Tourism Employment in Nordic Countries: Trends, Practices, and Opportunities

ISBN-13: 9783030478124 / Angielski / Twarda / 2020 / 452 str.

Andreas Walmsley; Kajsa ?berg; Petra Blinnikka

Spis treści

 

1.      A Revisit to the Tourism Labour Force in the Swedish Mountain Range

 

Linda Lundmark, Department of Geography, Umeå University, Sweden

O. Cenk Demiroglu, Department of Geography, Umeå University, Sweden

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Cenk Demiroglu, Department of Geography, Umeå University, Sweden, 901 87

cenk.demiroglu@umu.se

☒ Empirical paper

☒ Case study

Abstract

During the last two decades of the past century, the Swedish mountain range has been a central area to the issue of rural decline with ageing and decreasing populations and reduced number of jobs in the primary and the public sectors. Concurrently, however, tourism has become an essential sector for the region through its soft, post-productivist, yet labour-intensive, character that needs and attracts especially the younger populations. Evidence for these findings were made available by Lundmark (2005), when she analysed the whole region using longitudinal and georeferenced micro data on labour force variables. In this study, follow-up analyses are intended by mapping the inter- and intra-regional and sectoral mobility of labour force along the same area throughout the 21st century and compare the results in terms of tourism’s overall, yet regionally uneven and uncertain, significance to employment. Further attention is given to how positive welfare state benefits and high employment rates are related, based on the evidence that any job is attractive to the individuals, regardless of the wage levels, as overall employment will yield tax revenues that will be earmarked as non-wage benefits to the labour market in a typical Nordic welfare state (Kolm & Tonin, 2015). Moreover, case-specific state-of-the art research is further integrated into the design of the study in order to include certain significant groups such as the migrants (Hedlund et al., 2017; Eimermann & Karlsson, 2018) and the indigenous peoples (Leu, 2018) as well as the professional backgrounds of those employed by the tourism sector (Åberg & Müller, 2018) and any direct contribution of the labour force to the eventual population size (Lundmark, 2006).

Keywords (3-6): Labour market, mountain tourism, welfare state, Sweden, Nordic Countries

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The study reveals tourism labour market trends and matters specific to rural and peripheral areas of Sweden and attempts to demystify the relevant, up-to-date outcomes of the Nordic welfare state.

 

2.      Forming Workforces for Nordic Tourism. An Exploratory Study of National Tourism Policy and Planning Documents

 

Dorothee Bohn, Master Degree Student, Multidimensional Tourism Institute (MTI), University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

Cecilia De Bernardi, Doctoral Candidate, Centre for Tourism and Leisure Research (CeTLeR), School of Technology and Business Studies, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Dorothee Bohn

Joulutontunpolku 9

96900 Rovaniemi/ Finland

dorothee.bohn@gmail.com

 

Cecilia De Bernardi

Dalarna University

791 88 Falun/ Sweden

cdb@du.se

 

☒             Empirical paper

 

Abstract

Work is central in enabling functioning tourism systems. At present, one out of ten jobs worldwide, equalling the occupation of 292 million people, is linked to employment in the tourism and hospitality (T&H) sector (World Bank Group, 2017). The labour intensity of tourism is the dominating argument for national governments and transnational organisations, such as the UNWTO (2014), in promoting tourism development all over the globe. Employment is usually the most direct and most beneficial effect of expanding tourism industries for host populations when personnel is recruited from local job markets (Liu & Wall, 2005). Yet, tourism research has adopted predominantly micro level perspectives in the investigation of T&H work focused in themes such as employee behaviour and management while macro level examinations that uncover structural issues shaping tourism labour relations are fairly scarce (Baum et al., 2016). The chapter addresses this gap by exploring which kind of tourism workforces are sought after and produced in Nordic countries. Empirical materials for this qualitative and comparative discourse analysis consist of Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish national tourism strategies plus policy and planning documents.  Theorisations from labour studies, highlighting the socially constructed nature of workforce underpin the analysis. These research findings are then discussed in relation to the wider socio-cultural and economic contexts of Nordic welfare states. Such study is not only relevant in gaining insights into workforce issues which are largely underrepresented in tourism policy and sustainability debates (Baum, 2018), but also with respect to the growing tourism sector in many regions of the Nordic counties. Tourism development is often publicly supported, for instance through funding, the provision of education and various labour market policies. Therefore, it is vital to look at what kind of labour is generated, what kind of tourism workers are sought and how personnel are trained in individual countries because these issues hold important implications for the socio-economic structure of societies and communities.  Official tourism policy documents offer in this regard an expedient source of information of how sector specific workforces are reproduced, mobilized, motivated and utilized.

