Hospitality workers' COVID-19 risk perception and depression: A contingent model based on transactional theory of stress model

Jiaqi Yan; Sunghoon Kim; Stephen X Zhang; Maw-Der Foo; Aldo Alvarez-Risco; Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales; Jaime A Yáñez

doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102935

Hospitality workers' COVID-19 risk perception and depression: A contingent model based on transactional theory of stress model

Int J Hosp Manag. 2021 May:95:102935. doi: 10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.102935. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

Authors

Jiaqi Yan¹, Sunghoon Kim², Stephen X Zhang³, Maw-Der Foo⁴, Aldo Alvarez-Risco⁵, Shyla Del-Aguila-Arcentales⁶, Jaime A Yáñez^{7

8}

Affiliations

¹ School of Business Administration, Northeastern University, China.
² Business School, The University of Sydney, Australia.
³ Faculty of Professions, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
⁴ Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
⁵ Universidad de Lima, Peru.
⁶ Escuela Nacional de Marina Mercante "Almirante Miguel Grau", Peru.
⁷ Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicada, Peru.
⁸ Teoma Global, Peru.

Abstract

The hospitality industry worldwide is suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the transactional theory of stress and coping, this study aims to investigate when hospitality workers' COVID-19 risk perception affects their likelihood of having depressive symptoms. Using data from 211 hospitality workers in 76 hotels in Peru, we examined the effects of perceived COVID-19 risk on the likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms. We posited that this relationship is moderated by the workers' environment at work (job satisfaction) and at home (the number of children). The results indicate that job satisfaction weakens the link between hospitality workers' COVID-19 risk perception and their likelihood of depressive symptoms while the number of children exacerbates this link. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on COVID-19 risk perception and offer practical implications for hospitality workers under COVID-19 crisis.

Keywords: COVID risk perception scale; COVID-19; Depression; Family obligation; Hospitality workers; Hotel staff; Job satisfaction; Peru; Risk perception; Tourism.