The Stress-Induced Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism and Hospitality Workers

Psychological flow and mental immunity as predictors of job performance for mental health care practitioners during COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies indicated that workers in the health sector suffer from work stress, hassles, and mental health problems associated with COVID-19, which negatively affect the completion of their job tasks. These studies pointed out the need to search for mechanisms that enable workers to cope with job stress effectively.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated psychological flow, mental immunity, and job performance levels among the mental health workforce in Saudi Arabia. It also tried to reveal the psychological flow (PF) and mental immunity (MI) predictability of job performance (JP).

METHOD

A correlational survey design was employed. The study sample consisted of 120 mental health care practitioners (therapists, psychologists, counselors)who lived in Saudi Arabia. Sixty-four were men, 56 were women, and their ages ranged between 27 and 48 (36.32±6.43). The researchers developed three measurements of psychological flow, mental immunity, and job performance. After testing their validity and reliability, these measures were applied to the study participants.

RESULTS

The results found median levels of psychological flow, mental immunity, and job performance among mental health care practitioners. Also, the results revealed that psychological flow and mental immunity were statistically significant predictors of job performance. The psychological flow variable contributed (38.70%) and mental immunity (54.80%) to the variance in job performance of mental health care practitioners.

CONCLUSION

The current study indicated that psychological flow and mental immunity significantly influenced the job performance of mental health care practitioners. These findings pointed out that human resource management in mental health care institutions in Saudi Arabia must search for procedures that achieve a state of flow and mental immunity for workers to make their jobs more meaningful. Also, these findings indicated the importance of planning interventions to enhance mental health care practitioners' psychological flow, mental immunity, and job performance to help them cope with work stress effectively and protect them from symptoms of burnout.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, working, and life situation of employees in the Swedish hospitality industry

Introduction

Previous studies reported that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of employees in the hospitality industry internationally, however, its effect in Sweden has not been studied. Unlike several other countries, Sweden never enforced a lockdown. Restaurants, bars, and hotels could remain open and host a limited number of guests but had to abide by certain restrictions.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was distributed among hospitality industry employees containing questions regarding the perceived effects of the pandemic on the respondents' working and life situations and their physical and psychological health. The sample consisted of 699 individuals, with a response rate of 47.9%.

Results

Although several respondents had been laid off or furloughed, the majority of the sample remained at the same employer. However, more than half of the respondents reported that their economic situation had deteriorated. Compared to before the pandemic, 38.1% experienced elevated levels of stress, 48.3% experienced elevated levels of worry, and 31.4% reported worsened mood. A deteriorating personal economy and difficulty in following COVID-19-related restrictions at work were associated with the worsening of these three mental health aspects. While the fear of becoming infected with COVID-19 was related to higher levels of stress, the fear of infecting others was related to higher levels of worry.

Conclusion

Although Sweden imposed less strict measures than most other countries, the personal economy and mental health of hospitality workers were negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Women’s Risk-Taking Behaviour during COVID-19 Pandemic: Will Work–Family Enrichment and Work Satisfaction Prevent Turnover Intention?

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all employment conditions as working during the pandemic is a risk to employees’ health. This study investigates women’s intentions to leave their job during times of crisis. However, opportunities for job selection were quite limited, and there are better ways to deal with job insecurity than leaving an organisation. The questionnaires were tested on valid data from 593 female employees of four-star hotels, and structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed. Cultural characteristics and the macroenvironment in Indonesian society cause different practices for women to achieve work–family enrichment, job satisfaction, and turnover intention than in developed Western cultures. Female employees will not be inclined to leave their job even though they are not satisfied. Moreover, work–family enrichment has an essential role in enhancing work satisfaction because it can improve women’s quality of life. Work–family enrichment was also found to reduce the intention of women to leave an organisation. However, work–family enrichment has a more substantial influence on intensifying work satisfaction than on deflating the choice to quit during a crisis. Therefore, the research findings revealed that work–family enrichment is essential in improving work satisfaction, increasing employees’ likelihood of remaining in the organisation. This study contributes to filling the research gap within work–family enrichment by digging into the practical lessons of women’s work behaviour in the service sector, specifically in the hotel industry.

