MHC611: Analyzing Shift Work and Employee Satisfaction in Hotels

This report investigates the impact of shifting working hours on employee satisfaction within the hospitality industry, specifically focusing on Marriott hotels. It identifies issues such as employee stress and depression resulting from unpredictable schedules, which in turn affects organizational performance. The study employs a qualitative research approach, gathering insights from Marriott hotel managers to understand the challenges of providing 24/7 customer service while maintaining employee well-being. The report explores relevant theories like Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and flexible working theory to develop recommendations for improving shift work practices and enhancing employee job satisfaction. Ultimately, the aim is to balance customer satisfaction with the needs and well-being of the employees to improve overall organizational performance. Desklib provides access to similar past papers and solved assignments for students.

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1INDEPENDENT CRITICAL ANALYSIS BUSINESS RESEARCH
Abstract
It has been identified in this study that due to the changing working shift, the difficulties have
increased in the hospitality industry. As its result, the large number of employees are dealing
with a disappointing situation in the organization. Due to the shifting job practices, the
employees are dealing with the issues like depression and stress. Shifting working hours have
become an important organizational issue that impact on the business performance of the
organization. It has been mentioned in this study that the managers do not face any type of
problems in providing a 24x7 services uninterruptable. In order to conduct the research
project, the qualitative research technique has been followed. This is very important for
analysing the issues associated with the employees of Marriot hotels. It has also been
analysed that depression and stress are the main consequence of shifting working hours. By
discussing with the managers of Marriott hotels, this can be clearly said that the customers'
satisfaction is the aim of the organization. In the case of hospitality industry, the shifting
working hours is also very important for providing full-time service to the customers. As the
employees have not satisfied with their job, due to this reason organizational performance is
getting hampered. In this situation, the company needs to focus on promoting some effective
shifting job practices that will be able to help with grabbing the attention of the customers.

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Table of contents
Chapter 1:.......................................................................................................................4
Background and introduction.........................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Literature Review.........................................................................................6
Chapter3.......................................................................................................................10
Methodology................................................................................................................10
Chapter 4......................................................................................................................12
Finding / discussion/ analysis.......................................................................................12
Chapter 5......................................................................................................................18
Recommendation and implementation.........................................................................18
Chapter 6......................................................................................................................20
Conclusion....................................................................................................................20
References and bibliography........................................................................................22

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Chapter 1:
Background and introduction
Background context
In the current business scenario, the rate of shifting working hours have increased.
Due to the changing working shift, the difficulties have increased in the hospitality industry.
As its result, the large number of employees are dealing with the disappointing situation in
the organization. It has been identified in this study that the hotel named Marriot is dealing
with the issues regarding sifting job of the employees. In this study, the impact of shifting job
in the case of influencing employees' satisfaction has been highlighted.
Research problem, research purpose, aims and objectives
The major problem, which has been identified that due to the shifting job practices the
employees are dealing with the issues like depression and stress. This is influencing the
organizational performance. Due to the changes in duty on the last moment making the
employees dissatisfied and stressed. This is also reducing the job excitement of the
employees.
Aim and objectives
 To identify the issues that were affecting the organizational performance
 To analyse how the issues are impacting on the job satisfaction of the employees
 To develop measurable recommendations in order to deal with the issues
The significance of the research
The major significance of this study is in the current business scenario shifting
working hours have become an important organizational issue that impacts on the business

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performance of the organization. This is very important for the organization to identify the
reason behind these situations.
Scope of report
By analysing the issues regarding the shifting working hours and its impact on the
hospitality industry the study has identified the balanced way, which can be followed by the
organization without hampering their organizational performance. Therefore, this can be said
that through this report the organizations which are dealing with the same problems will be
able to deal with the situation. The theories like Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and
flexible working theory has been discussed in this study.

