The relationship between organisational psychology and career decision: A study of hospitality and tourism professionals

Abstract

Hospitality and tourism management is one of the rapid growth industries over the decades due to transportation developments. However, a significant concern of the current hospitality and tourism industry is frequent and high-level of employee turnover rate. The hospitality and tourism industry always required vocational skills and practical experiences which professionals could not gain from other business sectors and universities. Therefore, the replacement of employees, regardless of their grading and positions, is significantly expensive due to the additional costs of training and professional development. The purpose of this study is to explore and understand the reasons and motivations that cause employees and professionals in the field of hospitality to remain. Based on the Social Cognitive Career Theory, the results indicated that the sense of belonging and the balance between family responsibilities and work served as two of the key themes for their career decision. The results of this study may indicate that hotel leaders, managers, human resources planners and employers should take the results of this study as the opportunity to reform, polish and develop their employee’s satisfaction plan, training programmes and human resources planning in order to increase the satisfaction of their employees and reduce the turnover rate.