A moderated-mediated model for examining the impact of fear of pandemic on employees’ turnover intention in Dubai’s hospitality and tourism industry

Purpose The global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected businesses worldwide. Arguably, one of the most affected industries is the hospitality sector, where the world has seen a substantial drop in personal and professional travel owing to severe lockdowns, which has particularly harmed the hotel and tourism industries by lowering occupancy and profits. The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the emotional and mental well-being of hospitality workers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative cross-sectional technique was used, with 517 respondents drawn from Dubai's major hotels. Findings Fear of the COVID-19 pandemic was found to be positively connected to employees' emotional weariness, which is then positively related to their intention to leave their organizations. Practical implications The paper gives suggestions to managers on how to best deal with their employees, especially the more competent ones, as they are more likely to leave during a pandemic. Originality/value Contrary to suggestions in the literature and our predictions, this paper found that self-efficacy positively moderated the relationship between fear of COVID and emotional exhaustion such that workers with high self-efficacy were more prone to emotional exhaustion as a result of their fear of COVID. Furthermore, the results of the research suggest that it is the more competent workers who are more likely to be affected, during a pandemic, and thus their loss is expected to cause greater loss to their organizations.