 

Keywords (3-6):

Tourism workforces, tourism policy, Nordic welfare state

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

We examine specifically Nordic tourism strategy and policy documents according to the kind of tourism workforces sought by public organizations. Such workforce issues are societally significant also with respect to conceptualizations of the Nordic welfare state.

 

 

3.      Battling the Past:
Intersectional Challenges to Indigenous Tourism Employment in the Nordic States

 

Ellen Ahlness, University of Washington

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

            1522 NE 175^th St, Unit 102
            Shoreline, WA 98155
            USA

            eahlness@uw.edu
            651.468.7807

 

X   Theoretical paper

 

Abstract:

Arctic explorers have traditionally viewed the North as unexplored frontier, minimizing the role of indigenous inhabitants. Today, despite exponential growth in Northern tourism, indigenous peoples are minimally and under-employed, continuing a troubling pattern of marginalization.

 

Three questions emerge from these marginalization trends: How has Nordic perceptions of the North affected indigenous employment within the tourism industry? What challenges do indigenous communities face because of these perceptions? Finally, how do communities address the legacy of social, political, and economical marginalization?

 

In response, I first address Nordic perceptions, defined through historical economic domination and intrigue. Explorers Nansen and Amundsen painted the North as a region to champion one’s nation by ‘inserting value’ into the region. The disregard of indigenous peoples persists, and today’s overwhelmingly southern-run Northern tourism treat culture as a marketing tool. Second, I categorize indigenous community tourism employment challenges. I present three ‘challenge archetypes’ drawn from interviews and case studies, and address the rhetorical content of each and their historical, political, and economic components:

 

Extractive tourism: A legacy of colonialism and assimilation resulted in economic penalties and disincentives to traditional livelihoods. To learn how tourism may contribute to native communities, Nordic populations may look to international successes, such as those of the Maori and Inuit.

Cultural norms: Nordic and indigenous norms challenge growth in indigenous tourism employment due to communication difficulties.

Legal obstacles: Indigenous tourism employment is impacted by political-economical barriers and variances in national legal standings (Norway is party to ILO 169, while Sweden and Finland are not).

Finally, I present five considerations for tourism development to promote employment equity. These considerations address cultural values within the Nordic model:

 

Monitor land rights laws: Events like the Finnmark Act set precedence for removing legal obstacles for tourism employment.

Maintain transnational learning relationships: Greenlandic Inuit and Sami engage in best-practice sharing with Canadian Inuit. Additionally, cross-border Sami learning draws from shared histories and ecosystems.

Challenge traditional/developed dichotomies: Employing indigenous individuals in ‘non-traditional’ tourism activities dismantles social and economic prejudices.

Develop co-management/tourism linkages: Successes in resource co-management employment may translate to tourism employment.

Mindful classification: A legacy of ‘noble savage’ fallacies and limited tourism opportunities makes indigenous communities wary of labelling.

 

As the North garners interest, the urgency to develop northern tourism increases. The Nordic case reveals the need for sustainable and inclusive tourism employment across circumpolar states and for their futures.

 

Keywords (3-6):

Indigenous tourism; tourism development; Sami; regional development; colonialism; collaboration

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

My work in Scandinavian Studies and Indigenous Politics emphasizes indigenous-state relations present in social realms. Specifically, I review Sami political and cultural autonomy struggles within Nordic countries. Challenges to Sami self-autonomy emerge in organizational and economic spaces, the latter of which addresses the economic impacts of tourism.

 

4.      Connecting psychosocial work environment and service dominant logic in Norwegian service firms

 

Olga Gjerald & Trude Furunes, both from Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, Norway

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Olga Gjerald, Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, 4036 Stavanger, Norway

olga.gjerald@uis.no

 

Contribution type (please check):

☒             Empirical paper

Abstract:

Background: The psychosocial work environment has gained increasing attention in the literature. Components of psychosocial work environment has been linked to positive as well as negative employee and organizational outcomes. Irregular working hours, precarious work, low educational levels, and high levels of diversity characterize the service sector. In addition, the sector faces an increasing competition through the new sharing economy. There is, however, a need to explore the interplay between perceived risks in psychosocial work environment of service employees and the context specific factors of service sector.

