EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FEMALE FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES’ AESTHETIC LABOUR AND BURNOUT

Abstract

Purpose –The objective of the study is to reveal the relationships between aesthetic labour performance of female employees and their burnout level. Additionally, their aesthetic labour performance is to be compared in terms of their demographic characteristics and personal characteristics. Design – To test the proposed hypotheses, a correlational research design was used and a causalcomparative design was adopted to compare the aesthetic performance of frontline employees in terms of their demographic and personal characteristics. Methodology- Quantitative research methods were used in this study. Findings – The results showed that there was a significant, weak, and negative relationship between aesthetic labour performance in guest interactions factor and employee burnout levels. Additionally, there were significant differences in female frontline employees’ aesthetic labour performance in terms of their demographic and personal characteristics as education, tourism educational background, monthly average income and departments. Originality of the Research – Aesthetic labour is an important concept for the hospitality industry. Yet, there are few studies designed to figure out the aesthetic labour levels of employees in hospitality enterprises. Furthermore, there are limited studies focusing on the relationship between aesthetic labour and burnout. This study aims to fill a gap in the literature by developing a scale to assess female frontline employees’ aesthetic labour performance and providing large-scale survey data.

Keywords

• aesthetic labour
• burnout
• hospitality enterprises
• frontline employees