Survey
Summary on: Stress in the hospitality sector.

By
Group: Twinkling Stars
Name Roll
Sujan Sarker 27
Gayatri Saha 29
Md. Rubel Miah 42
Nasrin Akhter 45
Rothy Das Chaiti 46
Md. Kuraisin Hossain 66
BBA Program (4th batch)
THM-222: Human Resource

Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management
University of Dhaka
Dhaka, Bangladesh
2012
Letter of Transmittal

27 November, 2012

Mr. Md. Shariful Alam Khandakar
Lecturer
Dept. of Tourism and Hospitality Management
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka

Dear Sir,

It is a great pleasure for me to submit the summary on “Stresses in Hospitality Sector”. This study has given me the opportunity to know about job stress of hotel industries. The experiences that I have gathered through this study will help me in our future career, indeed.

I would like to convey my special thanks and gratitude to Md. Shariful Alam Khandakar for condescending my effort & for giving me proper guidance and valuable advice. I try to my best to cover all the relevant fields. I will be honored to provide you any additional information, if necessary.

Sincerely Yours,

Group: Twinkling Stars
BBA 4th Batch
Dept. of Tourism and Hospitality Management
Faculty of Business Studies
University of Dhaka

Table of contents

Serial no. | Particulars | Page no. | 01 | Abstract | 04 | 02 | Introduction | 04 | 03 | Visited places | 04-05 | 04 | About stress | 05-08 | 05 | Relation between stress & job | 08 | 06 | Conclusion | 08 |

“Stress in the Hospitality sector”
Abstract

This summary endeavors to draw attention to occupational stress amongst workers in so-called ‘low risk industries’ – namely the service and hospitality industries - It is also the intention to broaden the scope of analysis by investigating a range of employment factors – such as heavy workloads, interpersonal relationships and organizational factors - which can contribute to occupational stress amongst workers. Findings from two case studies of BRAC Centre Inn & Mid Town Hotel are reported and they indicate that working in the hospitality industry can be stressful and that many workers are vulnerable in terms of their poor working conditions and low wages. Consistent with other studies, it was also found that there was low trade union presence and a high rate of actualization and staff turnover.
Introduction

There has been growing recognition in the literature over the past twenty years that occupational stress can contribute to work-related ill health, with negative effects on both physical and psychological well-being. Occupational stress has been associated with reduced work output and can contribute to increased accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover and poor employee performances. Moreover, it has the potential to spill over to affect employees’ private life, causing marital, friendship or community problems. These outcomes of occupational stress can result in significant economic and social costs for both employers and employees.

Visited Places

First of all, we would like to thanks our honorable course teacher Mr. Md. Sariful Alam Khandakar for give us such an opportunity to present the job stresses of tourism industry. We, the group Twinkling Stars, covered the two renowned hotels of Dhaka city. These are Brac Centre Inn and Mid Town Hotel. We went two hotels, BRAC Centre Inn and Mid Town hotel, and talk with the employees of these organizations. They tell us that they are satisfied with their job. According to their speech, they don't feel any stress in their job, because they think when anyone entered the job field he/she knew about its advantages and disadvantages. So he/ she set up his or her mentality in that way. They think that job stresses depend on the person's mentality. They said that when a person maintains his or her family by that job, then he or she doesn't feel any stresses to do the job. They are satisfied with their job because they desired it. But they also said that they will switch their job if they get better opportunity from now. It is not for stress because every person more what he or she has. At a glance, two hotels are: Name | BRAC Centre Inn | Mid Town Hotel | Location | 75 Mohakhali, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh. | 60/A, 62 Gulsan Avenue, Road# 130/131, Gulsan South C/A, Dhaka-1212 | Number of employee | 75 | 45 | Level | 3 Star | 3 Star | Type of Business | Locally owned | Locally owned | Number of Branches | 3 | Single |

5-Point rating scale of perceived stress level Contents | BRAC Centre Inn | Mid Town Hotel | Food and Beverage | 3.5 | 3 | Kitchen | 3 | 2.8 | Front Office | 2.88 | 2.6 | Housekeeping | 3.2 | 2.5 | Average | 3.15 | 2.73 |
Different types of stress found in the hotels BRAC Centre Inn | Stress | Mid Town Hotel | Low | Work overload | Medium | High | Lack of autonomy | Low | Low | Family problem | Low | Low | Role conflict | Medium |
Symptoms of stress
During our survey, we found some elements as a symptom of stress. These are headaches, productivity, turnover, decrease in job satisfaction, in ability to work long hours, unable to communicate effectively etc. Among these symptoms, hradache is common to the employees work in hotel sector. Besides, turnover and decrease in job satisfaction are notable. In case of front desk employee, when anyone has to receive too much phone call or he has to talk with many customers to provide information or other things, then he or she feel stress in their job. In case of waiter, when they can’t handle customers need by providing service in spite of giving proper informatin to the chef, then he or she feel stress.
Some practices and resources used to reduce stress: Contents | BRAC Centre Inn | Mid Town Hotel | Training | Induction, customer service,Health & safety training,External courses on building confidence & managing stress | Induction, customer service,Health & safety training | Services | Counseling & message | Counseling & message | Company practices | Employee opinion surveys,Annual performance reviews,Exit interviews | Annual performance appraisals,Exit interviews | Salary | 10000-Standard | 6000-Standard | Other facilities | Medical allowances, bonus, transport allowances & promotion | Health insurance, festival allowance & promotion |

