Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of organisational culture on job stress
and burnout in graded accommodation establishments. The demanding nature of work in the
hospitality industry (e.g. long hours and shift work) renders job stress and burnout, a persisting
challenge for the industry. Employees that are constantly subjected to a challenging work environment
may experience increased levels of job stress and burnout or even leave the industry entirely. The Free
State province of South Africa has a well-established hospitality sector, and this investigation shows the
extent to which job stress and burnout are mitigated by a favourable organisational culture.
Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was administered to 46 graded
accommodation establishments in the two main economic clusters (Bloemfontein and Clarens) of the
Free State province of South Africa. The investigation was quantitative in nature and the robust
competing values framework (CVF) was used as conceptual guide.
Findings – The findings indicate that graded accommodation establishments had a predominantly
Rational Culture, which points to strong external positioning and competitiveness. Correlation and
regression analyses further confirmed that although the Rational Culture does have a mitigating effect
on job stress and burnout, the values associated with the Group Culture and Developmental Culture
exert an even stronger mitigating effect.
Practical implications – Managers need to establish a flexible, employee-oriented work
environment where employees are allowed to be innovative and entrepreneurial.
Originality/value – Themain causes of job stress and burnout in accommodation establishments revolve
around the intense customer focus of the industry and the subsequent performance expected from
employees.
