
consistsof21 itemsin5variousfactors,whicharemeasuredona5-pointLikertscale.The5
factors representedareas follows:Commitment toManagersandCompany (Cronbach’sα=
0.74), JobConditions (Cronbach’sα=0.73), PersonalBenefits (Cronbach’sα=0.70), Service
ElementandLocation(Cronbach’sα=0.69),andCareerandStatus(Cronbach’sα=0.78)(Chen
&Wallace,2011).Again,thismeasurementscalefactorscanbeconsideredreliable,withonly
onealphaslightlylowerthan0.70(Tavakol&Dennick,2011).
3.4 Selectionofstudysite
Theempiricaldatawascollected inthe latespring,simultaneously inbothhotels inorderto
avoidpotentialbiasduetothedifferentoccupancy.Moreover,sincethehighseasonfortour-
ismwasalreadystarting,bothhotelshaveindicatedgoodoccupancyrates,whichmeansthat
theemployeeswerealreadyexposedtomoredemanding jobconditions.Thequestionnaires
weredistributedamongtheemployeesfromcertaindepartments(Housekeeping,FrontOffice,
Food&Beverage,Reservations,andSalesdepartments)intwohotels,whichagreedtopartici-
pate in theresearch.Thehotelsarebothsituated inonecitycenter inRussia,belongtothe
samehotelcategory(fourstars),however,therearecertaindifferences intheorganizational
profile of the twohotels. Table 3 gives an overviewof the important details about the two
hotelsinvolvedinthecurrentstudy.HotelAisindependentlyownedandoperated,whileHo-
telBbelongstotheinternationalhotelchain.AsitcanbeseenfromTable3,thehotelshave
notabledifferenceinthenumberofrooms.However,theroomstoemployeeratiosarevery
similar,whichgivessomecomparisonbase.
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HotelA HotelB
Typeofbusiness Independenthotel Chainhotel
Ageofbusiness 10years 2years
Numberofrooms 245 120
Numberofemployees Total: 203 Total: 102
Housekeeping 37 Housekeeping 20
FrontOffice: 20 FrontOffice: 11
Food&Bever-
age:
74 Food&Bever-
age:
47
Reservations: 7 Reservations: 3
Sales: 4 Sales: 4
Rooms to employee
ratio
1.21 1.17
Restaurant/Bar +/+ +/+
Meetingfacilities + +
TABLE3CHARACTERISTICSOFTHECASESTUDYHOTELS
3.5 Dataanalysis
Thecurrentstudyrepresentsacorrelationalresearchmethod–thevariablesaremeasuredin
orderto identifypotentialrelationshipsbetweenthem.SPSSsoftware,version21 isusedfor
identification of correlations. First, the datasets are examined using the histogram and the
Kolmogorov-Smirnovtestinordertoevaluatethedistributiononnormality.Ifthenormaldis-
tribution is proved, the t-test is used to measure the two parametric independent groups.
However, if thenormaldistribution is violated,Mann-WhitneyU-Test is chosen for thenon-
parametric independent groups comparison. If the comparison is done betweenmore than
twoindependentgroups,thenparametricANOVAtestornon-parametricKruskal-WallisH-test
isused.Finally,theresultswiththerespecttothesignificanceandthedirectionofthecorrela-
tionsareanalysed.
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4 RESULTS
Theempiricalresultsofthepresentstudyarepresentedinthissection.First,thegeneralde-
scriptionofthesampleisgiven,includingresponserateanddemographiccharacteristics(Ap-
pendix2).Further,theanalysisofthehypothesesisdemonstratedanddiscussed.Thecorrela-
tionsanddescriptivestatisticsarecarriedoutusingtheSPSSsoftware,version21.
4.1 Descriptionofthesample
Asitwasalreadymentionedbefore,thecurrentstudyisfocusedonvariousanalysesofoccu-
pationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltyamongemployeesfromtwohotelsand
fromfollowingdepartments:housekeeping,frontoffice,foodandbeverage,reservations,and
sales. InHotelA the total of 142questionnairesweredistributed, and97of thosewere re-
turnedcompleted, resulting ina response rateof68.3%. InHotelB,85questionnaireswere
distributed,and61ofthosewerecompletedandreturned,givingaresponserateof71.8%.
AsitcanbeseenfromtheFigure4,femaleemployeesrepresentthemajorityofthesamplein
both hotels, although the proportions are similar across the two hotels. Thus, Hotel A has
70.1%ofwomenand29.9%ofmen,comparedto67.2%womenand32.8%meninHotelB.
FIGURE4GENDEROFRESPONDENTSINTHECASEHOTELS
In termsofage,as it canbe seen fromtheFigure5, themajorityof respondents fromboth
hotels arebetween25and34yearsold.However,HotelAhasa slightlybigger shareof re-
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spondentsat this age. Theotheragegroupsaremoreequallydistributed inHotelB than in
HotelA.
FIGURE5AGEOFRESPONDENTSINTHECASEHOTELS
Intermsofeducation,asitcanbeseenfromFigure6,theeducationlevelvariesconsiderably
betweenthetwohotels.WhileinHotelAthemajorityofrespondentsfinishedhighschool,in
HotelBslightlymoreemployeesfromthesamplegraduatedfromcollege.