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Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction:
Literature review section focusses on the thorough overview of previous empirical
researches implemented on flexible shift work on employee satisfaction in the hospitality
industry. The theories of work designing, job satisfaction and employee retention have
pointed out the importance of maintaining flexibility of working hours in the workplaces.
Both the dependant and independent variables have clear features.
Theories of flexible working:
In response to the consequences of employee dissatisfaction in the hotel industries
around the world, there has been a huge strategic ideas issues and implemented in the hotels
so that in one hand, the employees get satisfied with their job and feel encouraged to serve
their clients properly, on the other hand, the managers do not face any type of problems in
providing a 24x7 services uninterruptable. In this aspect, the theories like Herzberg's
motivation-hygiene theory and flexible working theory can be discussed (Vetter, Fischer,
Matera, & Roennebe, 2015). According to the motivation-hygiene theory by Herzberg, there
are some factors in the workplaces which motivate the employees effectively whereas others
cause dissatisfaction (Hur, 2017). This theory suggests that the managers when to try to
enhance productivity and job attitudes, need to recognize both positive as well as negative
factors which play a critical role in the job satisfaction of the employees. This is the reason
why the administrators need to identify the job characteristics leading the employees'
satisfaction at work and separate sets of job features leading their dissatisfaction. This two-
factor theory distinguishes among the motivators and hygiene factors. The motivators give
positive satisfaction, and hygiene factors though do not incur positive satisfaction but prevent
from gaining dissatisfactory results (Ruggiero & Redeker, 2014). This theory can be directly

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related with the employee satisfaction originated from their shifting duty hours. From the
perspectives of the employees, job flexibility is the benefit of choosing time according to the
convenience (Hur, 2017). This decides, how long and for whom eth employees want to work.
Flexible time in the workplace also helps the employers to provide uninterrupted service to
the customers so that there is no gap between the demand and supply. According to the two-
factor theory, the flexibility of duty hour, can effectively motivate the employees to feel
attached to the organizational systems and serve better (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014).
The other theory of flexible timing options, give the individuals the opportunity to
design their careers for optimizing their life goals as well as their careers. This theory is
closely related with systems theory approach that examines the process of using flexible
working options to influence the interactions in the workplace and relationship building
(Ramin et al., 2015). This theory is completely related to the career theory most popular in
these current organizational settings where the quality of life has been equated with the
standard of living. The current careers counselling processes in the developed countries as
well as developing nations where the global companies are establishing themselves have
started to incorporate life space approach which is mainly the effect of balancing time spent
in the workplaces by the employees (Nea, Kearney, Livingstone, Pourshahidi, & Corish,
2015). Though shifting jobs, the employees can take care of the connection between their
family and work life as well as constructivism that focuses on the contextualized experiences
of the individual employees. The system theory discloses the fact that the interface among the
personal systems of the individuals and system of their organizations where they spent most
of the time, determine the types and needs for flexible work options (Knutsson, 2017).
The significance of shifting duty
Shift work is an employment practice designed for providing service across 24 hours
a day. This is the process of dividing a working day into shifts by setting periods of time

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when the various teams of workers provide their services. The policies and practices of
utilizing the workforce through shifting method of job can significantly affect the health and
other aspects of the employees (Junare & John, 2015). Some of the critics have found out that
the shift working increases the risks of developing many physical disorders as this may
disrupt the normal way of life and most importantly sleep. These diseases are mainly
insomnia or excessive sleepiness which bare both harmful for the individuals. The
researchers have pointed out the fact that the employees who perform a shifting duty are
more vulnerable of having diabetes than others. The women working, in shifting schedules
may suffer from breast cancer due to the alteration of working hours (Zhu, Yin, Liu, & Lai,
2014). In addition to this, the employees working in the night shifts are more prone to have
accidents, which are closely linked with workplace injuries and fatigue. These affect the
production of the industries.
Arguments for flexible duty hours
Despite having numerous drawbacks, there are mixed opinions regarding shifting
methods of job performance. In supporting this method of shift schedules, the researches
have pointed out the aspect of increased accountability and continuity as there result a few
opportunities for miscommunications as well as production disruptions. Through this process,
the employees take reduced adaptation time. According to McCann, Graves and Cox (2014),
shift working leads to reduced absenteeism as the employees feel more accountable to their
managers as they remain responsible for maintaining smooth operation of the organizations.
Shifting lowers the employee turnover, as the employees feel attached to their organizations
as they get ample time to spend with their families. This method enhances the employee
morale by reducing stress and improved quality of life. The wide survey has disclosed the
effect that the organizations can get more dedicated employees through this method of
employee satisfaction (Leder, Newsham, Veitch, Mancini, & Charls, 2016).

