ABSTRACT
Tourism is a labor-intensive industry that employs a diverse, multicultural workforce. Due to seasonality, tourism activity is uneven throughout the year and frequently requires irregular working hours and changing shifts. Unforeseen contingencies can also affect service delivery. Service performance – and thus customer satisfaction – are not only conditioned by employees’ attributes; they are also highly dependent on teamwork effectiveness, cohesion, and collaboration. Diverse factors can thus affect employees’ attitudes, behaviors, and performance.
This chapter first identifies the unique features of working in the tourism industry. It then discusses group dynamics and social identity construction in different subsectors. Next, the chapter explains how specific difficulties and situations at work can generate tensions among employees. The importance of leadership and social reinforcement is also addressed. The final section provides further recommendations for tourism practitioners.