FIGURE6EMPLOYEES'EDUCATIONINTHECASEHOTELS
Intermsofmaritalstatus,therearesomenoteworthydifferencesobservedbetweentheho-
telsaswell.ItcanbeseeninFigure7,thatwhileHotelAhasthebiggestproportionofsingle
employees (40.21%),most of the respondents fromHotel B aremarried (47.54%). A higher
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proportionofyoungerrespondentsinHotelAmightexplainsuchadifference:87.62%ofem-
ployeesareunder34yearsold,comparedto65.57%intheHotelB.
FIGURE7EMPLOYEES'MARITALSTATUSINTHECASEHOTELS
Figure 8 demonstrates the percentages of employees in each hotel with respect to their
parenthoodstatus.Thus,itcanbeseenthatthemajorityoftheemployeesinHotelA(59.79%)
doesnothavechildren,whilethemajorityofrespondentsinHotelB(57.38%)hasatleastone
childathome.
FIGURE8PARENTHOODSTATUSESOFEMPLOYEESINTHECASEHOTELS
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4.2 Testingthehypotheses
Thissectionrepresentstheanalysisofthehypothesesthatwereproposedintheintroduction.
First,thecorrelationsbetweenoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltyare
analysedineachcasehotel.Then,thesamefactorsareexaminedintermsofdifferencesdue
tothedemographicgroupsineachofthehotels.Finally,thedifferencesinoccupationalstress,
jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltybetweenthetwocasestudyhotelsareinvestigated.
4.2.1 Correlationsbetweenoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloy-
alty
Interestingly,theresultsofcorrelationanalysisbetweenthetreevariableswereslightlydiffer-
entforthetwohotels.Table4representstheresultsofthecorrelationsamongthevariablesin
Hotel A,whereas Table 5 – in Hotel B. Findings rejectedH1 in both hotels, suggesting that
there is a significant negative correlation between occupational stress and job satisfaction
among employees. Thus, the higher occupational stress level is, the lower job satisfaction
amongemployees.However,onehastoadmitthatthestrengthofcorrelationinbothhotelsis
ratherweak (HotelA: correlation coefficient = -0.303; p = 0.003<0.01;Hotel B: correlation
coefficient=-0.263,p=0.041<0.05).Thisfindingsupportstheliteratureonthepreviousre-
searchpapersthatoccupationalstressnegativelyinfluencesthejobsatisfaction(Richardson&
Burke,1991;Cavanaughetal.,2000;Rizwanetal.,2014).
TABLE4CORRELATIONSBETWEENOCCUPATIONALSTRESS,JOBSATISFACTION,ANDEMPLOYEELOYALTYINHOTELA
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TABLE5CORRELATIONSBETWEENOCCUPATIONALSTRESS,JOBSATISFACTION,ANDEMPLOYEELOYALTYINHOTELB
H2couldonlyberejectedbytheresultsformHotelA,wherestresslevelhasratherweak,but
significant negative correlation with employee loyalty (correlation coefficient = -0.240; p =
0.018<0.05),meaningthatthemorestress isexperiencedbyanemployee,thelowerhisor
herloyaltytotheorganizationis.TheresultsonthishypothesisinHotelBarenotsignificant(p
=0.147>0.05).Thus,H2forHotelBissupported.
Employee loyaltyand jobsatisfactionvariableshaveshownsignificantcorrelationonly inthe
Hotel B, with amoderate positive relationship (correlation coefficient = 0.550; p = 0.000 <
0.01).H3isthereforerejected,whichmeansthatthemoresatisfiedtheemployeesinHotelB
are,themoreloyaltheyfeeltowardstheirjob.However,H3forHotelAhastobesupported,
asthecorrelationisnotsignificant(p=0.089>0.05).
4.2.2 Moderatingroleofgender
AfterrunningKolmogorov-Smirnovtestandobservingthehistograms,itcanbeconcludedthat
thegroupsarenotnormallydistributed;therefore,Mann-WhitneyU-testischosen.Aftertest-
ingall thevariableswith respect to thegenderno significantdifferencewas foundbetween
menandwomenintermsofoccupationalstressandjobsatisfactioninbothhotels(Appendix
3). Thus,H4aandH4bare supported. However,H4c in Hotel Awas rejected,meaning that
therearesignificantdifferences(p=0.000<0.05)betweenmenandwomenintermsoftheir
employee loyalty in the independent hotel. As can be seen from the Table 6,mean rank is
higherformalerespondents(67.10),whichmeansthatmaleemployeesinHotelAtendtobe
moreloyalthanfemale(41.28)employees.
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TABLE6DIFFERENCESINOCCUPATIONALSTRESS,JOBSATISFACTION,ANDEMPLOYEELOYALTYBETWEENMENANDWOMENIN
HOTELA
4.2.3 Moderatingroleofmaritalstatus
Normal distribution is proved to be not possible according to histograms and Kolmogorov-
Smirnov tests, thus, Kruskal-Wallis H-test for non-parametric independent groups is chosen.
There isnoevidenceofsignificantdifferences inoccupational stress, jobsatisfaction,orem-
ployeeloyaltyduetomaritalstatusinbothhotels(Appendix3).Therefore,allthreehypothe-
ses,H5a,H5b,andH5caresupported.
4.2.4 Moderatingroleofage
Kolmogorov-Smirnovtestsandhistogramsshowthatthegroupsarenotnormallydistributed.