The impact of time spent working from home on affective commitment in the workplace: The mediating role of social relationships and collective aims

Introduction

Working from home has become increasingly prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic, creating new challenges for organizations and employees. According to the latent deprivation model proposed by Jahoda, work provides latent benefits alongside its material rewards, and losing such benefits leads to a decline in well-being. Organizational affective commitment, or affective commitment within the organization, is a prominent concept in organizational psychology that is linked to lower workforce fluctuation and increased work performance. The present research examined the impact of time spent working from home on affective commitment by examining Jahoda's "latent functions," including social contact and collective purpose, representing an innovative application of the latent deprivation model in the context of home office.

Methods

Using an online questionnaire, we collected data from 456 participants (239 female and 217 male) who had been employed for at least 2 years and who had spent a proportion of their time working from home in March and April 2021. The data were analyzed using a path model, in which the potential adverse effect of time spent in home office on affective commitment to the workplace was mitigated by latent functions.

Results

Specifically, we found that more time spent in home office was associated with a decrease in social contact, the impact of which on affective commitment was mediated through the perception of collective purpose.

Discussion

Our findings emphasize the role of the latent benefits of work experienced by employees even when working from home, and the role of those benefits in supporting employees' commitment to the workplace. We argue that a deeper understanding of such factors is vital, as working from home is expected to remain widespread even after the pandemic.

A Parallel Mediation Analysis on the Effects of Pandemic Accentuated Occupational Stress on Hospitality Industry Staff Turnover Intentions in COVID-19 Context

The purpose of this research was to analyze how different effects of the COVID pandemic, expressed through pandemic accentuated occupational stress, perceived job insecurity, occupational safety and health perception and perceived organizational effectiveness, may impact turnover intentions of the personnel in the hospitality industry. Our research team designed an online questionnaire which was analyzed with network analysis to depict the relationship between factors, and, then, a confirmatory factor analysis was employed to confirm the distribution of the items to the envisaged five factors. Based on a sample of 324 randomized Romanian hospitality industry staff, the results of our cross-sectional study revealed that occupational safety and health perception, perceived organizational effectiveness and perceived job insecurity in the pandemic accentuated occupational stress to indirectly and significantly impact hospitality industry staff turnover intentions (TI). The results indicated that, while the total effect of PAOS on TI was significant, the direct effect was still significant, while all three mediators remained significant predictors. Overall, mediators partially mediated the relationship between PAOS and TI, indicating that employees with low scores on occupational safety and health perception (OSHP), and perceived organizational effectiveness (POE) and high scores on perceived job insecurity (PJI) were more likely to have higher levels of TI turnover intentions.

Fear of Losing Jobs during COVID-19: Can Psychological Capital Alleviate Job Insecurity and Job Stress?

Job insecurity is a growing concern among bank employees. In this research, we examined whether psychological capital can alleviate bank workers’ perceptions of job insecurity and job stress during COVID-19. In particular, we aimed to examine this relationship at both the individual and work-unit levels of analysis. Based on the data collected from 520 bank tellers in 53 bank branches in Thailand, our multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) analyses revealed that there was significant between-branch variation in the levels of psychological capital (15%), job insecurity (23%) and job stress (24%). In particular, perceptions of job insecurity were found to have a positive effect on job stress at both levels of analysis. We also found that psychological capital significantly reduced perceptions of job insecurity and job stress at the individual level. These findings emphasize that perceptions of job insecurity can emerge at both the individual and work-unit levels. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Perils of the Pandemic for the Tourism and Hospitality Industries: Envisaging the Combined Effect of COVID-19 Fear and Job Insecurity on Employees' Job Performance in Pakistan

Purpose

This study aims to improve employees' job performance during COVID-19 pandemic circumstances and demonstrates the impact of COVID-19 fear on hospitality employees' job performance under the mediating role of job insecurity changes and job loss insecurity.