Aim: In this chapter, we will take a closer look at how perceived risks in the psychosocial work environment in the Norwegian service sector are related to the service dominant logic empirically. Service dominant logic is based on the idea that all exchanges can be viewed as service-for-service-exchange (Vargo and Lusch, 2004) and it has not been studied in relation to psychosocial work risks before.

Method: We conducted five focus group interviews with eighteen HSE-representatives from fifteen enterprises to identify psychosocial risks perceived in their service environments (representatives were from hotel, food production, cleaning, construction, and supply services). We recorded all interviews and transcribed them verbatim. We then conducted data analysis in NVIVO12.

Results. Our data indicate there are differences in what service employees perceive as potential risks and hazards in their psychosocial work environment. We also found examples of empirical implementation of service dominant logic in the data.

Moreover, our findings indicate that empirical practices that stem from service dominant logic are applied in the enterprises to minimize the hazards in the psychosocial work environment. Although most service employees have low job control, they perceive it in different ways depending on the nature of service offering and type of service sector. Qualitative and quantitative job demands change due to technological developments and fluctuations of the job market as well as expectations to service quality. Conflicts emerge due to cultural differences and high role conflict. We conclude by making a proposition that service dominant logic practices moderate the relationship between psychosocial risks and individual work outcomes and well-being at work in the service sector. 

Keywords (3-6):

Psychosocial work environment, service dominant logic, service sector, Norway.

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The chapter will be reporting on an empirical study.  The context for the study is the Norwegian service sector.

 

5.      Migrant seasonal workers in ski resorts in Sweden and Norway – another story?

 

 

Birgitta Ericsson, Eastern Norway Research Institute/ Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway

Kjell Overvåg, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway

Cecilia Möller, Karlstad University, Sweden

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Birgitta Ericsson, Research Professor, Department of Travel and Tourism, Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences; P.O.Box 400, NO-2418 Elverum, Norway, be@ostforsk.no

 

Contribution type (please check):

☒ Empirical paper

 

Abstract   

Migrant seasonal workers in tourism is often regarded as placed low in the job hierarchy in tourism businesses, due to lack of professional skills, education, language, and that they often suffer of unfavourable working conditions (low income, unfavourable working times,

limited career opportunities and low work satisfaction (13, 15, 16). In this chapter, we ask to what degree such low status and work satisfaction also characterise seasonal workers in ski resorts in Norway and Sweden. We will discuss two main factors that contribute to making such unfavourable working conditions less important for seasonal workers in ski resorts: work motivation and seasonal work as a short phase in life. Furthermore, we argue that migrant seasonal workers could be recognized as “vehicles of knowledge flows” (7), and thereby serve as innovation triggers between destinations (5).

Previous research studies have shown that seasonal jobs are lifestyle motivated, as a way of combining leisure and tourism activities with temporary employment in established tourism destinations around the world (1, 3, 6, 9, 8). Thus, migrant seasonal workers may have other motives than just work or salary, to take on seasonal appointments in tourist destinations. Employees engaging in seasonal tourism work may blur limits between work and leisure, and thus make work a part of a “pleasurable” lifestyle (2, 4, 14).

The empirical basis for this chapter is a study of seasonal workers in ski resorts in Norway and Sweden. In later years, economic cycles have developed unevenly between these countries, which have made the border between Norway and Sweden a motor for migration and counter-cyclical movements beneficial for both countries (10). We focus on seasonal work in ski-schools, ski lifts and restaurants (and not for example in housekeeping/cleaning) in ski resorts.

Our results show that motives for seasonal workers are diverse and include economical motives, social and place-related motives, as well as lifestyle-oriented factors for work. Four groups or “typologies” of seasonal workers are discussed, illustrating the intersections between mobility and migration in seasonal work (2, 1, 9). For one of the groups, “Migrant seasonal tourist workers”, lifestyle-related motives become prominent for taking jobs in tourism, as they emphasise and prioritise possibilities for skiing and other leisure-oriented activities. Thus, work becomes a means and way for engaging in a mobile and “touristic” lifestyle, making the distinction between work and leisure elusive. This phenomenon is also registered regarding mushing (11).

References:

(1) Adler, P. A., & Adler, P. (1999). Transience and the postmodern self: The geographic mobility of resort workers. The Sociological Quarterly, 40(1), 31–58.

 

(2) Bianchi, R. V. (2000). Migrant tourist-workers: Exploring the “contact zones” of post-industrial tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 3(2), 107–137

 

(3) Boon, B. (2006). When leisure and work are allies: The case of skiers and tourist resort hotels. Career Development International, 11(7), 594–608.