Therefore, Kruskal-WallisH-test fornon-parametric groups is chosen. Kruskal-Wallis test has
shownsignificantdifferencesduetotheageofrespondents inoccupationalstress inHotelA
(Table7).However,inordertofindoutwhichagegroupssignificantlydifferfromeachother,
post-hoc test is done: pairwise Mann-Whitney tests with Bonferroni correction
(0.05/6=0.00833)forall6pairs.AsallMann-Whitneytestswerenotsignificant(p>0.00833),
itcanbeconcluded,thatnosignificantdifferencesexistacrosstheagegroups.Thus,H6afor
thebothhotelsissupported.
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46
TABLE7DIFFERENCES INOCCUPATIONALSTRESS, JOBSATISFACTION,ANDEMPLOYEELOYALTYDUETOTHEAGE INHOTELA
(KRUSKAL-WALLISTEST)
EmployeeloyaltyinHotelBsignificantlydiffersdependentontheageofrespondent(p=0.007
<0.05)accordingtotheKruskal-Wallistest(Table8).Nevertheless,post-hoctestisneeded,so
pairwiseMann-Whitney testswithBonferroni correction (0.05/6=0.00833) for all 6 pairs are
run.Allthesetestsarenotsignificant(p>0.00833),thusitcanbeconcluded,thatnosignifi-
cantdifferencesinemployeeloyaltyexistduetotheageinHotelB.Thus,H6cforbothhotels
issupportedaswell.
Jobsatisfactiondoesnotdifferwithrespecttotheageofrespondentsinbothhotels(Table7;
Table8).Therefore,H6bissupportedforbothhotels.
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47
TABLE8DIFFERENCES INOCCUPATIONALSTRESS, JOBSATISFACTION,ANDEMPLOYEELOYALTYDUETOTHEAGE INHOTELB
(KRUSKAL-WALLISTEST)
4.2.5 Moderatingroleofeducation
Groupssplitbyhighestlevelofeducationareprovedtonotbenormallydistributed,thusKrus-
kal-Wallistestischosentoanalyzethemoderatingroleofeducationinoccupationalstress,job
satisfaction, and employee loyalty. The results for Hotel A are not significant (Appendix 3).
ThusH7a,H7b,andH7caresupportedfortheindependenthotel.
However,Kruskal-WallistesthasshownsignificantresultsforallthreevariablesinHotelB(p<
0.05), as it can be seen in Table 9. Yet, the post-hoc test is still needed. Pairwise Mann-
Whitney tests with Bonferroni correction (0.05/10=0.005) are run to verify the differences
betweenall5groups.
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48
TABLE 9 DIFFERENCES IN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, JOB SATISFACTION, AND EMPLOYEE LOYALTY DUE TO THE EDUCATION IN
HOTELB(KRUSKAL-WALLISTEST)
Theresultsindicatethatcertainsignificantdifferencesbetweengroupshavebeenfound.Thus,
highschoolgraduates(meanrank=15.62)areexperiencingmoreworkrelatedstressthanem-
ployeeswithabachelor’sdegree(meanrank=4.60).AsitcanbeseeninTable10,thisrelation-
shipissignificant(p=0.004<0.005).
TABLE10OCCUPATIONALSTRESSDIFFERENCESBETWEENHIGHSCHOOLANDBACHELORGRADUATESINHOTELB
RespondentswithBachelor’sdegreearealsosignificantlymore loyalandmoresatisfiedwith
their jobthantheCollegegraduates.Table11illustratesthedifferencesinloyalty(p=0.001<
0.005),whereasTable12demonstratesthedissimilaritiesinjobsatisfaction(p=0.004<0.005).
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Thedifferencesacrossothergroupshavenotbeenprovedsignificant.Thus,H7a,H7b,andH7c
canbepartiallyrejectedfortheHotelB.
TABLE11EMPLOYEELOYALTYDIFFERENCESBETWEENCOLLEGEANDBACHELORGRADUATESINHOTELB
TABLE12JOBSATISFACTIONDIFFERENCESBETWEENCOLLEGEANDBACHELORGRADUATESINHOTELB
4.2.6 Moderatingroleofparenthood
Normal distribution in the groups is proved to be not possible according to histograms and
Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests, thus, Mann-Whitney U-test for non-parametric independent
groupsischosen.Thedifferencesinthethreevariablesduetotheparenthoodstatusforboth
casestudyhotelshavebeenfoundnotsignificant(Appendix3).Therefore,theH8a,H8b,and
H8caresupported.
4.2.7 Differencesinoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltybe-
tweenindependentandchainhotels
Inordertohaveanoverviewonthegeneralresultsfrombothhotels,descriptivestatisticsare
used.Thus,Table13describeswhatarethemean,medians,maximumandminimumvaluesof
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50
respective variables are.When looking at the descriptive data, it is necessary to remember
thatstressand loyaltyweremeasuredonthe5-pointLikertscale, therefore,5wouldbethe
maximumofstressaswellasofloyalty.Whereas,themaximumvalueforjobsatisfactionis3.
