THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK MOTIVATION AND WORKER PROFILE IN UK HOSPITALITY WORKERS

Abstract

While the UK hospitality industry is growing faster than the economy, mental health problems are a serious concern in this worker population. Our previous research identified that work motivation accounted for a significant variance in mental health, however, the relationship between types of work motivation and worker profile has not been explored to date. Therefore, this study aimed to i) identify the primary type of work motivation, and ii) explore relationships between types of work motivation and worker profile in UK hospitality workers. UK hospitality workers (n=103) completed a worker profile questionnaire and work motivation measure. Their internal motivation was significantly higher than external motivation. Male and longer industry experience were associated with amotivation, the lowest type of motivation. A higher position in the organisation was associated with external regulation, the second lowest type of motivation. Intervention research for intrinsic motivation, particularly among male experienced workers or managers/owners is warranted. Considering their low wages, the high levels of internal motivation may be explained by the ‘psychological justification’ strategies. Furthermore, male hospitality workers’ high levels of external motivation may highlight the UK’s strong masculine culture as described in Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory. Likewise, highly positioned workers' high levels of external motivation may relate to the UK's low power distance in the same theory. Cross-cultural comparisons of work motivation and mental health (e.g., with the high feminine Dutch culture and/or the high power distant Malaysian culture) would be an important future direction to help place these findings in a global context.