Methods

The study adopts a quantitative approach, and data were accumulated through a structured questionnaire. In total, 509 valid questionnaires were received from employees working in Pakistan's hospitality sector. A structural equation model using Smart-PLS software was used to analyze the collected data from the respondents.

Results

The results have identified that COVID-19 fear has a positive and significant influence on job insecurity changes, job loss insecurity, and a negative and significant relationship with job performance. The mediating relationship of job insecurity changes and job loss insecurity negatively significantly influence job performance. Additionally, results indicate a significant relationship between the moderating effect of the COVID-19 vaccines and job insecurity changes, job loss insecurity, and job performance.

Conclusion

The study revealed that employees who perceived their jobs to be insecure during the COVID-19 pandemic tried to cope with the situation, feel healthy, and perform well in their job after getting vaccinated. The study's findings recommend modifying the employees' working pattern for organizations. This study enhances the existing literature on the COVID-19 crisis in Pakistan's hospitality industry. In particular, this study is a novel addition to academia that highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work performance of front desk employees in the hotel and tourism industry.

The Impact of Hospitality Work Environment on Employees' Turnover Intentions During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Work-Family Conflict

Employees' turnover intentions and work-family conflict as a result of the hospitality work environment are considered the major global challenges confronted by hospitality organizations, especially in the era of COVID-19. This study aims at identifying the impact of the hospitality work environment on work-family conflict (WFC), as well as turnover intentions and examining the potential mediating role of WFC in the relationship between work environment and turnover intentions, during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of three- and four-star resorts in Egypt. A total of 413 resorts employees from Egyptian destinations (Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada) participated in the study. The findings of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that the hospitality work environment significantly and positively affects employees' turnover intentions and WFC. In the context of the mediating role of WFC, results illustrated that WFC significantly partially mediates the relationship between the hospitality work environment and turnover intentions. Upon these findings, the study suggests that to prevent WFC and eliminate turnover intentions among resorts' employees, an urgent need to create a better work environment is vitally important. limitations and future research directions have been discussed.

Impact of perception of COVID-19 on NPI, job satisfaction, and customer orientation: Highlighting three types of NPIs for the airline industry

Without vaccines or pharmaceutical treatments for a viral pandemic, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as washing hands and wearing masks are likely the most effective ways to control infections at airports and on airplanes. Although the aviation market is a major entry point for viruses, little is known about how flight attendants view the risk of COVID-19 and whether they follow individual-organizational-governmental NPI protocols. Guided by protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1975), this study proposed an NPI model tailored specifically to the airline industry and examined how an extended NPI would affect job satisfaction and customer orientation of Korean flight attendants (n = 371). Results revealed that perceptions of COVID-19 are positively related to three types of NPIs, which in turn positively influenced job satisfaction and customer orientation. Given that the examined three types of NPIs had not been paid attention in previous research, the study's proposed conceptual model should better guide the airline industry in protecting its flight attendants with NPI strategies inside and outside aircraft.

Current Discussions on Employees and Organizations During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review

New concerns have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic that greatly impact employees and many other aspects in organizations. We have highlighted the major organizational issues during COVID-19 and classified the relevant research findings based on 45 recent articles. Main themes identified include (1) work setting, (2) perceptions of COVID-19, (3) employee wellbeing, (4) organizational strategies, and (5) influences on career behaviors. Employees have faced challenges due to work conditions that have shifted from traditional commuting to telework. Employees have also become aware of the negative current situation, so their overall wellbeing has been threatened. In response, organizations have strived to promote positive psychological capital for employees as they attempt to cope with this crisis. Organizations have tried to maintain and manage both their employees and their business. People tended to adjust their career-related behaviors based on how they perceived their own wellbeing and organizational strategies.