TABLE 13DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, JOB SATISFACTION, AND EMPLOYEE LOYALTY IN CASE STUDY
HOTELS
First,thetwohotelsweretestedonnormaldistributionwiththehelpofhistogramsandKol-
mogorov-Smirnov tests.Occupational stressandemployee loyaltyvariablesseemtobeboth
normally distributed in two hotels according to the histograms (Appendix 3). However, job
satisfactionseemstobenotnormallydistributed.Inordertocheckthevisualperception,Kol-
mogorov-Smirnovtestsarerun.TheresultsarerepresentedinTable14.Kolmogorov-Smirnov
tests do not show any violations of the normal distribution (Occupational stress: p=0.420 >
0.05,p=0.158>0.05;Employeeloyalty:p=0.843>0.05;p=0.894>0.05).Thus,t-testforcom-
paringparametric independentgroupsischosenforthesevariables.Sincenormalityassump-
tion is significantly violated for job satisfaction (p=0.024 < 0.05, p=0.033 < 0.05), Mann-
WhitneyU-testisused.
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51
TABLE14KOLMOGOROV-SMIRNOVTESTRESULTSFOROCCUPATIONALSTRESS, JOBSATISFACTION,ANDEMPLOYEELOYALTY
ACROSSTWOCASESTUDYHOTELS
Table 15 represents the results ofMann-Whitney Test on differences in job satisfaction be-
tweenhotels.Itcanbeseen,thattheoutcomeisnotstatisticallysignificant(p=0.291>0.05),
meaning that there are no significant differences between job satisfaction reported by the
employees.Thus,H10issupported
TABLE15MANN-WHITNEYTESTRESULTSONDIFFERENCESINJOBSATISFACITONBETWEENCASESTUDYHOTELS
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However,theT-Testsfortheothertwovariableshaveshownsignificantresults.Table16indi-
cates that according to themeans, occupational stress level amongemployees inHotelA is
significantlyhigherthaninHotelB(p=0.000<0.05).Therefore,H9isrejected.
TABLE16T-TESTRESULTSONDIFFERENCESINOCCUPATIONALSTRESSBETWEENCASESTUDYHOTELS
AscanbeseeninTable17,theextentofemployees’loyaltysignificantlydiffersacrossthetwo
hotels (p=0.000 < 0.05).More precisely, according to themeans, employees in Hotel B are
moreloyalthaninHotelA.Thus,H11isrejected.
TABLE17T-TESTRESULTSONDIFFERENCESINEMPLOYEELOYALTYBETWEENCASESTUDYHOTELS
4.3 Conclusion
Thischapterpresentedthemainresultsofthecurrentresearch.Thehypothesesformulatedto
addresstheresearchquestionsweretestedandtherelationshipswerepointedout.Table18
givesanoverviewoftheresultsonhypotheses,whethertheyhavebeenrejectedorsupported
forbothcasestudyhotels.Discussionoftheresultsandtheconclusionsarepresentedinthe
nextchapter.
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53
HotelA HotelB
Supported Rejected Supported Rejected
H1 X X
H2 X X
H3 X X
H4a X X
H4b X X
H4c X X
H5a X X
H5b X X
H5c X X
H6a X X
H6b X X
H6c X X
H7a X X
H7b X X
H7c X X
H8a X X
H8b X X
H8c X X
H9 Rejected
H10 Supported
H11 Rejected
TABLE18RESULTSOFHYPOTESESTESTING
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54
5 DISCUSSIONANDCONCLUSION
This chapter is focusedon thediscussionof theempirical results of current study. Thus, re-
searchquestionsthatwereposedintheintroductionareaddressedonceagaintosummarize
theresultsanddrawconclusions.Further,limitationstothisstudy,potentialfurtherresearch
andoverallconclusionarepresented.
5.1 Interpretationofresults
This section discusses the empirical research results of the current study. This is done by
groupingtheoutcomesaccordingtotheresearchquestionsposedinthebeginningofthere-
search.Results onhypotheses testing arediscussed in corresponding researchquestion sec-
tion.
5.1.1 RQ1:What are the relationships betweenoccupational stress, job satisfac-
tion,andemployeeloyaltyinchainhotelandindependenthotel?
The researchquestionwasaddressedby thehypotheses1,2, and3.Hypothesis1hasbeen
rejected,meaningthatbothcasehotelspresentedweak,butsignificantnegativecorrelations
between the two variables. This outcome has supported the existing literature stating that
thereisanegativerelationshipbetweenoccupationalstressandjobsatisfaction(Richardson&
Burke,1991;Cavanaughetal.,2000;Rizwanetal.,2014). Indeed,negativeconsequencesof
hindrance-related occupational stress on the employee’s physiological and psychological
healthcannotbeunderestimated(Cavanaughetal.,2000;Luthans,2011).Jobsatisfaction,in
turn, is a “pleasurable emotional state” (Locke, 1969, p. 317). Thus, it is not surprising that
these twovariablesarenegatively correlated. It ishard to imagine thatanemployeewho is
exposedtostrongorcontinuousstresscanfeelsatisfactionwithhisorherwork.
Hypotheses2and3havebeenrejectedbasedontheresultsfromonlyoneofthetwohotels.
Thus,therelationshipbetweenoccupationalstressandemployeeloyaltyinHotelAwassignif-
icantlynegative.Thereislackofresearchsupportingorcontradictingthisoutcome,however,
the evidence shows that stressed employees have stronger intention to leave the company
(Cavanaughetal.,2000;Bhattietal.,2010).
