Managers’ attitudes toward employees with depression and organizational citizenship behaviors in the hospitality industry: assessing the mediating role of personality

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to examine the individual and contextual predictors of managerial attitudes toward employees with chronic depression (EwCD) in the hospitality and tourism field, the relationship between managerial attitudes toward EwCD and levels of organizational citizenship behavior, and the mediating role of personality in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were collected through an online survey of 305 managers working in the hospitality and tourism industry in the USA. SmartPLS 3 software was used to conduct a partial least squares-structural equation modeling analysis. Findings Organizational and individual characteristics of managers, such as pressure to be productive in the workplace, previous experience with depression, levels of anxiety and personality characteristics, are strong predictors of attitudes toward employees with depression. Personality mediates the effect of managers’ attitudes toward organizational citizenship behavior. Practical implications The study provided support that managers who have experienced depression are more understanding of the needs of EwCD and, consequently, can reduce related stigma in the workplace. Likewise, open and agreeable managers who do not feel the constant pressure to showcase high performance and who score low on anxiety and high on organizational citizenship behavior can create a safe working environment free from prejudice and discrimination toward EwCD. Originality/value Examining depression in the hospitality and tourism industry becomes even more critical as mental health issues are increasing in the workplace. This research contributes to the hospitality and tourism literature, which seldom investigates managerial perspectives of mental illness and sheds light on the desirable managerial personality traits necessary for creating an inclusive workplace.

Quiet quitting: relationship with other concepts and implications for tourism and hospitality

“…Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has shaken employees and organizations. It increased mental health issues (Kalargyrou et al , 2023), unemployment, job insecurity, flexible work arrangements, the wide adoption of remote working (Hamouche and Chabani, 2021) and virtual experiences (e.g. in hospitality and tourism) (Wei et al , 2022).…”

“…It rather indicates that the current organizational culture, which is predominantly directed toward high-performance work systems and competition among employees, is detrimental to employees’ morale, well-being (Ogbonnaya and Messersmith, 2019; Teo et al , 2020) and work–life balance (Pearce, 2022). Hospitality is an example of an extremely high-paced industry with a level high of pressure placed on managers and employees to be productive (Kalargyrou et al , 2023).…”

“…This trend is pronounced in tourism and hospitality, whereby after the end of COVID-19 shutdowns and restart of operations, there was a significantly higher reduction in employee productivity than in other industries (Gordon and Sayed, 2022; Khan et al , 2022). In short, the high-paced nature of work (Kalargyrou et al , 2023); the working conditions typical of tourism and hospitality that demand staff to routinely go above and beyond the call of duty to satisfy customers’ demands – which oftentimes can be excessive or/and expressed aggressively (Wang et al , 2022) – the high levels of emotional labor stemming from the expectation to always serve customers with a smile (Pugh, 2001); the relatively low pay (Mohsin et al , 2022) and respect of jobs in tourism and hospitality (Díaz-Carrión et al , 2020); all create fertile ground for quiet quitting to flourish in the industry.…”

“What it do?” The effects of racial code-switching on industry turnover intention

“…Industry turnover intention is a pressing issue in hospitality (Kwok, 2022;Yu et al, 2021Yu et al, , 2022. Many employees reevaluate their work-life balance and mental well-being in the industry, further driving turnover intention (Gordon et al, 2019;Kalargyrou et al, 2023;Kwok, 2022). Depression is a persistent emotional numbness that can cause a loss of interest in personal and work life (Kalargyrou et al, 2023;Shani and Pizam, 2009).…”

Fair and Square: Impact of Hospitality Employees’ Justice Perceptions and Job Embeddedness on Citizenship Behavior during COVID-19

“…Employee OCB is extremely important for the hospitality sector as it has been linked to service quality (Liang, 2012) and employee performance (Chaing & Hsieh, 2012) in this sector. Owing to its importance in this sector, it has been studied extensively in the hospitality industry in recent times (Kalargyrou et al, 2022;Ma et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2021).…”