Employee engagement vs. Job Satisfaction in Hotel Industry

 

Job satisfaction of an employee is one of the major factors that influence organizational growth and success (Al-dalahmeh, 2018). According to Locke (1976) Job satisfaction is ‘a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job and job experiences’. Engaged employees are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs (Armstrong, 2014). Job satisfaction is the perceived quality of the job through an individual's consideration of the monetary and non-monetary aspects of the job. (Di Paolo, 2016). 

After a job satisfaction survey done by Paul Spector, he listed 14 familiar aspects on employee job satisfaction which includes; appreciation, communication, co-workers, fringe benefits, working conditions, nature of the work, organization, personal growth, policies and procedures, promotion opportunities, recognition, security, and supervision (Spector,1997). There are three main faces of employee engagement;

• Hard and serious to complete the work more effectively
• Feeling proud about the work
• Willingly relate with stakeholders to find ways to improve or to upgrade work circumstances. (Galagedara, 2021)

Marriot International is the largest Hotel Chain in the world with more than 7500 hotels worldwide. It’s Regional Vice President of Human Resources, Karl Fischer says that higher employee engagement at Marriott means:

• 12% higher revenue per compensation dollar
  
• 9% higher house profit margin
• 9% of guests are less likely to have problems and
• 11% of guests are more likely to return (Dharmasiri, 2021)

Due to the high business pressure in business environment, most hotel and tourism organizations are currently going through a change model of outsourcing and also introducing the ‘crew member’ concept by merging duties such as self-service in fast food restaurant (Galagedara, 2021). Also it is a known factor that the pandemic of Covid-19 has also made massive stress on both employees and the organizations and directly impact in hotel industry and tourism. This also caused many employee dissatisfactions about their organization and most of the employees had to leave the organizations due to failing businesses.  

Hotel managers and directors should ensure that their employees' thoughts and concerns are taken in to consideration since it directly impact on employee job satisfaction and the behaviors and outcomes of satisfied employee is important to business and also to the society (Chiang, 2010).

Video 1 : 9 Easy Tips to Improve Employee Satisfaction in The Hotel Industry

Source : Connecteam (2020), Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UmGtCX2iqw )

As a conclusion, Employee satisfaction is an essential element in hotel industry and it will affect service quality of the Hotel. Also it indirectly related with customer satisfaction and employee performance in the hotel as well.  A satisfied employee could improve hotel service level and make satisfied, loyal guests to the hotel. As a tourist destination, Sri Lankan hotels should upgrade employee satisfaction which can lead to improve the service quality in Sri Lanka.

References

Al-dalahmeh, M., Masa’deh, R., Abu Khalaf, R. and Obeidat, B. (2018). The Effect of Employee Engagement on Organizational Performance Via the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction: The Case of IT Employees in Jordanian Banking Sector. Modern Applied Science, [online] 12(6), p.23.

Armstrong, M. and Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice, 13th edition. 13th ed. London: Kogan Page, pp.193-202

Chiang, C. (2010). Perceived organizational change in the hotel industry: An implication of change scheme. International Journal of Hospitality Management, pg 157–167

Dharmasiri, A.S., (2021) Global Trends on Employee Engagement, Epitome of Engaging Employees. Available at :

https://apbsrilanka.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2010_22nd_conv_a_7_Dr_Ajantha_Dharmasiri.pdf

Di Paolo, A. (2016). Endogenous: Occupational Choices and Job Satisfaction among Recent Spanish PhD Recipients. International Journal of Manpower, 37(3), 511-535.

Galagedara, N. Weerasinghe T. D (2021) Impact of Employee Engagement on Job Satisfaction: Study of the Employees of a Leading Five-Star Hotel in Sri Lanka. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353322848_Impact_of_Employee_Engagement_on_Job_Satisfaction_Study_of_the_Employees_of_a_Leading_Five-Star_Hotel_in_Sri_Lanka  Accessed Sep 01 2022.

Spector, P. E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes, and consequences. Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage Publication Inc.

Yeh, Y. (1999). Employee satisfaction of hotel industry: A Case study of the Grand Hotel Taipei: Theses, Rochester Institute of Technology, pg.24