Hypothesis3,statingthatthereisnosignificantcorrelationbetweenemployeeloyaltyandjob
satisfaction,hasbeenrejectedinthecaseofHotelB.Thus,itcanbeconcludedthatmoresat-
isfiedemployeesinHotelBtendtobemoreloyal.Thisfindingsupportstheexistingliterature
that claims that job satisfaction and employee loyalty have a positive relationship (LaLopa,
1997;Abdullahetal.,2009).Moreover,itisarguedthatemployeeloyaltyactuallyarisesfrom
theincreasedsatisfaction(Wan,2012).Thefactthathypotheses2and3wereonlyrejectedby
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55
oneofthehotelsmightbeattributedtothelimitationsofthestudy, i.e.rathersmallsample
size.
5.1.2 RQ 2: Which demographic characteristics play moderating roles in occupa-
tionalstress, jobsatisfaction,andemployee loyalty inchainhoteland inde-
pendenthotel?
Asitcanbeseenfromtheliteraturereview,researchershavenotreachedaconsensusonhow
occupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,andemployeeloyaltydifferamongdifferentdemographic
groups.Therefore,itwasalsointerestingtoexaminethemoderatingrolesofthesegroupson
chainandindependenthotels.
Moderatingroleofgenderhasbeenfoundtobenotsignificantforalmostallvariablesinboth
hotels,meaningthattherewasnosignificantdifferenceinoccupationalstress,jobsatisfaction,
oremployeeloyaltybetweenmenandwomen.Theonlyexceptionwastheloyaltyofmenin
HotelA,whichwassignificantlyhigher than theoneofwomen.However, this result contra-
dictsprevious research conductedbyManpowerGroup (2002).Nonetheless, it has tobead-
mittedthattheproportionofmaleandfemalerespondentsinthesampleswasnotequal,with
muchhigherrepresentationoffemaleemployees.Thisfactmighthavebeenapredetermining
factorfortheoutcome.
Maritalstatuswasfoundtohavenosignificantmoderatingeffectacrossalltestedvariablesin
bothhotels.Theseresultsarequitecontradictingtosomeofthepreviousstudies.Thus,there
is evidence thatmarriedemployeesareexperiencingmore stress (Kessler, 1979), but at the
sametimearemoresatisfiedthanunmarriedworkers(SanerandEyüpoğlu,2013).This isra-
ther surprising and unexpected fact, sincework stress and job satisfaction have been often
proved to have a negative correlation (Richardson & Burke, 1991; Cavanaugh et al., 2000;
Rizwanetal.,2014).However, therehavebeen researchpapers thathavenotdetectedany
relationshipbetweenjobsatisfactionandmaritalstatus.
Moderatingroleofagehas found littlesignificantsupport in thecurrent research.Thus,age
was found tobesignificantmoderator foroccupational stress in the independenthotel,and
for employee loyalty in the chain hotel.However, tests have shownno significant results in
termsof thedetectabledifferencesacross theagegroups.Mostprobably, thisphenomenon
canbeexplainedbyarathersmallsamplesize,whichwashighlyunderrepresentedbycertain
agegroups.
Educationwasdeterminedasafactorwithsignificantinfluenceonallthreevariables,butonly
inthechainhotel,andonlyacrosscertaingroups.Thus,employeeswithabachelor’sdegree
weresignificantlymoresatisfiedwithandloyaltotheirjob.Thisfactcontradictssomestudies
thathaveproveneducation tonothave any influenceonbothemployee loyalty (Sheikhy&
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56
Khademi, 2015) and job satisfaction (Bilgic, 1998). At the same time, these finding are sup-
ported by the study conducted by Al-Ababneh and Lockwood (2010), who also stated that
moreeducatedemployeesareusuallymoresatisfiedwiththeirjobs.Anotherfindinginterms
ofeducationisthatemployeeswhofinishedhighschoolwereexperiencingmoreoccupational
stressthanoneswithabachelor’sdegree.Eventhoughliteraturesuggeststhatmoreeducated
employeesareexposedtomorestress than leasteducated, ithasbeennotedthat this rela-
tionship is not linear. Thus, in order tomake valid conclusions, is necessary tohave amore
representativesamplewithratherequallydistributededucationlevelsamongrespondents.
Previousresearchonhowparentsdifferformnon-parentsintermsoftheirexposuretowork
stress,jobsatisfaction,andloyalty,wasquitecontradicting.Whileresearchershavenotcome
to a consensus on this topic, current study has not identified any significant influence of
parenthoodonthesevariables.
Toconclude,ithastobeadmittedthatcurrentresearchhasnotfoundsomestrongandsignif-
icant evidence about certain demographic groups and theirmoderating roles in employees’
occupational stress, job satisfaction, and loyalty. The differences between the two types of
hotelhavealsonotbeenapparent,whichcouldalsobecausedbyquiteasmallsamplesize.
However,sincepreviousresearchonthesetopicswasnotconsistentandsometimespresent-
edabsolutelycontradictoryresults,itisofinteresttocontinueresearchinthisareainorderto
getabetterunderstandingandamorecompletepictureofthesceneryofwork-relatedstress,
satisfaction,andloyalty.
5.1.3 RQ3:Are thereanydifferences inoccupational stress, job satisfaction, and
employeeloyaltybetweenchainandindependenthotels?