COVID-19-Induced Downsizing and Survivors' Syndrome: The Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership

Downsizing due to COVID-19 (COV-DS) and its consequences on laid-off employees has attracted the attention of many researchers, around the globe. However, the underlying mechanisms that explain the effects of COVID-19 downsizing (COV-DS) on the employees who have survived cutoffs remain underexplored. Grounded in the conservation of resources theory, this manuscript aims to study the causal path through which COV-DS reduces the survivors' affective commitment. The current study proposes the mediation of survivors' job uncertainty, stress, and organizational identification between COV-DS and survivors' affective commitment. This study also posits the moderating role of transformational leadership between COV-DS and both the mediators. The extant study has employed WARPED partial least square WARP PLS 7 and Hayes Process Macro to test the hypothesized relationships. Using the sample of 274 employees from the private sector of Pakistan, it was found that job uncertainty's stress strongly mediates the relationship between COV-DS and survivors' affective commitment. While mediation of survivors' organizational identification was not proven to be significant. However, with the moderation of transformational leadership, both the mediators were proven to be significant.

Extending Theory of Planned Behavior to Understand Service-Oriented Organizational Citizen Behavior

The financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic have caused many enterprises to suffer great losses. Thus, companies have to take measures such as pays cut, furloughs, or layoffs, which caused dissatisfaction among employees and triggered labor disputes. Therefore, this study explores the service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior in order to understand the behavioral intentions of employees through their mental states, job attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. This study conducted questionnaire surveys for employees in different industries, collected 281 valid questionnaires, and applied Structural Equation Model for the analysis. The results show: (1) employees believe organizational justice in the organization is important, and when they feel treated fairly, their job attitudes and beliefs are enhanced. (2) Employees' job attitudes and beliefs support service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior, in other words, they have positive job attitudes and beliefs and will actively provide better service to customers. (3) When employees are treated reasonably and fairly by the organization and have positive job attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment) and perceived behavior control, their spontaneous service-oriented organizational citizenship behavior is stimulated, thus increasing organizational development.

The psychological mechanism linking life satisfaction and turnover intention among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 challenged and brought turmoil to the healthcare workers' mental and psychological well-being. Specifically, they are feeling tremendous pressure and many of them worry about their work conditions and even intent to leave them. In this situation, it is of utmost for them to satisfied their lives during the challenging situation.

OBJECTIVE

This paper explores the relationship of life satisfaction with healthcare workers' turnover intention during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hypothesized that this relationship would be mediated by trust climate, and this mediation association would be stronger when workers experience job embeddedness in the workplace.

METHODS

Survey data were collected from the 520 healthcare workers. A moderated mediation examination was employed to test the hypotheses.

RESULTS

Results revealed that life satisfaction is positively related to a trusting climate that, in turn, is negatively related to workers' turnover intention. Moreover, the association between life satisfaction and turnover intention was moderated by job embeddedness.

CONCLUSIONS

Focusing on improving healthcare workers' job embeddedness and increasing their trust climate might enhance life satisfaction and reduce turnover intention. The implications of the findings are also discussed for research and practice.

COVID-19 and tourism stakeholders: experience, behaviour and transformation

Purpose

The tourism sector’s fragility lends significance to mental health and wellbeing, especially amongst workers in the hotel and tourism sectors. However, stakeholders’ subjective wellbeing and mental health in these sectors due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remain under-researched, especially for destinations with unique selling propositions (USPs). Thus, this study investigates the effects of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic on various stakeholders in Kerala, India. In particular, the authors assess the mental health and welfare of those involved in the tourism sector with an eye on how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the field’s psychological and technical developments.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs an ethnographic approach to understanding the idiosyncratic experiences of stakeholders using in-depth interviews (n = 68), focus group interviews (n = 3) and participant observation for 14 months. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.

