A Study of the Remote Work-Family Balance of Female Hotel Managers

Abstract

This study explores the effect of remote work engagement (RWE) and fair pay on female hotel managers’ work-family balance (WFB). Additionally, it investigates the mediating effect of their emotional exhaustion on RWE and WFB. Although several studies have been published during the COVID-19 crisis period that investigate WFB, only a few have reported on how RWE influences WFB. Therefore, this study addresses this gap. It uses structured questionnaires to collect data from 400 female hotel managers (five-star hotels). These data are analysed using structure equation modelling (SEM): Smart-PLS is applied to examine the relationship between the independent and dependent factors – ‘vigour’, ‘absorption’, ‘dedication’, ‘fairness of pay’, and ‘work-family balance’. This study finds that RWE significantly impacts female hotel managers’ WFB. Furthermore, RWE affects their emotional fatigue and has a little effect on their WFB. Additionally, RWE is not mediated by WFB, while gender pay parity influences WFB. Remote working renders female workers more absorbed in their work, thus increasing the incidence of burnout among them due to interference with their WFB. Especially in a country like India, where females play a more prominent role domestically, hotel managers must ensure that human resource practices strategically secure the effective WFB of female hotel managers, e.g. by incorporating flexible working hours, a five-day work policy, and coaching on remote work practices. These findings can assist hospitality organisations in devising effective RWE strategies that maintain female hotel managers’ WFB, ultimately ensuring positive financial implications for them.

Keywords

• remote work engagement
• work-family balance
• emotional exhaustion
• smartpls
• pandemic
• employee experience
• female managers