Differencesbetweenchainand independenthotelshavealwaysbeena topicof interestnot
onlyforresearchers,butalso,andmaybeevenmore,forthepractitioners.Intherecentyears,
theincreasedcompetitiononthemarketmakesitevenmorecrucialtoknowhowtogainthe
competitiveadvantage.Certainly,bothchainaffiliatedandindependenthotelshavetheirad-
vantagesanddisadvantages.Chainhotelscanbenefitfromthesharedknowledgeandexper-
tise,financialstability,andmarketingactivities(Ingram&Baum,1997,citedbyBecerraetal.,
2016; Becerra et al., 2016). However, it is a well-known fact that people are themost im-
portantassetintheserviceindustry.Thus,understandingthenatureofsuchimportantfactors
as occupational stress, job satisfaction, and employee loyalty can help not only in properly
managinghumanresources,butalsoinmakingtheworkplaceattractiveforthepotentialtal-
ents.Moreover,understandingsomedifferencesbetweenthechainandindependenthotelsin
termsofwhatdotheyofferasaworkplaceandwhateffects,ifany,mighttherebeonyouas
anemployee.
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57
TheresultsofthisstudyrejectHypothesis9andsuggestthatthereisasignificantdifferencein
occupationalstress levelandemployees’ loyaltybetweentheindependentandthechainho-
tel.Theoutcomeofthestatisticalresearchshowsthatemployeesintheindependenthotelare
significantlymorestressedthantheonesinthechainhotel.Thiscouldbeexplainedbyvariety
of factors.For instance,hotelchainsusuallyhavequitestrictandwell-definedorganizational
structure,with clear rolesacrossalldepartments.Moreover,working ina relatively recently
openedhotelmightinducemorechallenge-relatedstressorswithpositiveeffects(Cavanaugh
etal.,2000)fortheemployees,whilemanagementmightbemoreattentiveandresponsiveto
thenewideas,suggestions,andtheoverallsatisfactionoftheiremployees.Ontheotherhand,
independenthotelmighthaveamorehierarchicalorganizationalstructure,especiallyconsid-
eringthatitisonthemarketforalready10yearsandtheorganizationalculturemightbefairly
outdated.Themanagement’svisionandevaluationofcertainaspectsofworkcanbeaffected
bytheacquiredhabitofseeingtheminthesamelightforalongertime.Thiscanresultinvi-
ciouscircleofgettingused to theexistingproblem,notundertakingactions to solve it, thus
experiencemorestress,andgetintoneworthesameissuesagain.
Hypothesis11hasbeen rejectedaswell,meaning that thedifference inemployee loyalty in
twohotelsweresignificant.Thesecouldalsobeexplainedbyavarietyoffactors.Bothmone-
taryandnon-monetaryrewardshavebeenprovedtohaveinfluenceontheemployeeloyalty
(Wan,2012),thusemployeesinthechainhotelmightbeinamoreadvantageouspositionin
theseterms.Forinstance,someemployeesmightvaluenotonlythefeelingofbelongingtoa
world-knownbrandgroup,butalsothebenefitsofferedtotheemployeesbythehotelchain,
forinstance,specialoffers,orparticularroomratesforemployees,familiesandfriends.
Lastbutnotleast,therewasnosignificantdifferencefoundinthejobsatisfactionoftheem-
ployeesformthetwohotels.However,onehastoadmit,thatmeanvalueof jobsatisfaction
levelinthechainhotelisslightlyhigherthanintheindependentone.Sinceallthreevariables
provedtohavesignificantcorrelationsatleastinoneofthehotels,andsincethevaluesofjob
satisfactionaresomewhathigherinthechainhotel, itcanbeassumedthatthesmallsample
sizehasplayedacrucialroleinsupportingtheHypothesis10.
5.2 Limitationsandfutureresearch
The proper understanding of the dimensions of occupational stress and its correlationwith
other important workplace related employee’s characteristics is of utmost significance as it
allowsto improveandoptimisehumanresourcesmanagement,decreasestaff turnover,and
increase job satisfaction. However, it is crucial to remember that some particular kinds of
stresscanalsohavepositiveeffectsleadingtoincreasedproductivityofworkersandultimately
tohigherjobsatisfaction(Cavanaughetal.,2000;Colquittetal.,2010).
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Yettherearesomelimitationstothestudythathavetobetakenintoaccountwhenevaluating
theresultsoftheresearch,suchasrelativelysmallsample,localspecificsofthebusiness,per-
sonal characteristics of individuals that affect the results, and other types of potential bias.
Certain demographic groupswere underrepresented, resulting in less significant results and
conclusions.Moreover,casestudymethodologychosenfor thecurrentresearch impliescer-
tainlimitationsaswell.Sincetherehasbeenlackofscientificevidenceonthedifferencesbe-
tweenchainandindependenthotelsintermsofworkstress,satisfaction,andemployeeloyal-
ty, the generalizations should be done cautiously. Moreover, in order to make conclusions
aboutthesedifferences,moreextensiveandspecificresearchinthisfieldisneeded.
