Impact of social movements and employer responses on tourism employees: a reactive attitude framework perspective

The purpose of this research note is to explore the impact of social movements on the tourism profession from an employee perspective. This study interviewed 28 tourism employees and analyzed the data through the lens of Strawson’s reactive attitude framework. The results revealed how tourism employees reacted to social injustice issues outside of their own workplace. The participants’ feelings varied but were mainly influenced by their work location, ethnicity, and diversity of their working and living environments. Moreover, employees displayed various emotional reactions based on their job positions and attitude toward their company's public support of social movements and implementation of DE&I measures. Based on these preliminary findings, this paper concludes by presenting key research opportunities that integrate social justice, employee well-being and internal crisis management and communication within the tourism industry.