Findings

The findings reveal the shifting perceptions in the tourism sector’s workforce by detailing various societal, technical and physical transformations, especially amongst the younger generations. The resultant psychological mapping generates a framework of the emotional perspectives of stakeholders during each stage of the pandemic. This study also highlights the urgency of crisis-management training for the workforce.

Originality/value

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all spheres of global business, resulting in unprecedented challenges in both personal and professional life. The sector’s fragility lends significance to mental health and wellbeing, especially amongst workers in the hotel and tourism sectors. However, the subjective wellbeing and mental health of stakeholders in these sectors due to the COVID-19 pandemic remain under-researched, especially for the developing destinations with USPs.

The Impact of Job Stress and State Anger on Turnover Intention Among Nurses During COVID-19: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion

Based on the social exchange theory, the aim of this study is to identify the association between job stress state anger, emotional exhaustion and job turnover intention. This study postulates that job related stress and state anger among nurses during COVID-19 subsequently leads to their job turnover intentions. In addition, the study also aims to see the mediating role of emotional exhaustion between COVID-19-related job stress, state anger, and turnover intentions. The sample of this study is gathered from 335 registered nurses working in Pakistani hospitals dealing with COVID-19-related patients. The interrelationships between variables are checked by using structural equation modeling through AMOS. Key findings confirm that COVID-19-related job stress and state anger had a significant effect on nurses' turnover intentions. Furthermore, emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship between COVID-19-related job stress, state anger, and turnover intentions. There is a lack of research which has assessed the impact of Novel COVID-19-related job stress and state anger on nurses' turnover intentions in hospitals, providing empirical evidence from a developing country-Pakistan. This study offers managerial implications for hospital management and health policymakers. Moreover, nursing managers need to pay attention to nurses' turnover intentions who are facing the issue at the front line as patients receive their initial treatment from nurses in the COVID-19 outbreak.

The relationship between career adaptability, hope, resilience, and life satisfaction for hospitality students in times of Covid-19

This study investigates the antecedents and effects of hospitality students' coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationship between career adaptability, hope, resilience, and life satisfaction are explored to unveil students' adaptability during times of crisis. The findings confirmed that hope is an important driver of resilience and life satisfaction. Despite all the negativity and uncertainty about jobs and careers during the COVID-19 pandemic, resilience has a double acting effect on the students' life satisfaction via individual and community resilience. Critical implications for academic institutions and the hospitality industry are presented. As the industry recovers from the pandemic and moves toward normality, the potential impact of career adaptability, hope, resilience, and life satisfaction on future job pursuit and career magnetism towards particular industry or organizations should be considered.

COVID-19 and the New Normal of Organizations and Employees: An Overview

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit organizations and employees in every sector worldwide in unprecedented ways. It became extremely difficult for organizations and employees across sectors to operate under increased mobility restrictions. The pandemic effectively disrupted previous operational models and imbued changes such as telework and digital adoption that are pervasive and may potentially last beyond the pandemic. Amid these circumstances, it was essential to ask how organizations and employees will sustain themselves in the post-COVID-19 ”new normal”. Although so much research is conducted about COVID-19, there is no comprehensive view of the changes at the meso (organizational) and micro (individual) levels. This article aims to explain this using the emergency-learning-institutionalization-new normal (ELIN) framework, which is based on the timeline of the pandemic. The article aims to bring forth the overall trends in how organizations and employees are adapting to the pandemic, the lessons they have learned, and how they will change and adapt in a post-COVID-19 “new normal”. We have analyzed existing policy papers, articles published in business, public administration, nonprofit journals, and other studies to achieve this. We find an increasing trend towards the adoption of telework and digital tools at both meso- and micro-levels. The effective implementation of telework policies and digital transformation plans at the meso-level will ensure the sustainability of organizations and jobs in the new normal. Although these trends vary across sectors and within and across countries, there is an overall increase in the flexibility of organizations and employees in adopting new solutions, making them more open to innovation. The article makes important recommendations for organizations to make these transitions more sustainable in the medium and long term.

