Turnover among young adults in the hospitality industry: examining the impact of fun in the workplace and training climate

• Published in: Employee relations 2021-01, Vol.43 (1), p.245-261
• Main Authors: Tews, Michael J., Hoefnagels, Ankie, Jolly, Phillip M., Stafford, Kathryn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Employees; Employment; Hospitality industry; Job performance; Labor market; Part time employment; Qualitative research; Retention; Training; Work environment; Young adults
• ISSN: 0142-5455; 1758-7069
• DOI: 10.1108/ER-11-2019-0432

PurposeAs a step toward more firmly establishing factors to promote retention among younger employees in the hospitality industry, this study aims to focuses on fun in the workplace (fun activities, manager support for fun and coworker socializing) and training climate (organizational support, manager support and job support) as potential antecedents of turnover in a European context.Design/methodology/approachLogistic regression was used to analyze the impact of fun and training climate on turnover with a sample of 902 employees from Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands. Data on fun and training climate were obtained through surveys, which were paired with turnover data from organizational records.FindingsWith respect to fun in the workplace, group-level manager support for fun and coworker socializing were significantly related to turnover, but not fun activities. With respect to training climate, individual-level job support was significantly related to turnover, but not organizational support and manager support.Research limitations/implicationsAs the data were obtained from employees from one organization, further research would be valuable with additional samples to substantiate the generalizability of the results.Practical implicationsGiven the challenge of turnover, organizations should foster informal aspects of fun in the workplace and learning opportunities to promote retention.Originality/valueThe study examined the fun–turnover relationship in a context outside of the USA where previous fun–turnover research has been conducted, and it examined fun relative to training climate, which has not been studied heretofore. This study also investigated group- and individual-level effects of both fun and training climate on turnover.