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Why is this topic relevant for the Tyrolean tourism industry?
Carolina Federle: The hotel industry is a central component of the Tyrolean tourism industry and the employees are in turn a central component of the guest experience. Especially in times of skills shortages, it is important to understand how employers can support their employees.
What are the key findings of your work and what significance do they have for tourist destinations and businesses?
Carolina Federle: The results of the work have shown that the emotional labor that receptionists experience on a daily basis is strongly influenced by the behavior of the customers and the support of the company. A distinction can be made between three strategies for dealing with emotional labor. You can either allow your natural feelings (Naturally Felt Emotions), try to empathize with the guest (Deep Acting), or suppress your own feelings (Surface Acting). In most cases, two of these strategies are combined, but there were also participants who used only one of the strategies or all three. Furthermore, receptionists used coping mechanisms such as social support and sports to deal with the consequences of emotional labor, especially after work hours.
There is often a lack of awareness of the effects of emotional labor, especially on the employer side, which further increases the burden. This often leads to dissatisfaction and frequent resignations, especially when employees feel a lack of appreciation, unrealistic expectations or an excessive workload. Therefore, measures taken by the company can help to reduce the effects of emotional labor, as most participants generally had a positive attitude towards working at the hotel reception.
What specific recommendations for action do you make in your Master's thesis?
Carolina Federle: To support employees in coping with emotional labor, a three-stage model based on the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory was designed. This theory states that people want to minimize cognitive resource losses and build up resources in stress-free times in order to achieve well-being.
Abbildung 1: Handlungsempfehlungen, © Carolina Federle
Level 1: Minimization of resource losses with the aim of giving employees confidence in dealing with customer problems.
Measures:
- Structured induction with experienced colleagues, technical training and introduction to the team and the organization.
- Ensure that managers are emotionally intelligent and compatible with the team, ideally splitting responsibility for large teams.
- Introduction of behavioral guidelines that are flexible and suggest solutions for typical guest situations without imposing strict rules.
Level 2: Restoration of resources, with the aim of establishing support systems to reduce emotional stress.
Measures:
- Team building events: e.g. twice a season to strengthen team dynamics.
- Regular meetings: informal meetings (e.g. weekly/14-daily) within the shift in a relaxed atmosphere or formal meetings with supervisors to discuss challenges and customer complaints.
- Individual feedback meetings with the manager to discuss emotional stress and possible adjustments (e.g. back office assignments).
- Switching between departments, e.g. partial work in the service department, to allow for variety and relaxation.
Level 3: Build up a surplus of resources with the aim of creating well-being and positive stress (eustress).
Measures:
- Emotion training by external experts to better understand emotional intelligence and behavioral patterns.
- Role-playing games to practise dealing with difficult customers and develop more self-confidence.
Of course, these measures are associated with effort and costs, which is why it is recommended to ensure level 1 and then build on it if possible. The measures seem very simple, but even these were often not in place in the companies where the participants worked.