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Impact of flexible duty hours on the quality of service and performance of employees
Rotating roasters actually allow the managers to schedule their employees for day
shift, and mid shift night shift a rotating them according to the needs of both the employees as
well as the organizations. The shifting schedule is very important for the hospitality industry
which includes hotels of various sizes, motels, restaurants, amusement parks and the resorts.
By opposing typically fixed schedules, the shifting process allows the hospitality industry to
balance the employees' skills during various part so the day (Åkerstedt & Kecklund, 2017).
Therefore, the managers get the opportunity to not only using the experienced employees
during rush hour but mix both experienced and inexperienced to work together for the
betterment of performance. This method can save time and money of the organizations as the
managers do not need to arrange training process for the employees repeatedly. Shifting
method helps the employees to increase their versatility. The managers can easily employ
staff in place of the other if the other one cannot be present there. This helps to manage the
emergency and keep the consistency of the performance (Kühnel, Sonnentag, Bledow, &
Melchers, 2018).
Summary
Therefore, it can be derived from the above discussion that there are theories
regarding this subject of shifting scheme of job hours. The two-factor theory emphasis upon
the health and benefits of the employees and the system theory talks about the work and life
balance which the shifting method of working can create in the hospitality business. The
flexibility of the workers regarding time is fruitful for both the employees and the
organizations.

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Chapter3
Methodology
Introduction
The methodology is being considered as the important part in a research project. The
techniques which have been used while conducting the research have been mentioned in this
chapter.
Qualitative research method
In order to conduct the research project, the qualitative research technique has been
followed. This is very important for analysing the issues associated with the employees of
Marriot hotels. In this study, the qualitative research has been done on the basis of the
perspective of the managers of Marriot hotels. In this study, it has been identified that the
employees in Marriott hotels are dealing with the situation regarding the issues in the case of
shifting work practice in the hospitality industry. Organizational performance, as well as the
employee satisfaction, is being hampered due to this reason. Therefore for collecting the
response of the managers of the company regarding this situation, the interview has done on
the 10 managers of the company. All of the managers are working in the company for more
than 5 years. Therefore, this can be said that through this qualitative research method the staff
efficiency, as well as customer satisfaction in the Marriott hotels, have been analysed.
Sample techniques
In this research project, the employees in the company who have near about 5years of
experience in this hospitality sector have been chosen. Here the managers of the company
have been chosen on the basis of their external and internal knowledge about the company.
By using the non-probability technique the impact of shifting work on the job satisfaction of
the employees in being analysed. As the managers have shown their willingness for

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participation in this interview process, therefore this has become easier for conducting this
research.
Data collection
There are two types of data collection method one is primary data collection another
is secondary data collection (Lewis, 2015). In the case of this research project, the interview
is being conducted in order to collect the primary data. Depending on the perspective of the
managers of Marriott, the descriptive research data has been collected. This can be said that
the in the long hour interview, the job satisfaction of the employees as well as if the
customers are gaining benefits from the company or not is being analysed. The interview was
done for one hour with each of the interviewees. An interview has been conducted in the
Marriot office on 23rd and 24th June 2018. In order to collect the qualitative information, the
participants have been asked 16 important question, which has helped to gather the
appropriate data.
Credibility
The information, which has been collected from the interview process, can be relied on for
this research as the educational qualification and working experience of the interviewees
were quite higher. Due to lack of financial support and limited time, the interview process has
got saturated. Therefore, this can be said that it has affected the research outcome.
Data analysis
In order to analyse the qualitative data, the recorded information is being categorized
in thematic coding, where both the open and close categories have been highlighted. In the
case of open codes, the initial overview of this topic is being investigated by using the
important keywords. It has been identified that the keywords, which have been used in the
interview process, are interconnected with the organizational performance, productivity,

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skills of the employees, employee involvement and customer satisfaction. This can be said
that in this process the perception of the managers of the company regarding this shifting
working hours has been analysed. Therefore, this can be said that the through the interview
the information regarding the relationship between the employees and employers has been
highlighted.
Ethical consideration
Ethical consideration is being considered as the important part of every research project
(Vaioleti, 2016). The confidentiality of the participants has been maintained, and none of
them was being forced to participate in the research. In order to maintain the quality and
honesty of the research project, the appropriate citation has been done. The information that
has been used in this research project has been collected from the authentic sources.
Summary
In this chapter, it has been identified that the study that by using the qualitative data analysis
method the information regarding the project has been collected through the interview
process.
Chapter 4
Finding / discussion/ analysis
In this chapter, the findings of the qualitative research and data collection practice
have been discussed. After conducting the interview with managers of Marriott hotels, the
issues regarding the sifting working hours and their perspective on this topic has been
identified. By collecting the answers from the interviewees, this can be said that due to the
shifting working practices, at the last moment the duty of the employees get changed. As its
result, rather than excitement, the workplace becomes depressing for the employees. On the