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Violence and stress at work
Hotels and catering:
Sector-specific information on violence and stress
Phenomena related to violence and stress at work are not really
specific to any sector. They are, however, especially noted in services receiving
customers on the premises of the enterprise for long periods, like in hotels
and restaurants.
The hospitality industry provides employment inter alia to socially weaker
groups of workers such as young workers without working experience, women
with family responsibilities or migrants with little knowledge of local conditions.
These groups are particularly vulnerable to acts of violence by customers
and
co-workers, as well as to bullying and harassment. It is a minority of workers
who experience such acts, but their performance and that of the enterprises
in which they happen could be enhanced if more would be done to prevent them
and to help potential victims avoid them, as well as to better cope with
their negative impacts.
Violence and stress at work are closely interrelated: not
only does the possibility of violence including bullying and harassment act
as a stress factor, but independent stress factors contribute to the occurrence
of violence, bullying and harassment as those acts are committed by perpetrators
often due to a lack of resources to cope. Such independent stress factors
can be rooted in heavy workload, long shifts, mismatch between work and family
life,
income insecurity, and others. Where they are present, they also make it
difficult for victims and potential victims of violence to cope with the threat
of violence
or with the impact of violent acts on their self esteem.
A particular source of stress in the hospitality sector is seen in unclear
situations at work arising due to the strong presence of customers and personalized
services offered. Employees including managers indicate that the distribution
of responsibility and a lack of control over their work
creates stressful situations.
Violence exercised by customers and other perpetrators from outside the enterprise
is strongly related to the consumption of alcohol and drugs and to nightlife.
Employees at work in these situations should not be left alone on the premises
and should not handle large amounts of cash, as both factors were recognized
to be associated with a risk to be attacked.
Incidents of violence including sexual harassment are under-reported.
Reasons include the prevalence in the sector of small and medium-sized enterprises
with insufficient capacity to support workers exposed to violence; weak social
dialogue institutions in the industry in general; and a widespread expectation
that violence, bullying and sexual harassment are normal in an industry which
caters for customers of all kinds and in all sorts of environments. In particular,
sexual harassment is not yet understood by all parties involved as a serious
hazard to the personal integrity of young staff, especially women, with disastrous
effects on their well being and performance.
Measures proposed to improve the situation in the hospitality
industry are not only geared towards enhancing the physical security of the
workplace
but also, and more importantly so, towards empowering employees to better
cope with the broad variety of customer demands and work situations.
Such measures include security training as well as the improving of workers’ general
skills, in particular the personality-related skills needed in this industry.
A majority of the larger enterprises have relevant policies in place,
which
however are slow to be implemented at the grass root level.
Additional information related to workplace violence and stress in the Hotels;
catering; tourism sector
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