Role of Workplace Stressors on Performance of Frontline Employees in 3 To 5 Star Rated Hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Abstract

Hotel industry has positively impacted the economy of most countries in the world. However, frontline employees in the hotel industry face challenges which affect their performance.The general objective of the study was therefore to investigate the role of workplace stressors on performance of frontline employees in three, four and five star rated hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study was guided by five objectives, namely; to determine the effect of role stress on performance of frontline employees,to establish the effect of job insecurity on performance of frontline employees,to determine the effect of work-life balance on performance of frontline employees, to establish the effect of supervisory support on performance of frontline employees and To establish the effect of demographic characteristics on the relationship between the workplace stressors and job performance of frontline employees in three, four and five star rated hotels in Nairobi City County, Kenya. Descriptive cross-sectional research design was used in the study. The target population for the study was 4351 frontline employees from 31 hotels in Nairobi City County. The study used stratified and simple random sampling techniques to select 353 frontline employees to participate in the study. The study used questionnaires and interview schedules to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. The researcher established both face and content validity for the instruments while Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was used to establish the reliability of the questionnaires whose threshold was set as 0.7.Descriptive statistics, namely, frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze quantitative data while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. Findings of the study revealed that there was a strong positive relationship between job insecurity (r =.653, p<0.05), supervisors' support (r =.751, p<0.05), and job performance. A weak positive relationship between work life balance and job performance (r =.346, p<0.05). Role stress had a negative relationship (r =. - 0.122, p<0.05) on job performance. Thus, all null hypotheses indicate a relationship between the variables. It can be concluded that job performance increases with employee’s assurance of job security, supervisor support, and work-life balance and decrease in role stress. The study recommends supervisors to support innovation and innovative ways of working, ensuring employees of job security.. Further, the study recommended that a similar study focusing on other star rated hotels be conducted in other counties in Kenya.