Humanresourcesareofagreatimportanceinhospitalitybusinessdeterminingthesustained
interest of researchers in this topic. In order to be able to successfully manage human re-
sourcesitisvitaltounderstandtheunderlyingcausesofsuchissuesasoccupationalstress,job
satisfaction, or employee loyalty, and their intercorrelation.However, there aremanymore
factors thatmightalsohaveasignificant influence,butcouldnotbe identifiedandanalysed
within this study. Further researchonvery specific stressorsand thewaysof stress releases
couldnotonlybeofinterestfortheoreticalpurposes,butalsogeneratesomevaluablesugges-
tions.Moreover,itisalreadyknown,thattherevenuesandprofitabilityoftheserviceorgani-
zationsarehighlydependentnotonlyonthesatisfiedcustomers,butalsoonthesatisfiedand
loyal employees (Heskett et al., 1994). Since researchers tend to be interested in how the
ownershipof thehotel is influencing financial performanceand competitiveness (Becerra et
al., 2016), it is of great interest to seewhether there is evidence of interrelations between
revenuesandemployeessatisfactioninchainandindependenthotels.Deeperresearchonthis
topicmightopennewdoorstotheunderstandingofdifferencesbetweenaffiliatedandinde-
pendent hotels in termsofwork-related stress, satisfaction, andemployee loyalty, and thus
assistinfurtherimprovementsanddevelopmentsinthisfield.
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APPENDICES
Appendix1:Questionnaire
DearSir/Madam,
Wewouldliketoknowaboutyourworkenvironmentandhowitaffectsyou.Thisinformation
isnotavailableanywhereelse.Youranswersontheenclosedformsareneeded.
PLEASEDONOTPUTYOURNAMEONANYOFTHEFORMSPROVIDED.Youranswersareto
remainanonymous.Theinformation,whichyouprovidewillbecombinedwithotheranswers
onlyinstatisticalsummaries.
Thankyouforyourcooperationandsupport.
I. BackgroundInformation
1. Whatisyourgender?
a. Male
b. Female
2. Howoldareyou?
a. <18
b. 18-24
c. 25–34
d. 35–44
e. 45–54
f. 55–64
g. 65–74
h. >74
3. Whatisyourmaritalstatus?
a. Married
b. Inarelationship
c. Single,nevermarried
d. Single,divorced
e. Single,widowed
4. Ifyouhavechildrenlivingathome,howmanyareineachofthefollowingage
groups?
a. Lessthan4yearsold__________
b. 4through12yearsold__________
c. 13through18yearsold__________
d. 19andolder__________
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5. Whatisthehighestcompletedlevelofeducation?
a. Secondaryschool
b. Highschool
c. College
d. Bachelor’sdegree
e. Master’sdegree
f. Professionaldegree
g. Doctoratedegree
6. WhatisyoucurrentJOBTITLE?____________________
II. Occupationalstress
Conflictatwork
Pleaseanswerthefollowingquestionsaboutyourworksituation
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Thereisharmonyinmydepartment
2 In our department, we have lots of bickering over who
shoulddowhatjob
3 There is difference of opinion among the members of my
department
4 Thereisdissensioninmydepartment
5 Themembersofmydepartmentaresupportiveofeachoth-
er’sideas
6 Thereareclashesbetweensubgroupswithinmydepartment
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7 Thereisfriendlinessamongthemembersofmydepartment
8 Thereis“we”feelingamongmembersofmydepartment
9 There are disputes betweenmy department and other de-
partments
10 There is agreement betweenmydepartment andother de-
partment
11 Otherdepartmentswithhold informationfortheattainment
ofourdepartmenttasks
12 Therelationshipbetweenmydepartmentandotherdepart-
ments is harmonious in attaining the overall organizational
goals
13 There is lack ofmutual assistance betweenmy department
andotherdepartments
14 There is cooperation between my departments and other
departments
15 Therearepersonalityclashesbetweenmydepartmentsand
otherdepartments
16 Otherdepartmentscreateproblemsformygroup
Jobrequirements
Nowwewouldlikeyoutoindicatehowoftencertainthingshappenatyourjob.
Rarely ! Veryoften
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Howoftendoesyourjobrequireyoutoworkveryfast?
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2 Howoftendoesyourjobrequireyoutoworkveryhard?
3 How often does your job leave you with little time to get
thingsdone?
4 Howoftenisthereagreatdealtobedone?
5 Howoftenisthereamarkedincreaseintheworkload
6 Howoftenisthereamarkedincreaseintheamountofcon-
centrationrequiredonyourjob?
7 Howoftenisthereamarkedincreaseinhowfastyouhaveto
think?
8 Howoftendoesyourjobletyouusetheskillsandknowledge
youlearnedinschool?
9 Howoftenareyougivenachancetodothethingsyoudothe
best?
10 Howoftencanyouusetheskills fromyourpreviousexperi-
enceandtraining?
Mentaldemands
Pleaseindicatethedegreetowhichyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatementsabout
yourjob.
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Myjobrequiresagreatdealofconcentration
2 Myjobrequiresmetoremembermanydifferentthings
3 Imustkeepmymindonmyworkatalltimes
4 Icantakeiteasyandstillgetmyworkdone
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5 Icanletmymindwanderandstilldothework
Workloadandresponsibility
Thenextfewitemsareconcernedwithvariousaspectsofyourworkactivities.Pleaseindi-
catehowmuchofeachaspectyouhaveonyourjob.
Hardlyany ! Agreatdeal
Question
1 Howmuchtimedoyouhavetothinkandcontemplate?
2 Howmuchworkloaddoyouhave?
3 Whatquantityofworkdoothersexpectyoutodo?
4 Howmuchtimedoyouhavetodoallyourwork?
5 Howmanyprojects,assignments,ortasksdoyouhave?
6 Howmanylullsbetweenheavyworkloadperiodsdoyou
have?
