‘It’s not a big deal’: customer misbehaviour and social washing in hospitality

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine customer misbehaviour in the hospitality sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on a cross-sectional survey of employees in the Scottish hospitality sector highlighting customer misbehaviour as a key concern during the pandemic. Prevalent types of abuse and harassment experienced are outlined along with employee and management responses to incidents of misbehaviour. Findings Verbal abuse and sexual harassment from customers are the most prevalent types of misbehaviour either experienced or witnessed by respondents. Customer misbehaviour is commonly thought of as “part of the job” and therefore “not a big deal”. Managers, largely, expect workers to tolerate abusive behaviours from customers and do not take reports of incidents seriously. Practical implications Transformational managers need to foster workplace well-being with a focus on physical and psychological safety. Recognition of the issue and greater support for victims are furthermore required at an industry level and on the policy front. Social implications The research points to an uncomfortable reality in the service economy that needs to be confronted by society. It has, therefore, important implications for key stakeholders in ensuring fair, dignified and safe hospitality workplaces. Originality/value Customer misbehaviour is reportedly worsening in times of COVID-19 as demonstrated by this study. Despite rhetoric that abuse and harassment are not tolerated, dismissive attitudes from managers – who expect workers to tolerate abusive behaviour – and employee silence about incidents lead the authors to argue that the failure to acknowledge and address this issue constitutes a form of “social washing” in hospitality.

“What else is new?” identifying emerging psychosocial risk factors in hospitality employment

“…Our study found that support and recognition from guests also appears to be important to hospitality employees. This finding complements and contrasts previous research on harassment, abuse and customer incivility in the hospitality sector (e.g., Booyens et al, 2022). Future research should investigate whether customer support may be particularly important in working relationships where colleague and management support are absent because the employee works alone when meeting customers (e.g., housekeeping, night shifts), or whether customer support (positive customer relationship) acts as an important resource and a buffer to requirements for (conditioned) flexibility, i.e., a protective factor that can help to prevent unhealth.…”

‘He is the customer, I will say yes’: Notions of power, precarity and consent to sexual harassment by customers in the gay tourism industry

“…At the same time, the precarious nature of hospitality employment in general and, specifically in this context, undermines the agency of workers themselves in seeking redress for abuse. The remedy, therefore, may lie with fundamental cultural changes within hospitality employment in order to give greater security and recognition of rights to the workforce (Booyens et al., 2022). For example, there is an argument that fairly rewarding workers in hospitality are less reliant on tips that has the potential to lessen customer sexual harassment (Klein et al., 2021; Kundro et al., 2021).…”

“…Finally, this study was conducted before the pandemic started. Given that emerging research shows that customer misbehavior and abuse has worsened during and after the COVID‐19 pandemic (Booyens et al., 2022), more research is necessary to re‐examine the impact this may have had on sexual harassment within the gay tourism market and beyond. In this regard, the financial impact of the repeated lockdowns and the long‐term precarity of service work will arguably remain drivers of tolerating, accepting, and consenting to harassment as part of the job.…”

Examining the pathway linking workplace incivility and employee well-being: a study among frontline hotel employees in India

“…Therefore, anonymous online and mobile platforms (e.g. StopIT) through employee assistance programs should be offered to employees to seek psychological interventions and trauma counseling if needed, to cope with workplace incivility (Booyens et al , 2022) and to discuss their problems emanating from the workplace.…”