Coping with Stress: How Hotel Employees Fight to Work

Working in hospitality establishments involves high levels of stress, partially due to the anti-social shift rotations and the high levels of emotional labor needed. Unmanaged stress often leads to psychological and even physical diseases, which harm both individual career development and hotel operations. Thus, it is of great importance to identify effective stress coping strategies to maintain a sustainable hotel work force. Stress coping behavior varies among different demographics and generations. Commonly used stress coping scales were established almost 40 years ago, and under the context of daily events, and may not be applicable in today’s hospitality context. Thus, this study was designed to investigate effective stress coping strategies among today’s hotel employees. Data were collected from 470 hotel employees in 37 cities in China. The results identified 12 effective coping strategies that fell under three dimensions: distraction, sharing, and self-indulgence. The findings contribute to scholarly knowledge of stress coping. Managerial implications are also discussed.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Tourism Industry: Applying TRIZ and DEMATEL to Construct a Decision-Making Model

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry is still being sustained, and the response of the tourism industry is an indispensable element that is increasingly recognized. This response has led to the emergence of literature about the impact of COVID-19 on the stakeholders of the tourism industry, thereby contributing to the industry. Nonetheless, the criteria factors and investigated practices for the implementation of decision-making by stakeholders in the tourism industry have not been fully explored. This study adopts Teorija Rezhenija Izobre-tatelskikh Zadach (TRIZ) principles and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) methods to construct a gap model of tourism stakeholders (GMTS) which solves the tourism industry decision-making problem under COVID-19. With a research background in Taiwan’s tourism industry stakeholders made up of 15 expert participants, GMTS identified 11 criteria factors, of which the three most important criteria factors provide decision-making directions. The causal relationship between these criteria factors was examined, and a causal diagram was drawn to clarify the most important criteria factors. This research examined the criteria factor implementation perspective. Travel “bubble zones” that ensure both “safety and quality” were concluded upon under government policies in the countries and regions of the world. Furthermore, the tourism industry is responsible for the overall “planning and management” of the travel “bubble zones”. Therefore, the “quality management” criteria factor provides important key decision-making for tourism stakeholders. The research indicates that it is recommended to attach importance to the “quality management” of the international travel “bubble zone” as the priority decision-making criteria factor under the pandemic. Furthermore, conversion policies and tourism regulations are secondary criteria factors for improvement; when these two criteria factors are immediately improved, other criteria factors will be affected simultaneously and the degree of improvement will be weakened. In addition, GMTS was developed for the tourism industry. The article also provides research literature and practice implications for stakeholders in the tourism industry, thereby providing insight for tourism to obtain a clear understanding of how to prepare for the implementation of sustainable development.

The Effect of Food Sustainability and the Food Safety Climate on the Job Stress, Job Satisfaction and Job Commitment of Kitchen Staff

Background: The food safety climate within an organization represents the job environment that affects the safe management of food and reveals the characteristics of employees. This study aimed to help establish a food safety climate in hotel kitchens that would reduce job stress and increase job satisfaction and employee engagement. Methods: This study was conducted with 570 chefs in 12 five-star hotels in South Korea using a questionnaire-based survey. A total of 570 questionnaires were distributed; 504 usable responses were used in the empirical analysis. Results: The results of this study are summarized as follows. First, among the food safety climate factors perceived by hotel chefs, leadership, resources and communication affect job stress. Second, all five factors of the food safety climate affect the job satisfaction of hotel chefs. Among these factors, leadership, responsibility and communication have positive effects on job satisfaction, while risk awareness and resources have negative effects. Third, the leadership and resources of the food safety climate have positive effects on job commitment. (4) Conclusions: This study has useful recommendations for the service industry, especially the hotel industry, for better human resource management, emphasizing food sustainability in kitchen staff job performance enhancement.