 

(4) Duncan, T., Scott, D., & Baum, T. (2009). The mobilities of hospitality work: An exploration of issues and debates. 27th International Labour Process Conference, Edinburgh.

 

(5) Ericsson, B & Hagen, SE (2012). De mobile sesongarabeidernes rolle i reiselivsbedriftenes innovasjonsarbeid, i Rænningen, M. & Slåtten, T (eds) Innovasjon og næringsutvikling i en reiselivskontekst. Fagbokforlaget: Bergen.

 

(6) Janta, H., Ladkin, A., Brown, L., & Lugosi, P. (2011). Employment experiences of polish migrant workers in the UK hospitality sector. Tourism Management, 32(5), 1006–1019.

 

(7) Kacker, M. (1998). International flow of know-how: Bridging the technological gap in distribution. Journal of Retailing 64(1): 41-67.

 

(8) Ladkin, A. (2011). Exploring tourism labor. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(3), 1135–1155.

 

(9) Lee-Ross, D. (1999). Seasonal hotel jobs: An occupation and a way of life. International Journal of Tourism Research, 1(4), 239–253.

 

(10) Møller, C, Ericsson, B. & Overvåg, K. (2014). Seasonal Workers in Swedish and Norwegian Ski Resorts – Potential Inmigrants? Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 14:4, 385-402, DOI: 10.1080/15022250.2014.968365

 

(11) Möller, C., Alfredsson-Olsson, E. Ericsson, B. & Overvåg, K. 2018. The border as an engine for mobility and spatial integration: A study of commuting in a Swedish–Norwegian context. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift–Norwegian Journal of Geography Vol. 72, 00–00. ISSN 0029-1951. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291951.2018.1497698

 

(12) Overvåg, K. (2012). Fritids- og naturbasert utenlansk flytting til Indre Skandinavia – illustrert med hundekjørere I Folldal, inOlsson, E, Hauge, A, Ericsson, B (eds.) På gränsen

 

 

– Interaktion, attraktivitet och globalisering i Inre Skandinavia, Karlstad University press: Karlstad.

(13) Pegg, S., Patterson, I., & Gariddo, P. V. (2012). The impact of seasonality on tourism and hospitality operations in the Alpine region of New South Wales, Australia. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(3), 659–666.

 

(14) Uriely, N. (2001). Travelling workers and working tourists? Variations across the interaction between work and tourism. International Journal of Tourism Research, 3(1), 1–8.

 

(15) Vukasović, A. (2018). Can’t wait for the winter: Self-reported effects of seasonal employment on hospitality workers’ wellbeing and job satisfaction. Retrieved from https://login.bibproxy.kau.se:8443/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D800FCF1&lang=sv&site=eds-live

 

(16) Zampoukos, K. & Ioannides, D. (2011). The tourism labour conundrum: agenda for new research in the geography of hospitality workers. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233579514_The_tourism_labour_conundrum_agenda_for_new_research_in_the_geography_of_hospitality_workers . DOI: 10.1386/hosp.1.1.25_1

 

Keywords (3-6):

Seasonal workers, tourism worker, lifestyle oriented working life, leisure job

 

 

6.      Hospitality through hospitableness: offering a welcome to migrants through employment in the hospitality industry

 

Tone Therese Linge¹, Trude Furunes¹, Tom Baum², & Tara Duncan³

¹Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, Norway

²University of Strathclyde, Scotland

³Dalarna University, Sweden

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Tone Therese Linge, Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger, N-4036 Stavanger, Norway. tone.linge@uis.no

Contribution type (please check):

☒         Theoretical paper

Abstract

At the heart of the integration of new migrants into work and the wider community within which they and their families locate is hospitality (Irimiàs and Michalkò, 2016). This hospitality is in the form of the welcome they may or may not receive, and the speed at which distinctions between host and guest become blurred. This chapter aspires to discuss and explore one of the under-conceptualized paradoxes of migration in the contemporary world. Brought to us through the work of Derrida (1999; 2000) and others, newly settled migrants, still very much guests in their own right, are widely asked to deliver the hospitality that welcomes fellow guests (tourists) to a community and destination. The paradox lies in expectations of this welcome, with its overlays of place, stories, representation and culture.

Put simply, migrant workers come as guests and interact with, at one level, hosts who, in cultural terms, may be colleagues, local communities or, indeed, customers. At the same time, there is a workplace expectation that their role will be one of hosts from day one, representing local place and culture through its stories, myths and traditions. In our study, we aspire to understand the complexity of this paradox and engage with the role changes from guest to host that take place during the journey to integration. The paradox will be illustrated and explored through 2-3 narratives showing immigrant experiences of these integration processes of migrant workers within the hospitality industry in Norway (and Sweden).

