The Moderating Role of Career Progression on Job Mobility: A Study of Work–Life Conflict

Abstract

Employment and professional mobility are important aspects of life for both hospitality organizations and individual employees. Across two studies, we examine the effects of work-life conflict and actual (Study 1) and perceived (Study 2) progression in one's career on hotel managers' intentions to leave their organizations or leave the hotel industry altogether. In Study 1, positive relations between work-life conflict and turnover and career change intentions were found among actual hotel managers. Similarly, in Study 2, job seekers who were experimentally induced to expect higher work-life conflict in their future careers reported higher turnover and career change intentions. Across both studies, this effect was stronger among those with less progression in their careers. These results provide a more nuanced understanding of the high turnover rates in the hospitality industry, and we discuss how hospitality organizations can leverage this knowledge in managerial retention efforts.

Hospitality career retention: the role of contextual factors and thriving at work

“…Research on Generation Y hospitality employees revealed that long work-hours and conpensation were two major reasons casuing hospitality graduates to leave the industry (Brown et al, 2015). Lack of training also influenced tourism employees' career change (Walsh and Taylor, 2007), while work-life conflict deminished employees' intention to stay (McGinley and Martinez, 2018). Although these discrete factors are important, there is a lack of investigation on the overall employer impact on hospitality career retention.…”

Deciding To Stay: A Study in Hospitality Managerial Grit

“…In studies with hotel managers as internal employability prospects declined intentions to turnover and change careers increased (McGinley et al, 2014; McGinley & Martinez, 2016). Likewise, gritty people take future perceptions into consideration when making career decisions (Oettingen, 2012), suggesting grit may interact with future perceptions of employability.…”

“…By studying grit (a variable that can be considered in the selection phase of the hiring process) managers can select for longevity, not just aptitude. While grit may help predict future outcomes, so should another future-oriented variable—perceptions of employability—that has moderated professional mobility intentions (McGinley & Martinez, 2016). Therefore, this study seeks to answer the question: How do future-oriented variables like grit and perceptions of employability affect professional mobility outcomes in the hospitality industry?…”

Overcoming Job Insecurity: Examining Grit as a Predictor

“…factors that could be measured before employment begins, or subjective factors that workers use to make sense of future employment circumstances. Similar to McGinley and Martinez (2016) and McGinley, O'Neill, Damaske, and Mattila (2014), this study seeks to account for how behavioral intentions are moderated by future perceptions. One individual characteristic that may allow a person to remain with and commit to a company is the level of passion and perseverance for a job-their level of grit (Duckworth, 2016).…”