Abstract
The study recognizes the lack of a clear theoretical and empirical link between employees’ sense of well-being and hotel design aesthetics, although beautiful environments are associated with optimal human functioning. Drawing on conceptual insights from organizational aesthetics and theory of subjective well-being, this quantitative study explored relationships between workplace design aesthetics, hotel employee subjective well-being and the role of contrast of back- vs. front-of-the-house. Based on cross-sectional data collected from 525 operations-level hotel employees in USA, the study found that backstage employees experience less aesthetic pleasure and report lower levels of well-being than frontstage employees. Design characteristics Unity and Variety positively affect the sense of well-being, while Typicality exhibits a U-type relationship with well-being. The effect of Variety is weaker for back-of-the-house employees. This study is the first attempt to empirically and explicitly connect organizational aesthetics to well-being and identifies a novel way to enhance the well-being of the hospitality workforce.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 27-49 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Service Industries Journal |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 1-2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 25 Jan 2020 |
Keywords
- aesthetic pleasure
- aesthetics
- back-of-the-house
- beauty
- employee well-being
- Hotel design
- variety
- workplace design
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Strategy and Management
- Management of Technology and Innovation