Work Challenges and Health of Immigrant Hotel Housekeepers: Part 2.

BACKGROUND: Hotel housekeepers' major responsibility is to perform cleaning tasks. In the course of performing their duties, hotel housekeepers are disproportionately exposed to multiple workplace hazards (i.e., physical, chemical, biological, and psychosocial hazards) that put them at risk of adverse health consequences. This study aims to discover the occupational and health challenges encountered by immigrant hotel housekeepers in Orlando, Florida, and help hotel management to develop strategies to improve their occupational health. METHODS: This study adopted an interviewer-administered survey method for data collection. Data were collected from members of the United Here Union, Local 7373 in Orlando, Florida. Trained Spanish-English bilingual associates of the Union administered the surveys through interviews with participants. Descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression were employed to analyze data (n = 140) using SPSS 22. FINDINGS: This study shows that Florida hotel housekeepers participating in this study worked under great time pressures, endured excessive workloads, did not have enough time to rest and recover, and often skipped or shortened lunch breaks. Participants believed that their employers valued work productivity more than their safety and health. More than half of the respondents experienced racial discrimination at their workplaces. CONCLUSION/APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: The article brings an important contribution to the awareness of housekeepers' feelings toward their work and the need for effective safety and health policies and programs.

Occupational Health and Safety of Immigrant Hotel Housekeepers.

BACKGROUND: The accommodations sector is one of the largest employers of immigrant and minority workers in the United States. Hotel housekeepers represent the industry's largest workforce while facing difficult work conditions, health hazards, and psychological stress. This is one of the few empirical studies that address the working conditions of housekeepers in the United States and their perspective of health challenges they face. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with hotel housekeepers (N = 140) in Florida and in collaboration with the local labor union as a rapid assessment of occupational health and safety risk exposures, work-related injuries, coping mechanisms, and perceived management responses. Experienced union workers recruited study participants and administered interviewer-administered surveys. The analysis included descriptive statistics and multivariate regression. FINDINGS: Sampled hotel housekeepers were found to work under significant time pressures to complete excessive workloads and to experience chemical and biological exposures and physical and psychosocial strains. Poor work equipment/insufficient supplies had a negative impact on hotel housekeepers' health, these include heavy wet towels vacuum cleaners having a significant effect on (p < .001) sprains and strains. Poor cleaning supplies had a significant effect (p < .001) on chemical burns. Other significant findings are provided in the article. CONCLUSION/APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: While housekeeping work conditions include many challenges, relatively simple changes by hotels' management can provide potential relief and improve workers' health and safety outcomes, such as functional equipment, sufficient inventory, management support, and proper rest breaks-subsequently increasing workers' health and reducing accidents, and thus potentially improving productivity at a relatively low cost.

The COVID-19 pandemic effects on the hospitality industry using social systems theory: A multi-country comparison.

In the last few decades, there have been numerous crises and disasters that negatively affected the hospitality industry. Different countries around the world experienced natural disasters, financial crises, violent attacks, and public health crises, all of which were studied in detail, except for public health crises. Thus, this study focuses on the effects of the Covid-19 public health crisis on the hospitality industry from the viewpoint of a select group of hospitality leaders in the USA, Israel, and Sweden. The opinions and viewpoints of these leaders focused on the handling of the Covid-19 crisis through the lens of the social systems theory and Hofstede's (1980) cultural dimensions.

The relationship between career adaptability, hope, resilience, and life satisfaction for hospitality students in times of Covid-19.

This study investigates the antecedents and effects of hospitality students' coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The relationship between career adaptability, hope, resilience, and life satisfaction are explored to unveil students' adaptability during times of crisis. The findings confirmed that hope is an important driver of resilience and life satisfaction. Despite all the negativity and uncertainty about jobs and careers during the COVID-19 pandemic, resilience has a double acting effect on the students' life satisfaction via individual and community resilience. Critical implications for academic institutions and the hospitality industry are presented. As the industry recovers from the pandemic and moves toward normality, the potential impact of career adaptability, hope, resilience, and life satisfaction on future job pursuit and career magnetism towards particular industry or organizations should be considered.