Intervention needs among hotel employees and managers

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Rosemberg, Marie-Anne S.^a | Granner, Josephine R.^b | Li, Wei V.^b | Adams, Mackenzie^b | Militzer, Maria A.^{c; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership, School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA | [b] School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA | [c] Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health (CRECH), School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Correspondence: [*] Address for correspondence: Marie-Anne S. Rosemberg, PhD, Assistant Professor, 400 North Ingalls, Room 3175, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. Tel.: +734 647 0146 (office); Fax: +734 763 0681; E-mail: sanon@umich.edu.

Abstract: BACKGROUND:Hotel room cleaners are disproportionately exposed to hazards that increase risk for poor health outcomes. Interventions are needed to improve the health of these workers. Yet we know little about the expressed needs of hotel room cleaners nor do we know about managers’ perspectives on how to best optimize employee health. OBJECTIVE:We aimed to develop an understanding of perceived intervention needs among hotel room cleaners and to assess managers’ views on the acceptability of the proposed interventions. METHODS:We used a community-based approach to recruit study participants. We conducted five focus groups among hotel room cleaners and individual interviews with hotel managers. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using content analysis. RESULTS:The workers expressed needs centered on pay, workload, appreciation, ergonomics, chemical and biological hazards, nutrition, smoking cessation, exercise, mental health and stress management. In addition to echoing the workers’ expressed needs, managers emphasized employee retention and financial literacy. CONCLUSIONS:To our knowledge, this is the first paper to include both workers’ and managers’ accounts on intervention approaches that will optimize health and wellbeing. This paper offers a guide for future program development among hospitality workers. Effective interventions need to be integrated, encompassing the individual, intrapersonal, organizational, and policy levels.

Keywords: Hospitality, workload, tourism, low-wage worker, participatory action research, organization and administration, worker health

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-205060

Journal: Work, vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 1063-1071, 2022