Table of Contents
How do hospitality and tourism organizations deal with work stress?........................................................2
Stress.......................................................................................................................................................2
Stress prevailing in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector.......................................................................2
Dealing with stress in the Tourism and Hospitality organizations...............................................................9
Stress avoidance by tourism and hospitality organization.....................................................................10
Actions to prevent work stress-implications in HR practices.............................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................17
References.............................................................................................................................................18
Books....................................................................................................................................................18
Page | 1
,How do hospitality and tourism organizations deal with work stress?
Stress
It is the adverse psychological and physical reactions that occur in an individual as a result of
their being unable to cope with the demands being made on them. A Canadian psychologist Hans
Seyle, the founder of the theory of stress, defined stress “as the nonspecific response of our body
to any demand for change”.
In widely –reported study of stress carried out in the 1960s (Holmes and Rahe), most of the life
events referred to as potentially leading to stress (e.g. death of spouse, divorce, death of close
relative, personal injury or illness, marriage etc.) occurs in a person’s domestic and social life,
not at work. However,since individual bring their problem with them to work, it scarcely matters
in one sense whether the trigger for stress was work-related or not, for the effect on individuals is
the same and work performance is likely to be adversely affected. Most researchers acknowledge
that stress is a personal, subjective reaction to pressure. It depends on individual’s perception
both of the scale of the problem and their ability to cope with it. Where individuals perceive that
a problem is manageable and are confident of their ability to handle the problem, then stress
symptoms are unlikely to appear whatever the pressures exerted by the problem. However,
where individual perceived the problem as difficult to manage, and are lacking in self -
confidence, then stress will result.
The short term symptoms of stress can be manifested: indigestion, nausea, headaches, back-pain,
loss of appetite, loss of sleep and increased irritability. In longer terms, symptoms may include:
coronary heart disease, stomach ulcers, depression and other serious conditions. Other symptoms
of stress are: Increased irritability, Signs of tension such as nail biting, Drinking and smoking
more, Loss of concentration, heightened sensitivity to criticism
The symptoms of stress, whether triggered by work problems or domestic/ social problems, will
eventually lead to reduced employees performance, lack of motivation and increased
absenteeism.
Stress prevailing in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector
The nature of the hospitality and tourism industry seems to demand a constant human effort, and
the challenging work environment may threaten the long term health and wellbeing of
employees, thus making hospitality and tourism a rather stressful occupation. Employees
working in the tourism and hospitality industry are more prone to job stress than employees
working in many other occupations for several reasons:
1) High customer contact and the real time nature of service delivery means that service
personnel face high demands from multiple sources
2) Uncooperating and unhappy co-workers and dissatisfied customers
Page | 2
, 3) The high levels of staff turnover in the industry results in higher training costs and create an
extra load on employees and cause serious problems
4) Autocratic management style and introduction of frequent new methods of management
practices create stressful work environment (Brymer, et al.,1991; Faulkner and Patiar, 1997)
Stress factors in the workplace
Stress factors at work can be anything producing stress reactions. Parasuraman and Alutto (1984)
define job stressors as “job demands, constraints (or opportunities), job- related events or
situations that may affect an individual’s role fulfillment”
The job itself, management style, working conditions, peers and colleagues are can all be sources
of stress to different people working in tourism organisations(workers, ect.). As can be seen
from Table 1 below, there are 6 major stress categories that were identified in the workplace.
These workplace stress categories are:
1. Time pressures
2. Conflict
3. Skill efficiencies
Category stressor
Time Predetermined workspace
pressure Too heavy a workload- particularly if combines with constant deadlines
Conflict Interpersonal conflict
Intrapersonal conflict
Role conflict
Value-driven conflict
Skill Inadequate skills to succeed in a job
deficiencies
Fear of the Anticipate of potential failure
unknown Organisation change
The nature of Too much or too little variety in a job
the job itself Poorly defined job requirements
Pressure of constantly working in public eye
Seasonal or cyclical fluctuation in a job
Job content that is dangerous or impinges on other domains of an employee’s life
Page | 3
How do hospitality and tourism organizations deal with work stress?........................................................2
Stress.......................................................................................................................................................2
Stress prevailing in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector.......................................................................2
Dealing with stress in the Tourism and Hospitality organizations...............................................................9
Stress avoidance by tourism and hospitality organization.....................................................................10
Actions to prevent work stress-implications in HR practices.............................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................17
References.............................................................................................................................................18
Books....................................................................................................................................................18
Page | 1
,How do hospitality and tourism organizations deal with work stress?
