An investigation of the perceived level of stress in various hotel supervisors and their preferred leisure activities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived level of stress of hospitality supervisors and their choice of leisure activities. In doing so, there will be a greater understanding of leisure and the role it plays in decreasing the level of stress during off-work hours. This is of vital importance within the new millennium as the hospitality industry is more than ever in need of competent and better-trained employees to meet the ever-increasing demands for leisure and recreation. The researcher designed and piloted the survey instrument, which was distributed to supervisory employees in hotels during the year of 1999. A survey instrument was developed to collect information from all employees in all types of lodging facilities in Minnesota. The survey was distributed to selected supervisory personnel during a 10-day period. The questionnaire listed 45 common leisure activities tabulated as: sports, sedentary, home, arts/culture, social, and technology for data computation. The 120 returned questionnaires represented 83% of the total hospitality supervisors surveyed. Statistics took into account gender, age, marital status, number of children, etc. The results of the assessment showed that leisure activities play a crucial role in easing stress from work. Of the total respondents, 10.8% perceived work as “extremely stressful”, 36.7% perceived work as “moderately stressful”, 40% perceived work as “occasionally stressful”, and 12.5% indicated work as “not stressful” The activities engaged in most frequently by respondents were: visiting with friends, listening to music and watching TV. The activities engaged in with moderate frequency by respondents were: swimming, day-dreaming and playing cards. The activities engaged in least frequently by respondents were: counted cross-stitch, exercise class and crocheting or knitting. The results indicated that hotel supervisors who work in the reservation department have the highest amount of stress; hotel supervisors who work in the front desk department, housekeeping department and banquet department have a moderate amount of stress, while hotel supervisors who work in the food and beverage department have the lowest amount of stress. The results indicated that hotel supervisors who are 21 years or more in their jobs have the highest amount of stress, while hotel supervisors who are between 0 and 5 years in their jobs have the lowest amount of stress. The results showed that hotel supervisors who are under a high level of stress participates in home activities and arts/culture activities more than any other activities. The results indicated that the more the hotel supervisors are relaxed the less stress level they have at work. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of stress on hotel supervisors and to try and improve it through their preferred leisure activities. The strength of the study lies in its power to assist human resource personnel in determining the influence of stress upon hospitality supervisors. Further research should be undertaken to determine the perceived level of stress for various hotel employees and their preferred leisure activities in other parts of the country, especially those parts affected by a different climate.