Can the hobo phenomenon help explain voluntary turnover?

Abstract

Examines the behaviour of hotel employees who, even when they say they are “satisfied”, move from job to job for reasons unrelated to that “satisfaction”. Suggests that an important reason for leaving jobs is that such movement may represent an important way to “get ahead”. Reports on a study which is a preliminary investigation of what is described as a “hobo phenomenon” in the hotel sector. Explains that limited longitudinal data (over eight months), were collected and analysed; and implications were pursued through in‐depth interviews with hotel employees. Results suggest that the hobo phenomenon may have potential as an explanatory variable in voluntary turnover research in the hotel sector. Discusses the implications, emphasizing the need to consider employee perceptions of promotion opportunities, and specifically the importance of considering promotion opportunities separate from promotion fairness, a factor neglected in current job satisfaction measures.

Individual employment characteristics of hotel employees that play a role in employee satisfaction and work retention

“…Understanding how employees feel about their work environment is only one requirement used in identifying job satisfaction factors. Longterm productive employees lead to an organization's stability as researched by Hartman and Yrle (1996), who reinforced the foundation of the stabilization theory by stating: employees who are satisfied with their jobs tend to be more stable within their organizations, thus, contributing to an organization's positive perception within industry. The purpose of this study was to identify whether job satisfaction factors have a relationship with an individual's overall job satisfaction and their level of intention to remain at their current workplace according to employment characteristics.…”

Exploring the antecedents of intentions to leave the job: The case of luxury hotel staff

“…Turnover rates in the hospitality industry are extremely high when compared with other industries, as noted by Hartman and Yrie (1996), Hinkin and Tracey (2000) and Hom and Griffeth (1995). Denvir and McMahon (1992) have argued that staff turnover varies from one hotel to another, thereby confirming the view that .…”

“…The hotel industry has the highest rate of staff turnover (Hartman and Yrie, 1996;Hinkin and Tracey, 2000), which is influenced by many different factors e. According to Fallon and Rutherford (2010), ". .…”

Staff turnover in the Greek tourism industry

“…For example, tourism has been described as a refuge or easy employer, because of its low educational and non specialized skill requirements; employees also consider tourism as a career break and/or a job to keep them busy until they find another better job (Hjalager and Andersen, 2001). In other cases, employees who initially wanted a career in tourism were disappointed with the industry's limited career progression opportunities and unsociable working hours (Hartman and Yrle, 1996).…”