The fear of being infected and fired: Examining the dual job stressors of hospitality employees during COVID-19

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic has posed grave threats to the financial and physical health of hospitality employees, this research unveils details of the dilemma experienced by hospitality employees during the pandemic, namely, their fear of becoming infected and fired. The research data were derived from a sample of 622 hospitality employees in the U.S. and analyzed using PLS-SEM as a new model of COVID-19 stressors are proposed and tested. The findings show that hospitality employees perceive the pandemic as a traumatic event that elevates their perceived job insecurity and infectious risk. It was also found that both job insecurity and infectious risk lead to increased job stress and turnover intentions, while job insecurity alone is a stronger predictor of turnover intentions. This study is among the first to examine the antecedents and consequences of the dual stressors encountered by public-facing occupations, including hospitality, during the pandemic.

Hotel building design, occupants’ health and performance in response to COVID 19

“…One of the challenges is maintaining social distance to protect the safety of customers and employees while at work. It requires a low level of social contact was regarded as a solution for service industries ( Chen et al, 2022 , Sinclair et al, 2021 , Alonso et al, 2020 ). Some studies support physical environment, satisfaction, and productivity integration ( Yu et al, 2021 , Yu et al, 2020 , Choi et al, 2012 , Bangwal et al, 2017 , Schiavon and Altomonte, 2014 , Newsham et al, 2013 ; Altomonte and Sachiavon, 2013; Menadue et al, 2013 ; Thatcher and Milner, 2012 ; Yang et al, 2010 ).…”

“…One of the challenges is maintaining social distance while at work. Because hospitality employees have been identified as a high-risk group for coronavirus infection as they must continue to interact with guests and colleagues face-to-face ( Chen et al, 2022 , Sinclair et al, 2021 , Alonso et al, 2020 ). For this hotel building design plays a significant role against the spreading of the novel coronavirus due to its features of providing fresh air, natural light to enhance the immunity and ability to resist viruses, best ventilation system, new touchless technologies, controllable thermal settings, layout, size, healthy and safe workplace for maintaining social distancing ( Kaklauskas et al, 2021 ; Bangwal, 2019b).…”

Demographic Influences on Perceived Stressors of Construction Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Furthermore, some unique psychological effects were induced by the current pandemic, mainly including the fear of infection, organizational pandemic responses, and job insecurity [ 32 , 33 ]. Pandemic fear represents the individual perceived risks of being infected by COVID-19 as well as other health consequences (e.g., the high mortality rate).…”

An Unethical Organizational Behavior for the Sake of the Family: Perceived Risk of Job Insecurity, Family Motivation and Financial Pressures

“…As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and according to social cognitive theory, employees who face job insecurity in addition to increased family financial strain are more likely to use moral disengagement practices to disable moral self-regulation, resulting in increased levels of unethical behavior. Moreover, researchers asserted that the heavy losses suffered by business organizations created significant unethical organizational practice [ 3 , 8 , 9 ]. Approximately 90% of companies indicate that COVID-19 is a risk to ethical behavior at work, according to a report from Ernst and Young [ 10 ].…”

“…Despite the thrive of behavioral ethics research, negative behavior displayed within organizations has such a wide scope that it is virtually not possible to explore within the scope of a few research projects [ 22 ], and various studied contexts are needed to unpack the drivers of UOB for mitigating resulting risks. Most previous research on unethical behavior in the workplace focus on unethical pro-organizational behavior (in the name of the company) [ 9 ] with little attention to unethical practices in the name of self-interest [ 22 , 23 , 24 ] or the family [ 2 , 25 ]. The prevalent unethical behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 3 ] and their possible relations with job insecurity [ 2 ] have raised significant questions about the different forms of unethical organizational behavior (UOB) during crises, the possible psychological process that drive such practices, and how it can be mitigated.…”