Managers’ perceptions of older workers in British hotels

• Published date: 02 January 2014
• Pages: 54-72
• Date: 02 January 2014
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-10-2012-0096
• Author: Andrew Jenkins,Jill Poulston

Managers’ perceptions of older

workers in British hotels

Andrew Jenkins

Hospitality and Events Management, The University of Huddersfield,

Huddersfield, UK, and

Jill Poulston

School of Hospitality and Tourism, AUT University, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to identify the perceptions and stereotypical views of

hotel managers to older employees in the British hotel industry, with a focus on the north of England,

and to determine the equal opportunities policies and practices of hotels in relation to older workers

and the types of jobs deemed suitable or not suitable for older employees.

Design/methodology/approach – The method used in this exploratory study was a survey

incorporating a postal questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to 144 hotel managers in hotels with

a minimum of 20 bedrooms in the north of England. In all, 36 completed questionnaires were returned.

Data were analysed using Predictive Analytics Software (PASW).

Findings – The results of the survey clearly point to hotel managers having overwhelmingly positive

views of older workers (confirming the findings of Magd’s, 2003 survey), although some managers did

age-stereotype certain jobs as being not suitable or suitable for older hotel workers.

Research limitations/implications – The principal limitations concern the use of a questionnaire

to measure the attitudes of hotel managers, the use of a non-probability sampling technique and the

relatively small sample size.

Practical implications – Given the UK’s ageing population and labour shortages in the hotel

industry, it is important that hotel managers address negative stereotypical views of older workers

and the jobs deemed suitable for these workers.

Originality/value – As the hotel industry is a major contributor to employment in the UK, a lack of

empirical data on managers’ perceptions of older hotel workers is a significant omission that this

paper seeks to redress.

Keywords Employment, Older workers, Discrimination, Hotels, Equal opportunities, Sterotyping

Paper type Research paper

Like those in other European countries, the UK population is ageing, and by 2020 a

third of UK employees will be over 50 years old (Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), 2010). This increased

proportion represents a potential threat to the UK hospitality ind ustry, which has

traditionally relied on younger workers (People 1

st

, 2013; Kersley et al., 2006). As the

proportion of younger workers shrinks, older workers will become an increasingly

important segment of the workforce (DeMicco and Reid, 1988). Indeed, the p ast 20

years has witnessed a significant rise in the number of people aged over 50 in the UK

workforce (The Guardian, 2011; The Economist, 2012). Despite the efforts of som e

hospitality businesses to attract these older workers, attempts to recruit them may be

frustrated by the common negative stereotypes held of older p eople. Negative

perceptions of their skills and abilities have the potential to inhibit the recruitment of

older workers as well as limit their opportunities for training and development.

Furthermore, if managers hold positive viewsof older workers, these maynot necessarily

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-7149.htm

Received 28 October 2012

Revised 25 February 2013

10 April 2013

Accepted 11 April 2013

Equality, Diversityand Inc lusion:

An International Journal

Vol. 33 No. 1, 2014

pp. 54-72

rEmeraldGroup PublishingLimited

2040-7149

DOI 10.1108/EDI -10-2012-0096

54

EDI

33,1

result in the employment of these workers, so research is needed to investigate why

positive stereotypes may not necessarily manifestas equal opportunities for older people

in the workplace.

This exploratory study therefore aims to identify hotel managers’ attitudes to older

workers in the British hotel industry, particularly in the north of England where

unemployment is the highest in the UK (Office for National Statistics, 2012a) and where

employment levels for older workers are lowest (Office for N ational Statistics, 2012b).

Although managers’ perceptions of older workers have been investigated in many

sectors and industries, there is little known of hospitality managers’ perceptions of

older workers, even though the hospitality industry struggles with persistent staffing

shortages (e.g. Baum, 2002; Gustafson, 2002; Jameson, 2000; Poulston, 2008; Davidson

et al., 2010). Just one study specifically addresses hospitality manager s’ perceptions of

older workers; Magd’s (2003) survey of 25 small and medium sized enterprise (SME)

hospitality firms in Central Scotland, f ound that the advantages of employing older

workers outweighed the disadvantages, and managers who prefer young employees

forgo access to a pool of experienced and talented workers. Whilst also focusing on

managers’ perceptions of older workers, the current study differs from Magd’s (2003)

research by focusing on a large sector within the industr y (i.e. hotels), focusing on

different sized operations (not just SMEs) and focusing on the north of England.

A report by Oxford Economics (2010) estimated that the UK hospitality industry

directly contributes 2.44 million jobs and has a turnover estimated at £90 billion.

Given the hospitality industry’s major contribution to employment and the economy in

the UK, a lack of empirical data on managers’ perceptions of older hotel workers is a

significant omission that this paper seeks to redress. This paper has two objectives:

(1) to identify the positive and negative perceptions and stereotypical view s held

by hotel managers about older hotel employees; and

(2) to determine the equal opportunities p olicies and practices of hotels in relation

to older workers and the types of jobs deemed suitable or not suitable for older

employees.

Because this is the first study of this particular employment sector, a small data set will

be used to deter mine whether or not there is a basis for further investigation. As such,

this is an exploratory study. The literature review will address population ageing,

ageism and age discrimination in employment, age stereotyping in employment and

hospitality industry labour markets in the UK. The paper concludes with implications

and recommendations for the hotel industry generally, but in the north of England

in particular.

Literature review

Population ageing

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD,

2006), population ageing is one of the principal c hallenges facing OECD countries and

maintenance of the three Ps (population, productivity and partic ipation) is essential if

the negative factors of population ageing are to be overcome. The major negative

impact of an ageing population on gross domestic product (GDP) per capita growth

relates to the decline in the size of the prime-working population (i.e. those aged 20-64)

and an increase in the size of the older and younger age groups (OECD, 2006).

Extending the working lives of older people therefore addresses a major negative

factor of population ageing. In terms of productivity, a decline in the prime-working

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Managers’

perceptions of

older workers