Navigating Gen Z Hospitality Employees’ Inter-Role Conflict: A Multi-Level Examination of Work–Personal Conflict

Gen Z is gaining prominence in the hospitality industry workforce, making it critical to explore the dynamic interplay between Gen Z hospitality employees’ personal and work lives. Drawing on role stress theory, this daily diary study examines the role of work–personal conflict in Gen Z hospitality employees’ daily lives. Data was collected from 91 Gen Z Chinese hotel employees using the experience sampling method. The results show that work-to-personal and personal-to-work conflict at the within-person level increases turnover intention via emotional exhaustion. Regarding outcomes in the “nonwork” domain, work-to-personal conflict positively influences nostalgia. Furthermore, workplace fun at the within-person level and person–job fit at the between-person level moderate the relationship between work-to-personal conflict and emotional exhaustion. Based on the findings, hospitality companies should try to increase the fun of their employees’ daily work and improve person–job fit to mitigate work–personal conflict among Gen Z employees.