Authors: James Lai, Michael DiStaso, and Ann Schlotzhauer

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 40% of hospitality jobs were lost at the start of the pandemic. Job insecurity (i.e., the feeling that a worker could lose their job in the future) has been a major source of stress for many Americans, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Job insecurity has also been linked to workers’ physical health; a 2017 study found job insecurity is often associated with increased rates of obesity, irregular sleep, and general worsening of health. Closely related to job insecurity is people’s concern about the stability and predictability of their work schedule. This shift towards work hour insecurity has been present among low-wage workers prior to the pandemic, as 17% of American food-service and retail workers frequently reported reduced control over their work schedule. This lack of control resulted in work-family conflict and material hardship, such as food insecurity and limited access to medical care. 

According to a recent study of theme park employees conducted by UCF’s Targeted Research Training program, this trend of concerns about scheduling is a major issue now that workers are coming back to work. Approximately 44% of surveyed theme park workers in the study reported concerns about their scheduled work hours, while only 10% were concerned about being laid off from their job. In other words, a stable work schedule is increasingly a top concern for many hospitality workers.

There are two potential reasons for this finding. First, news outlets and popular press are focusing on labor shortages in hospitality work in the larger U.S. destinations, such as Orlando, New York City and San Jose where current and former employees have reported hesitance towards returning to the hospitality industry despite a substantial demand for workers. A major reason for the slow return is their dissatisfaction with pay and with the industry overall. However, employees who currently hold hospitality jobs are experiencing the opposite; with high demand for workers in the hospitality industry, these employees are shifting their focus away from job insecurity towards other work related concerns (e.g., stable work hours, better pay) as they feel safe with their continued employment.

Second, employees who have just recently returned to work may be experiencing a “honeymoon” feeling where their job feels especially secure. Being called back to work during the pandemic may make hospitality workers feel that their organization needs them. Given the sharp increase in unemployment for hospitality workers at the start of the pandemic, many returned employees may be experiencing pre-COVID assurances of employment. Of course, this feeling of security may not translate to work hours security, as there is still a lot of variability in work hours in hospitality work. With the general trend of increasing workplace unpredictability during the pandemic, many hospitality employees have sought to reevaluate their work priorities and expectations, shifting focus towards the stability of their schedules, higher wages, better benefits, and work-life balance.