Hospitality employees’ emotions in the workplace: a systematic review of recent literature

Abstract

Purpose This systematic review synthesizes the recent literature (2010–2020) on hospitality employees’ emotions, affect and moods. This study has three objectives: to clarify the definitions of emotions, affect and moods; to explain how theories are integrated into understanding hospitality employees’ emotions, affect and moods; and to assess how emotions, affect and moods are measured. Design/methodology/approach Using seven major databases, the authors selected 61 peer-reviewed academic journal articles published in hospitality outlets for review. We based our study on five stages of conducting a systematic review: scoping, planning, identification, screening and eligibility. Findings Affect is an umbrella term encompassing moods and emotions. Emotions are distinct from emotion-laden constructs, such as emotional labor and emotional intelligence. Theories on conservation of resources, emotional labor and social exchange have been most frequently used to understand hospitality employees’ emotions. However, they overlooked the dynamic nature of emotions when using these theories. Hospitality researchers often used a subset of the positive and negative affect scale and did not discuss back-translation. Practical implications Hospitality employees’ emotions lead to far-reaching consequences in attitudes, intentions and behaviors in work and non-work domains. Effective practices (e.g. creating a supportive climate) that help evoke positive employee emotions and reduce negative employee emotions are thus desirable. Originality/value Our findings crystallize the understanding of emotions, affect and moods of hospitality employees. We further provide a roadmap for future research on hospitality employees’ emotions. Data triangulation, cross-cultural research and mixed emotions are novel opportunities for future research.

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Affective Organizational Commitment and Job Performance: The Mediating Role of Employee Engagement

“…The research on the hospitality industry is empirically less explored. Hospitality employees are regarded as the most unique and valuable asset and the most costly investment of the hotel entities ( Hwang et al, 2021 ). In the developing countries, such as Korea, China, Vietnam, and Thailand, hospitality jobs do not seem attractive to high-quality personnel ( Wang and Abukhalifeh, 2020 ) due to several limitations, such as low wage ( Wen et al, 2018 ), few career promotion opportunities, and high physical and/or emotional stress from work (e.g., long periods of standing or sitting, dealing with many customer complaints).…”

Will catering employees’ job dissatisfaction lead to brand sabotage behavior? A study based on conservation of resources and complexity theories

“…During the COVID-19 epidemic, employees have extensively experienced negative emotions such as anger and anxiety. Catering organizations may work with fitness and wellness organizations to provide employees with access to online exercise programs and consultation sessions to release their physical and emotional fatigue (Hwang et al , 2021). This may help ensure that employees have positive energy in the workplace to ensure brand service performance.…”

How does customer cooperation affect employees’ prosocial service behavior in upscale Chinese hotels? An affective social exchange perspective

“…As a trait, positive affect represents stable differences in one’s overall positive mood, whereas state affect involves a specific stimulus and can be transient (similarly to emotions) or enduring (Hwang et al , 2021). An enduring affective state can be sparked by socially oriented affective events that people experience, remember, anticipate, or imagine (Hwang et al , 2021). Lawler (2001) introduced another type of feeling – “sentiment” (p. 325) – to his affect theory of social exchange.…”

“…As a general term to describe positive feelings (Fredrickson, 2001), positive affect refers to "the extent to which a person feels enthusiastic, active and alert" (Watson et al, 1988(Watson et al, , p. 1063 and can be treated as either a trait or a state. As a trait, positive affect represents stable differences in one's overall positive mood, whereas state affect involves a specific stimulus and can be transient (similarly to emotions) or enduring (Hwang et al, 2021). An enduring affective state can be sparked by socially oriented affective events that people experience, remember, anticipate, or imagine (Hwang et al, 2021).…”