Effects of Job Stress The effects on the individual
Our studies have looked at the effects of stress on the individual. Since the effects of stress are well known we will only provide a brief overview of previous findings. Below are listed some of the most important effects, taken from the survey: * Mental illness * Coronary heart disease * Certain types of cancer * A series of minor health complaints of a physical or psychological nature,
E.g. psychosomatic symptoms, migraine, stomach ulcers, allergies
The effects on the organization
We focus on the following well known and well documented outcomes frequently associated with experience of stress: greater sickness absenteeism, impaired performance and productivity; and higher turnover rates. Here we will explore to what extent similar as well as other organizational outcomes are linked to the various forms of workplace violence. A likely outcome of exposure to violent assaults or physical attacks is an increase in spells of sickness absence. In some cases the spells may be long-term and, sometimes, the individuals will never be able to return to work, and subsequently retire due to their traumatic experience. However, a violent incident does not automatically lead to the recipient having to take time off work. However, most studies of bullying show a relatively weak relationship between absenteeism and bullying. A possible explanation here may be that absenteeism is seen as an unhelpful strategy in cases of bullying, making a difficult situation.
The effects on society
Depending upon the national system for health care, medical expenses arising from the stress experience, whatever its cause may become a substantial cost to society. As far as physical violence is concerned, such 35 expenses are likely to increase in those incidents where an assault leads to injury. This injury may be physical or psychological. For a number of people the onset of PTSD resulting from being subjected to an assault, bullying or sexual harassment may be costly with long-term medical treatment or even hospitalization as a result of a mental breakdown. In many countries long-term absenteeism will be carried either in part or in full by society when considering the effects of stress and violence on society it is worth bearing in mind that people have multiple roles as employees, as customers, as patients, as taxpayers and so forth. Hence, the impact of stress/violence can have multiple costs to society.
Managing Job Stress
Because job stress is a leading cause of chronic stress, managing the stressors we experience on the job (and off!) can cut out significant levels of stress and lead to greater wellness and happiness. It’s important to take steps to take care of oneself and one’s body. The following strategies can help you stay healthy and potentially reverse many of the negative effects of stress in a surprisingly short amount of time: * Reduce Daily Stressors You can reduce stress in your life by making lifestyle changes like becoming more organized, better managing time, and making other changes at work. Getting enough sleep and maintaining a positive outlook are also important in overall health. * Learn Stress-Reducing Practices Learning and practicing a stress management technique or two can also help your health by activating your body’s relaxation response. * Find Ways to Reduce Stress at Work and Enjoy Your Job More Part of job stress relief involves making changes at work that can increase satisfaction and cut down on factors that cause stress and burnout. * Taking responsibility for improving your physical and emotional well-being. * Avoiding pitfalls by identifying knee jerk habits and negative attitudes that add to the stress you experience at work. * Learning better communication skills to ease and improve your relationships with management and coworkers.
Relation between stress and productivity
The relationship between productivity and stress is vary from person to person in real life. Some employee said that when they feel pressure in their work, they have done more work than before because they enjoy resposibility. But some employee said when they feel pressure for many work at a time, they become confused what will be done first. As a result, they failed to do right work at a right time in a right way. So productivity will decrease here. It is also similar to X & Y factors of Mc Gregor.

Conclusion
The purpose of this survey, therefore, is to examine the attitudes of those working in the hospitality industry to both occupational stress and the recent legislative changes. For several reasons, the focus in this survey will be on large-sized, metropolitan hotels. First, there is general agreement in the literature that there is a lack of knowledge of occupational stress across a range of industry sectors, including the hospitality industry, and across a variety of occupations and organizational levels. Second, larger hotels are more likely to have established health and safety committees and a greater unionized workforce compared to small hotels restaurants, bars and cafes and, therefore, may present more evidence of the role of health and safety representatives in dealing with occupational stress. “… hospitality managers are aware that they will face irregular hours and demanding work when they enter the industry – individuals who can’t tolerate those conditions don’t choose careers in hospitality.”

The End.