INTRODUCTION:                    

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt lives and create a lack of personal safety and job security, these unprecedented circumstances have led to strain on the employer-employee relationship. This pandemic has undoubtedly shone a light on how individuals handle strained work relationships during such a crisis. Essential workers and managers are still desperately trying to navigate these devastating times, which has the potential to create tension in their existing relationships. Employers have been required to make difficult decisions such as laying off employees in order to keep their businesses afloat, while workers struggle to make ends meet. Many challenges are taxing this relationship, including risks to personal safety and a lack of job security. Solutions involving revamped safety measures, new methods of communication, and enhanced leadership tactics such as authentic leadership will be presented in this blog for employers and employees to overcome these challenges. It is worthwhile to look into this specific rapport so that managers and workers who are on the front lines of customer service know how to support each other during trying times. 

CHALLENGES:

Many challenges have risen within the hospitality industry since COVID-19 first made its appearance in the world. One of the biggest challenges facing employees and managers during this time is personal safety. When personal safety is threatened in the workplace, stress is heightened, creating strain on the employer-employee relationship. This stems from an overwhelming idea on the employees’ part that they will get sick when they interact with their coworkers and customers. This fear is not unfounded given that many businesses within the hospitality industry are now open and having people come back to work in the middle of the pandemic. As findings from Johnson et al. show, safety stressors on physical health are directly correlated with job satisfaction. The hospitality industry now qualifies many of its employees as “frontline” workers. Frontline workers are placed in high-risk situations daily, leaving them vulnerable to physical health risks. Such risks include contracting COVID-19 from their continual interactions with customers and co-workers, which induces stress about personal safety. This threat to physical health is a high stressor that leads to a depletion of an employee’s mental state (Zhang, Wang, Coca-Stefaniak, 2020). As the employee’s mental state is drained, they risk becoming dissatisfied and less efficient at their jobs, creating disengagement in the relationship with their managers (Johnson et al., 2005). These circumstances create an environment where each party feels unsupported, leading to discontentment within the employer-employee relationship.

In addition to lack of personal safety, the lack of job security that has accompanied the pandemic has put tension on the employer-employee relationship in the hospitality industry. The pandemic has caused uncertainty about a steady income for restaurant, bar, and hotel owners. Since managers and owners are worried they may not have enough resources to keep employees on their payroll and keep their businesses afloat at the same time, they have to make difficult decisions about laying workers off. An adequate amount of resources, such as income from sustained business, leads to a higher level of commitment from employees to the organization that they work for (Brewer, 1996). Because the pandemic has led to reduced income and less job security, employees in the hospitality industry are not as committed to their jobs, which can be frustrating for managers, and ultimately lead to strain in their relationship with employees. The research of Johnson et al. reveals that stress factors from work which impact employee-employer relationships can include the effectiveness of communication in the workplace and the extent of commitment employees have to their organization. A lack of job security induces these stress factors and dissipates the connection between employers and employees. Furthermore, when managers do not effectively communicate and assure employees that job retention is of top priority, employees become apathetic towards the work they’re doing for the manager, leading to a lack of trust in the relationship (Byrne et al., 2011). The stress that stems from lack of job security contributes significantly to strain on the employer-employee relationship. 

SOLUTIONS:

Throughout all of this, managers have had to find new ways of supporting their employees in order to make them feel safer at work. One way in which managers have been supporting employees is through granting time off. With increased health risks due to the ongoing pandemic, sick days and grace periods have come to the forefront of many discussions within the hospitality industry. Now more than ever, managers need strong teams of employees working to support the business. However, the issue of needing to take time off for extended periods has become more crucial as well (Hu, Yan, Casey, & Wu, 2021). Working on the frontlines at restaurants or hotels means you are exposed to the risks of COVID-19 more than the average non-frontline worker. With this unsafe working environment, it is of utmost importance that managers allow their staff the peace of mind to be able to work with precautions put into place to minimize the risk of becoming infected. This can entail requiring masks, social-distancing, extra cleaning protocol, and providing thorough safety leadership training. With lower perceived risk and higher belief restoration, organizational leadership is strengthened, and employees’ sense of personal safety is boosted, allowing hospitality industries to run more efficiently (Zhang, Wang, Coca-Stefaniak, 2020). Managers and employees are equally affected in this time, and these added personal safety measures will ultimately build a stronger employer-employee relationship.

Another way employers can support their employees in regards to job security is by providing constant reassurance that their employees’ job retention is a high priority. Communication methods such as daily briefings, meetings, and check-ins have provided a continual reassurance for employees who are concerned about potential down-sizing and/or layoffs. In return, this has enhanced relationships between employees and managers during this uncertain time. Research shows the best leaders are attentive and communicative with their colleagues (Motoc, 2020). Along those lines, authenticity in a manager is essential in order to better the environment of a company, as an authentic manager creates an open dialogue with their employees in hopes of assuring them job retention is of top priority (Ménard et al., 2011). Authentic leaders and the open lines of communication that they use will convey the importance of putting their employees’ job security first, which will strengthen the relationship between employers and employees by building trust. 

CONCLUSION:

Throughout the hardships that the COVID-19 pandemic has created, the importance of a healthy employer-employee relationship has become increasingly evident, especially in the hospitality industry. We hope that managers are able to implement our proposed solutions to combat the lack of personal safety and job security. The relationship between employers and employees is an important aspect of the workplace especially in a crisis such as a pandemic, when assurance and advocacy are critical for the well-being of the organization. In addition, when employees feel valued by their employers, they are more committed to the organization and the work they do. These feelings lead to actions that contribute to the overall success of the company. Based on our research, it is in the best interest of managers and employees alike to establish a durable relationship, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

REFERENCES: 

Brewer, A.M. (1996), “Developing commitment between managers and employees”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 11 No. 4, pp. 24-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683949610117599

Byrne, Z., Pitts, V., Chiaburu, D. and Steiner, Z. (2011), “Managerial trustworthiness and social exchange with the organization”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 108-122. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941111102155

Hu, X., Yan, H., Casey, T., & Wu, C. H. (2021). Creating a safe haven during the crisis: How organizations can achieve deep compliance with COVID-19 safety measures in the hospitality industry. International journal of hospitality management, 92, 102662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102662   

Johnson, S., Cooper, C., Cartwright, S., Donald, I., Taylor, P. and Millet, C. (2005), “The experience of work‐related stress across occupations”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 178-187. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940510579803

Ménard, J. and Brunet, L. (2011), “Authenticity and well‐being in the workplace: a mediation model”, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 331-346. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683941111124854

Motoc, A. (2020). Crisis Management and Resilience for Restaurants in Romania during the COVID19 Pandemic. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy. 8(4), 435-449. https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/mdke/mdke-overview.xml

Zhang, J., Xie, C., Wang, J., Morrison, A., Coca-Stefaniak, A. (2020). Responding to a Major Global Crisis: The Effects of Hotel Safety Leadership on Employee Safety Behavior During COVID-19. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 11(3), 3365-3389. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2020-0335

Authors (*All authors contributed equally to this paper): Taylor Mitchell, Brooke Richter, Jade White, Same Willie, and Kasey Woodruff.