Barcelona hotel employees and their conception of fair work. An exploratory study

PurposeSustainable Development Goals (SDG) 5 and 8, respectively, indicate that decent work and gender equality are challenges that business organizations must face in order to achieve the social well-being and sustainable development of communities. Considering these goals, the present article aims to define the concept of fair work and examine the current degree of knowledge among staff in the hotel sector in Barcelona about the indicators of the Fair Labor Responsible Hotels (HJLR) certification.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methodology is used to analyze the primary data. A survey of 248 employees is complemented by nine semi-structured interviews with experts, general managers and heads of department of independently owned hotels and national and international chains.FindingsThe results show that this certification is necessary for the economic and social sustainability of the hospitality sector and to raise awareness that fair work is an urgent need. However, these currently tend to be little more than artificial actions.Originality/valueThe paper aims to emphasize the perspective of real actors in hotel industry about the actors' considerations of fair work to enhance the actors' job involvement and satisfaction.