Keywords

Restaurant and Hospitality Industry, Organizational Culture, Job Stress, Turnover Intention, Mindfulness, Self-Determination Theory

Abstract

Employee turnover has long been the most complex problem in the hospitality and tourism industry and Florida is home to over 1 million restaurant and food service jobs. This mixed methods study evaluated the effectiveness of a mindfulness program introduced to reduce job stress and turnover intention at multiple locations of a mid-size restaurant company in Florida. Managers were trained on mindful micro-practices and then introduced those practices to their teams over a four-week intervention. Pre- and post-surveys measured team member job stress, stress-reducing behaviors, turnover intention, self-determination, and mindful awareness. The quantitative data was underpowered and showed no statistically significant difference before and after the intervention. Interview data from managers suggested ways the organizational culture affected manager implementation and adaptations which included adding stress reducing behaviors at work. Stress was reportedly not openly discussed at work prior to this study; this intervention heightened awareness of stress at work and led to discussions about how to reduce the impact of stressful situations. Managers and team members became more aware of and attentive to their responses and the responses of their co-workers during stressful situations. This outcome was beneficial to the organization, and potentially to the restaurant and hospitality industries. The introduction of stress reducing behaviors during the workday in a hospitality company is the core contribution of the study to the existing literature. Future research may measure changes in turnover intention attributed to the mindful practices intervention and potentially explore other ways to promote mindfulness at work to reduce job stress and to reduce turnover intention in the hospitality industry.

Completion Date

2024

Semester

Summer

Committee Chair

Boote, David

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Department of Learning Sciences

Degree Program

Curriculum and Instruction

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028598

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028598

Language

English

Rights

In copyright

Release Date

August 2024

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

Accessibility Status

Meets minimum standards for ETDs/HUTs

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