Key factors of job satisfaction among the tourism and hospitality employees within national parks

Abstract

Orientation: Employee job satisfaction is a widely studied concept with limited consensus on which factors of job satisfaction are most significant for tourism and hospitality employees. Specific factors of employee job satisfaction are critical to assist managers, practitioners, and academics, to enhance the levels of employee job satisfaction within national parks.

Research purpose: To determine and rank the factors of job satisfaction that are most significant towards an overall job satisfaction of tourism and hospitality employees within national parks.

Motivation for the study: Significant factors of job satisfaction will enable managers, practitioners, and academics to use specific factors of job satisfaction when addressing the levels of employee job satisfaction.

Research approach/design and method: This article adopted a quantitative explanatory research approach using a structured e-questionnaire to collect data. The study had 211 participants. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to interpret data.

Main findings: Key findings reveal that tourism and hospitality respondents within national parks have diverse demographical characteristics, and present work is among the most significant factor of job satisfaction while salary is least significant for these respondents.

Practical/managerial implications: Managers and practitioners need to be specific when addressing factors of employee satisfaction. Managers need to pay more attention on employees’ present work than other factors.

Contribution/value-add: This study makes a significant contribution towards the tourism employment literature because the tourism employment is associated with negative work characteristics. Managers are further provided with specific factors to measure job satisfaction.