Kajsa Hult, Jack Lainpelto, Ute Walter, Inger M. Jonsson
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
The need for competent hospitality workers is significant for the sustainable development of the restaurant industry. However, with the recurring challenges of recruiting and retaining a competent workforce, there is a need to understand how employers portray and communicate hospitality work in the recruitment process. Therefore, this study examines how employers construct the image of the hospitality worker, by analyzing what job advertisements signal and communicate to the applicants. Through thematic analysis of 100 job advertisements in Sweden, we found that the ideal hospitality worker is an individualized team player with occupational passion. This means that social capacities and commitment to hospitality and gastronomy, factors that are difficult to measure, are of relevance to gaining employment. Additionally, by asking for social capacities, the distance between work and leisure is diminished and the employee is constructed as a commodity for the purpose of improving service. In contrast to the common image that hospitality work is work that anyone could do, we conclude that the qualifications for becoming a hospitality worker in the restaurant industry are fairly complex.
期刊介绍:
Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism is the leading Nordic journal for hospitality and tourism research. SJHT aims at initiating and stimulating high-impact and innovative research relevant for academics and practitioners within the hospitality and tourism industries. The journal takes an interdisciplinary approach including, but not limited to geography, psychology, sociology, history, anthropology, and economics. SJHT encourages research based on a variety of methods, including both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The journal covers all types of articles relevant to the Nordic region, as well as the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic regions. We also welcome reviews and conceptual articles with a broader geographical scope that clearly enhance the theoretical development of the hospitality and tourism field. In addition to research articles, we welcome research notes and book reviews. Published articles are the result of anonymous reviews by at least two referees chosen by the editors for their specialist knowledge.