7 Howmuch responsibility do you have for the future of
others?
8 Howmuchresponsibilitydoyouhaveforthejobsecurity
ofothers?
9 Howmuchresponsibilitydoyouhave for themoraleof
others?
10 How much responsibility do you have for the welfare
andlivesofothers?
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Yourjob
Howaccurateareeachofthefollowingstatementsindescribingyourjob?
Very inaccu-
rate
! Very accu-
rate
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 IfeelcertainabouthowmuchauthorityIhave.
2 Thereareclear,plannedgoalsandobjectivesformyjob.
3 Ihavetodothingsthatshouldbedonedifferently.
4 IknowthatIhavedividedmytimeproperly.
5 IreceiveanassignmentwithoutthehelpIneedtocomplete
it.
6 Iknowwhatmyresponsibilitiesare.
7 Ihavetobendorbreakaruleorpolicyinordertocarryout
anassignment.
8 Iworkwithtwoormoregroupswhooperatequitedifferent-
ly.
9 Iknowexactlywhatisexpectedofme.
10 Ireceiveincompatiblerequestsfromtwoormorepeople.
11 Idothingsthatareapttobeacceptedbyonepersonandnot
acceptedbyothers
12 I receive an assignment without adequate resources and
materialstoexecuteit.
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13 Explanationisclearaboutwhathastobedoneonmyjob.
14 Iworkonunnecessarythings.
Yourjobfuture
Inthefuture,somejobswillbechangingwhileotherswillbestayingthesame.Hereare
somequestions,whichdealwiththistopic.
Somewhat
uncertain
! Verycertain
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Howcertain are youaboutwhat your future careerpicture
lookslike?
2 Howcertainareyouoftheopportunitiesforpromotionand
advancementwhichwillexistinthenextfewyears?
3 Howcertainareyouaboutwhetheryourjobskillswillbeof
useandvaluefiveyearsfromnow?
4 Howcertainareyouaboutwhatyourresponsibilitieswillbe
sixmonthsfromnow?
5 Ifyoulostyourjob,howcertainareyouthatyoucouldsup-
portyourself?
III. Jobsatisfaction
Wewouldliketoknowhowsatisfiedyouarewithyourjob.
1. Knowingwhatyouknownow,ifyouhadtodecidealloveragainwhetherto
takethetypeofjobyounowhave,whatwouldyoudecide?
a. Iwoulddecidewithouthesitationtotakethesamejob
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b. Iwouldhavesomesecondthoughts
c. IwoulddecidedefinitelyNOTtotakethistypeofjob
2. Ifyouwerefreerightnowtogointoanytypeofjobyouwanted,whatwould
yourchoicebe?
a. Iwouldtakethesamejob
b. Iwouldtakehavedoubtstotakethesamejob
c. Iwouldtakeadifferentjob
3. Ifafriendofyourstoldyouhe/shewasinterestedinworkinginajoblike
yours,whatwouldyoutellhim/her?
a. Iwouldstronglyrecommendit
b. Iwouldhavedoubtsaboutrecommendingit
c. Iwouldadviseagainstit
4. Allinall,howsatisfiedwouldyousayyouarewithyourjob?
a. Iamverysatisfied
b. Iamsomewhatsatisfied
c. Iamnotatallsatisfied
IV. Employeeloyalty
Commitmenttomanagersandcompany
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Ienjoygoodcommunicationswithmymanagers
2 Irespectmyheadofdepartment
3 Ienjoygoodcommunicationswithmywork-mates
4 Iamproudofmycompany
5 Ithinkoftheworkplaceasmysecondhomeandwork-mates
asmyfamily
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Jobconditions
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Ireceivegoodtrainingwiththiscompany
2 Thereareopportunitiesforskills’developmentinmyjob
3 Theworkinghoursaresuitableforme
4 Thejobisvaried,eachdayisdifferent
5 Ihavejobsecurity
Personalbenefits
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Thebenefitsofferedaregood
2 Thesalaryofferedisgood
3 Thematernity/paternitypackageisgood
4 Thejobisfun
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Serviceelementandlocation
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Ilikeprovidinggoodservicetothecustomers
2 Ienjoymeetingcustomers
3 Igetpersonalsatisfactionformmyjob
4 Thelocationofmyworkplaceisconvenientforme
Careerandstatus
Strongly
disagree
! Strongly
agree
Question 1 2 3 4 5
1 Myjobishighlyrespectedintheindustry
2 Myjobishighlyrespectedinthesociety
3 Ihaveacareerpathplannedforme/Ihavegoodpromotional
prospects
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Appendix2:DescriptiveStatistics
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Appendix3:Correlationsandstatisticaltests
ModeratingroleofgenderinHotelB:
ModeratingroleofmaritalstatusinHotelA:
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ModeratingroleofmaritalstatusinHotelB:
ModeratingroleofeducationinHotelA:
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ModeratingroleofparenthoodinHotelA:
ModeratingroleofparenthoodinHotelB:
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HistogramsofHotelAandHotelB(Occupationalstress)
HistogramsofHotelAandHotelB(Employeeloyalty)
HistogramsofHotelAandHotelB(Jobsatisfaction)