The consequence of waiters’ professional identity on passion for work and its effects on employee turnover: a qualitative approach

Abstract

Purpose Purpose- This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between waiters’ professional identity and its antecedents such as work interaction, identity interferences, stigma, standardisation brand, authenticity, extroversion and education. “Salience” will be used as a moderator of this relationship to explain the prominence of the stimuli. The consequences of professional identity on passion and turnover intention will be analysed. Design/methodology/approach This study used a qualitative methodology, which encompassed 3 focus group discussions (18 participants) and 11 in-depth interviews. Participants will be based on Michelin-starred restaurants in London. Founded on analysis of the qualitative data, the antecedents and consequences of professional identity were formulated. Findings Findings demonstrate that the main factors of the formation of waiters’ professional identity are work interaction, identity interferences, stigma, standardisation brand, authenticity, extroversion and education, its consequences (passion and turnover intention) and salience as a moderator of this relationship to clarify the relevance of the stimuli. These factors have been demonstrated to have an effect on the formation of professional identity. Originality/value This study is relevant because the repercussion of perceptions, such as identity and identification for emerging exclusive job roles, is still under-examined in certain conditions. Restaurateurs need to work with and comprehend the quality individual framework of waiters in job roles because these have a stimulus on the fundamental interests, such as passion for work and turnover of the waiting workforce. Moreover, within the hospitality industry, there has been a predisposition to prominence more on chefs than waiting staff.

Professional identity, passion and career change during the pandemic: comparing nascent and experienced hospitality professionals

“…These findings explain the recent worker shortage issue faced by the hospitality industry worldwide. Education has been identified as a factor contributing to the formation of hospitality professional identity (Jerez-Jerez and Melewar, 2020). Therefore, hospitality educators should consider reframing hospitality education to support professional role identification.…”

Hotel employees’ occupational stigma narratives: perceived attributes, formation paths and destigmatization mechanisms

“…Research perspectives have included social identity (Link and Phelan, 2001), self-validation (Shantz and Booth, 2014) and resource conservation (Hobfoll, 2001a). From the perspective of the mechanism driving, existing studies have explored the mechanism of occupational stigma (Kusluvan et al , 2022), the empirical study of occupational stigma and commitment (Jerez-Jerez and Melewar, 2020; Shigihara, 2018), occupational stigma and self-esteem (Walmsley et al , 2020) and occupational stigma effects and countermeasures (Li et al , 2020). Though the extant research has discussed occupational stigma in various relevant industries, the hotel industry, which has been greatly affected by the COVID-19, it has not been sufficiently addressed, especially regarding the mechanism of the action and resolution of occupational stigma across different job types in the hotel industry.…”

Public Leadership Roles, Professional Identity, and Quality of Work Life: A Structural Equation Model on Satisfaction of Employees in the Local Government

“…Furthermore, professional identity can enhance job satisfaction and work engagement. With job satisfaction, employees forget about turnover [43], [44], [45]. Even in the medical field, professional identity strongly correlates with job satisfaction, even with a commitment to the organization [46], [47].…”

“…Congruently, professional identity influences employee satisfaction and enhances job performance [43], [13], [45]. Also, the quality of work-life influences job satisfaction [49], [35].…”