Stress
It is the adverse psychological and physical reactions that occur in an individual as a result of
their being unable to cope with the demands being made on them. A Canadian psychologist Hans
Seyle, the founder of the theory of stress, defined stress “as the nonspecific response of our body
to any demand for change”.
In widely –reported study of stress carried out in the 1960s (Holmes and Rahe), most of the life
events referred to as potentially leading to stress (e.g. death of spouse, divorce, death of close
relative, personal injury or illness, marriage etc.) occurs in a person’s domestic and social life,
not at work. However,since individual bring their problem with them to work, it scarcely matters
in one sense whether the trigger for stress was work-related or not, for the effect on individuals is
the same and work performance is likely to be adversely affected. Most researchers acknowledge
that stress is a personal, subjective reaction to pressure. It depends on individual’s perception
both of the scale of the problem and their ability to cope with it. Where individuals perceive that
a problem is manageable and are confident of their ability to handle the problem, then stress
symptoms are unlikely to appear whatever the pressures exerted by the problem. However,
where individual perceived the problem as difficult to manage, and are lacking in self -
confidence, then stress will result.
The short term symptoms of stress can be manifested: indigestion, nausea, headaches, back-pain,
loss of appetite, loss of sleep and increased irritability. In longer terms, symptoms may include:
coronary heart disease, stomach ulcers, depression and other serious conditions. Other symptoms
of stress are: Increased irritability, Signs of tension such as nail biting, Drinking and smoking
more, Loss of concentration, heightened sensitivity to criticism
The symptoms of stress, whether triggered by work problems or domestic/ social problems, will
eventually lead to reduced employees performance, lack of motivation and increased
absenteeism.
Stress prevailing in the Tourism and Hospitality Sector
The nature of the hospitality and tourism industry seems to demand a constant human effort, and
the challenging work environment may threaten the long term health and wellbeing of
employees, thus making hospitality and tourism a rather stressful occupation. Employees
working in the tourism and hospitality industry are more prone to job stress than employees
working in many other occupations for several reasons:
1) High customer contact and the real time nature of service delivery means that service
personnel face high demands from multiple sources
2) Uncooperating and unhappy co-workers and dissatisfied customers
Page | 2
, 3) The high levels of staff turnover in the industry results in higher training costs and create an
extra load on employees and cause serious problems
4) Autocratic management style and introduction of frequent new methods of management
practices create stressful work environment (Brymer, et al.,1991; Faulkner and Patiar, 1997)
Stress factors in the workplace
Stress factors at work can be anything producing stress reactions. Parasuraman and Alutto (1984)
define job stressors as “job demands, constraints (or opportunities), job- related events or
situations that may affect an individual’s role fulfillment”
The job itself, management style, working conditions, peers and colleagues are can all be sources
of stress to different people working in tourism organisations(workers, ect.). As can be seen
from Table 1 below, there are 6 major stress categories that were identified in the workplace.
These workplace stress categories are:
1. Time pressures
2. Conflict
3. Skill efficiencies
Category stressor
Time Predetermined workspace
pressure Too heavy a workload- particularly if combines with constant deadlines
Conflict Interpersonal conflict
Intrapersonal conflict
Role conflict
Value-driven conflict
Skill Inadequate skills to succeed in a job
deficiencies
Fear of the Anticipate of potential failure
unknown Organisation change
The nature of Too much or too little variety in a job
the job itself Poorly defined job requirements
Pressure of constantly working in public eye
Seasonal or cyclical fluctuation in a job
Job content that is dangerous or impinges on other domains of an employee’s life
Page | 3
