Attitudes to Work of Generation Y Students in Hospitality Management: a comparative analysis of students in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Abstract

introductionA majority of human resource managers reported the significance of attitude in their choice of qualified candidates (Flynn,1994). At the entry level particularly, we often hear "We can teach people skills; but we cannot teach them the right attitudes". Employee attitudes are an indicative factor as to whether an organization will succeed in the future (Alas, 2005;Hurst, 1995). In the workplace, then, attitudes towards work and the job at hand are of obvious importance. However, the literature has placed greater emphasis on job satisfaction and related issues, where attitudes are the outcome of work. It could be argued that attitudes to work, before entering a job, are perhaps more important, as they are antecedents and precursors to workplace performance and job satisfaction. Attitudes to work have not been addressed in the literature in sufficient detail. Furthermore, the specific issues of attitudes to work of college students preparing for careers in the hospitality industry in the United Kingdom have not been addressed by any study in the past. Given the tremendous costs and related problems associated with human resource management in the hospitality industry, this study aims to address this gap in the literature and propose research based solutions by studying the attitudes to work of college students in Hospitality Management in the United Kingdom (UK).Students currently in college are predominantly from "Generation Y" (GEN Y), born between 1975 and 1995. Researchers have said that this generation is different from previous ones, as it has been shaped by different forces and events. As GEN Y members enter college and the work force in large numbers, it is imperative that educators and employers gain deeper insights into their mindset. Employers are particularly interested in their attitudes towards work. Such attitudes have been shown to impact a host of human resource issues such as absenteeism, turnover, deviant behaviors, and quality and quantity of work.The purpose of the study was to explore the attitudes towards work of GEN Y students in Hospitality Management programs in England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland using multiple measures.Additionally, the study aims to present these issues in a comparative framework highlighting commonalities and differences between these three groups of students. literature review

Sustainability and the Tourism and Hospitality Workforce: A Thematic Analysis

“…Based on the birth cohort perspective, differences among three age cohorts ("Baby Boomers": 1945-1964; "Gen X": 1965-1980; "Gen Y/Gen Me/Nexters/Millenialls": >1980) have been explored from: (a) frontline and service contact employee perspectives [72][73][74]; (b) managerial perspectives [75]; and (c) the perspectives of both groups of employees' and managers [76][77][78][79][80][81] (except housekeeping [82]). Students' perspectives on work values and their career expectations have been explored in terms of understanding the entrants' (Gen Y) ways of thinking on arrival in the tourism and hospitality labor market (e.g., [83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91]). …”

Generation Y at work: insight from experiences in the hotel sector

“…Attempts to define generation Y Though many academic studies have attempted to define generation Y (Erickson, 2008;Josiam et al, 2007;Michel, Kavanaugh and Tracy, 2012;Ng et al, 2010;Tulgan, 2009), it is more common for researchers to discuss observations which influence our understanding of the concept (Twenge and Campbell, 2008). These observations include what behaviour is common to generation Y (ibid), how generation Y understands the workplace (Twenge, Campbell, Hoffman and Lance, 2010;Tulgan, 2009) and how generation Y 'thinks' (Erickson, 2008).…”

“…The career-related values of generation Y can be incongruous with those displayed by many of the organisations currently employing them. In hotels, where tradition has often influenced the context of employee relations, this has become a prevalent issue debated in the literature (Josiam et al, 2007;Maxwell and Broadbridge, 2010;Solnet and Kralj, 2011;Tulgan 2009). …”

“…This paper investigates the experiences of a generation often called generation 'Y.' Despite attempts to establish parameters to understand the identity of generation Y, the literature generally refers to people born approximately between 1980and 1990(Erickson, 2008Fenich et al, 2011;Josiam et al, 2007, Tulgan, 2009. Generation Y has also been referred to as the millennial generation (Erickson, 2008;Ng, Schweitzer and Lyons, 2010).…”

“…Generations are characterised by groups of people within a specific time span (Josiam, Devine, Baum, Crutsinger and Reynolds, 2007). These periods of common life experiences have often been identified based on historical considerations.…”