BEYOND SALARY: A GENERATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY ON JOB CONTENTMENT AND RETENTION AMONG CULINARY PROFESSIONALS IN MALAYSIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/JTHEM.1145011Keywords:
Culinary Professionals, Job Contentment, Job Retention, Motivational Attributes, Multi-Group Analysis, Generational Cohort, Hospitality Industry, MalaysiaAbstract
Employee retention remains a persistent challenge in the Malaysian hospitality industry, particularly among culinary professionals working in demanding kitchen environments. Existing chef-retention research has largely emphasised monetary and non-monetary rewards and job satisfaction, leaving limited understanding of the deeper psychological mechanisms through which broader motivational resources translate into employees’ willingness to remain. In addition, culinary professionals are often treated as a relatively homogeneous workforce, providing limited insight into whether motivational-retention relationships operate similarly across generational cohorts. This conceptual paper therefore proposes a framework linking motivational attributes, job contentment and job retention among culinary professionals in Malaysia. Motivational attributes are conceptualised through empowerment, psychological resources and a supportive work environment, which are proposed to strengthen job contentment and, subsequently, job retention. Generational cohort is positioned as a grouping variable for multi-group comparison rather than as an additional causal construct in the model. The framework is anchored in the Job Demands-Resources Model, Self-Determination Theory and Social Exchange Theory. Its novelty lies in integrating motivational resources, deeper work contentment and generational heterogeneity within a culinary-specific retention framework. Practically, the framework may help hotel managers develop evidence-based, targeted retention strategies that respond to different workforce needs without assuming that one retention approach is equally effective for all culinary professionals.
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