1

Michelle Foote
Enc 1102
The Cheerleaders
Literature Review
April 6 2015
Hospitality Employment and Satisfaction
A companys turnover rate is how many employees they have leave their workforce in
either a calendar or fiscal year. High entry-level job turnover rates is something the hospitality
industry struggles with and is developing a reputation for. With this being said, it is clear why
employment is a hot topic right now within the industry. The most prevalent conversations you
will find stemming off of the topic of employment in the hospitality field can be categorized into
five main groups. These include: attitudes towards hiring disabled employees and the benefits
doing so would provide companies (Chi et al 2008, Houtenvill et al 2012), the benefits of hiring
older employees (Morgan et al 2002, Reid et al 1988), Status in the workplace and how
employees are affected by titles and hours received (Johnson 2009, Malan et al 2008), the
treatment of employees and how to better each workers potential (Malan et al 2008). Each of
these individual conversations is a valuable addition to the main topic of why employee turnover
is occurring so frequently in the field (Deale et al 2008, Faldetta et al 2013).
Attitudes towards hiring disabled employees.
Multiple studies such as Houtenville and Kalargyrous, "People with Disabilities:
Employers Perspectives on Recruitment Practices, Strategies, and Challenges in Leisure and
Hospitality. ." show the amazing advantages that hiring from the disabled work pool can bring to
companies. The greatest appeal being the loyalty and longevity these workers generally offer
(Chi et al 2008, Kalargyrou, Houtenvill 2012). This is especially valuable within the industry to

quick-service restaurants and hotel front desk positions which frequently face distress due to
employee turnover.
Attitudes towards hiring senior citizen employees.
Similar to the discussion of hiring disabled workers, much talk has been brought up of the
benefits of hiring older workers (65+ years). This is again due to the higher company loyalty
older employees offer. Older workers make the best staff because according to Morgan and
Jacksons research, mature workers account for only 9.7 percent of the accidents at work, while
workers between the ages of 20 and 24 account for 50 percent of all on-the-job accidents.
Additionally, mature workers have fewer avoidable absences than younger workers, and good
attendance records overall (7). With this research, employers can make hiring decisions that will
benefit the companys stability and cut training costs significantly.
High turnover rate within the industry.
Unfortunately, the underlying theme to every conversation in the hospitality industry
seems to be linked to the industrys high turnover rate of employees (Deale et al 2008, Faldetta et
al 2013). Luckily however, this is not referring to high level positions, which is information often
left out in discussion. To clarify, the high turnover rate is present at the entry level jobs of
restaurants and hotels. Additionally, this turnover is not due to employee dissatisfaction but
rather due to the fact that most employees in these par-time positions are high school and college
age who are not looking to stay with a company for extended periods of time.
Status is the workplace.
A significant attitude difference has been observed between full and part time workers in
the hotel industry. Research found that this may be due to the following four reasons (1)

substandard to full-time workers, (2) considered less concerned with product quality and
cleanliness, (3) possess higher rates of absenteeism, (4) and typically quit their jobs because they
feel that they are unappreciated, ignored, undervalued, or do not receive adequate training
(Johnson et al 2009). This research is a step in the right direction for it not only identifies that
there is high employee turnover rates occurring in the part time division but also discovers the
top reasons behind why this occurs in the hotel sector.
Employee treatment.
The treatment an employee receives in both the workplace culture and throughout
training is an essential determinant in the retention of employees (Brownell et al 1993, Curtis et
al 2010, Faldetta et al 2013, Ineson et al 2013, McIntosh et al 2012, Sturman et al 2001). This
being known, it is not uncommon for psychology tests to be used in companies during the hiring
and training periods. The personality grid is one method that that produces a combination of
measurable traits that can be difficult to generalize, personality inventories help predict employee
behaviors and their performance in the long run (Malan et al 2008) When a company has these
results on hand, conflict resolution and motivational strategies can be applied proactively by
management according to how the test predicts employees will best react (Malan et al 2008).
Conclusion
As weve heard in every discussion, high turnover rates at the part time level is the issue
demanding the most attention within the hospitality community. Research is being done
analyzing the situation, reasons behind why this is occurring, and what can be changed within
the industry to retain employees. As great as all this research is, I found it interesting that the
turnover rate is hardly mentioned regarding the upper level positions within the hospitality field.

Proposal
As a current hospitality major, I would like to know the general job satisfaction found
within the higher level employees such as those holding management positions. Due to the fact
that I am an undergraduate and lack connections to past employees in the hospitality field, I am
proposing a hypothetical survey through which I could inquire from at least 100 employees the
average hours worked, how much value they see themselves as to the company, their salary, and
overall job satisfaction. I would conduct this same survey as well to those in part time positions
under management and compare results to find the key to improving employee retention on the
entry level positions to match the loyalty of those in management positions. This research niche
will benefit the industry overall if results are applied in that the management of lower level
employees is similar in fashion to how the upper levels operate where there is high job
satisfaction and retention.

References

Brownell, Judi. "Communicating with Credibility: The Gender Gap."OneSearch. UCF Libraries,
n.d. 1993. Web. 4 Mar. 2015.
Chi, Christina Geng-qing, and Hailin Qu. "A Study of Differential Employers' Attitude Towards
Hiring People with Physical, Mental and Sensory Disabilities in Restaurant Industry. ."
OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d.2008. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Curtis, Catherine R., and Randall S. Upcurch. "AN APPLICATION OF MCCLELLAND'S NEED
THEORY TO THE CASUAL DINING INDUSTRY.

." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2010.

Web. 28 Feb. 2015.

Deale, Cynthia S., Lawrence D. Stalcup, Todd Y. Samuel, and David Earnhardt. "The Use of
Exit Interviews in the U.S. Lodging Industry. ." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2008.
Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
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Industry: Can Reciprocity Solve the Problem?" OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2013.
Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Houtenville, Andrew, and Kalargyrou Valentini. "People with Disabilities: Employers
Perspectives on Recruitment Practices, Strategies, and Challenges in Leisure and
Hospitality. ." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2012. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Ineson, Elizabeth M., Mathew H.T. Yap, and Graham Whiting. "Sexual Discrimination and
Harassment in the Hospitality Industry. ." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2013.Web. 17
Mar. 2015.

Johanson, Misty M., and Cho Seonghees. "Uncovering the Link Between Organizational
Behaviors and Employment Status in the U.S. Hotel Industry. ." OneSearch. UCF
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Industry: An Exploratory Study of Industry Leaders." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, 8 Aug.
2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Malan, Gunce Georgia", Cihan Cobanoglu, Waldo, R. Douglas R. Waldo, and Wan Yang.
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Employment in the Hospitality Industry." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2012 Web.
28 Feb. 2015.
Morgan, Greddie W., and Jackson H. Faye. "Age Diversity in Hospitality- Making a Case for the
Mature Employee." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d.2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.
Reid, Robert D., and Frederick J. DeMicco. "Older Workers: A Hiring Resource for the
Hospitality Industry." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 1988. Web. 28 Feb. 2015.
Sturman, Michael C. "The Compensation Conundrum: Does The Hospitality Industry
Shortchange Its Employees -- And Itself?. ." OneSearch. UCF Libraries, n.d. 2001. Web.
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