The hospitality industry is subject to high labour intensity, low margins, strong competition and seasonality. It is also a sector that ranges in scale from micro-operations in the formal, informal and gig economies to affiliates of major international chains. Key characteristics of the hospitality workforce include a high percentage of part-timers and precarious workers on non-permanent labour contracts with high labour turnover rates, working in jobs that require little formal education, host language competence or occupational training (Baum, 2018). Such working conditions and low status are all factors that may contribute as barriers to integration in a society, because they may hinder possibilities of putting down economic and cultural roots, and lead to social peripherality and isolation. This may in turn present central challenges to the Nordic welfare model which is based on a high degree of participation in work life and public support for a comprehensive welfare system.

References

Baum, T. (2018). Sustainable human resource management as a driver in tourism policy and planning: a serious sin of omission? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(6), 1-38.

Derrida, J. (1999). Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas, trans. P. Brault and M. Naas. Stanford. CA: Stanford University Press.

Derrida, J. (2000). Of Hospitality: Anne Dufourmantelle Invites Jacques Derrida to Respond, trans. R. Bowlby. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Irimiàs, A. and Michalkò, G. (2016). Hosting while being hosted: A perspective of Hungarian migrant hospitality workers in London, UK. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 16(2), 172-183.

Keywords (3-6):

Tourism employment, migration, hospitality, integration

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

Migration constitutes challenges to the Nordic welfare states, due to amongst other lower employment rates among immigrants (Grødem, 2016). The hospitality industry is one of the largest employers of immigrants in Norway (and Sweden), and thus constitutes a central arena when discussing the impact of migration on the Nordic Model.

 

7.      A culture of mobility? The tourism and hospitality workforce in Sweden

 

Corresponding author details (address including email): Mats Lundmark (mats.lundmark@oru.se)

 

Contribution type (please check):

☒             Empirical paper

Abstract

The labour market in the hospitality and tourism industry is characterized by seasonal variations and other short-term fluctuations in demand. This makes the demand for labour volatile, and calls for a high degree of flexibility in the labour market. This need for flexibility means that the types of jobs available in the tourism and hospitality industry often have a low entry threshold and it is relatively easy to change jobs within the industry, or to switch to other industries. Flexible employment contracts create important differences between those employed on long-term contracts and temporary staff. The stereotyped worker in the sector is a young, often female, person without specific training, being low payed and doing part-time work during holidays and weekends. These are just some of the reasons that staff turnover and job-to-job mobility is higher in this industry than in most other sectors.

This chapter explores the Swedish tourism and hospitality labour market and workforce from the perspective of different aspects of mobility: between workplaces, between sectors, and geographical mobility at different scales. A comprehensive longitudinal database on individuals covering four counties in central Sweden (representing approximately 10 % of the population) is used to present some basic features of the tourism labour market, and to capture different patterns of mobility. The database contains a wide range of information: individual characteristics (sex, age, country of birth, family composition, educational attainment, attachment to the labour market, place of residence etc.), and work life related information (industrial classification of the workplace, size of workplace, work related income, and the location of the workplace that the individual is attached to in a certain year).

The findings are discussed from the perspective of institutional and cultural differences between sectors, and the possibility of a “culture of mobility” in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Keywords (3-6):

Workforce characteristics, labour market mobility, longitudinal database, Central Sweden

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The database is compiled from administrative registers hold by Statistics Sweden for all individuals (16 years of age and older) working and/or living in the four counties (Värmland, Örebro, Västmanland and Dalarna). Thus, with the exception of the large metropolitan areas in Sweden, the data is highly representative for the Swedish labour market as a whole.

 

8.      Marketing of friendly and flexible voluntourists to Iceland

 

Jónína Einarsdóttir, Professor of Anthropology, University of Iceland

Guðbjörg Linda Rafnsdóttir, Professor of Sociology, University of Iceland

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Jónína Einarsdóttir
Professor of Anthropology
University of Iceland
Gimli v/Sæmundargötu
IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland
tel. work +354-525 4508/mobile +354-820 4360

Email: je@hi.is

 

Contribution type (please check):

☒             Empirical paper

Abstract (250-400 words):

Volunteering in high income countries is an under researched area, even though it has expanded globally. Volunteering most often refers to young people, working outside their home country for food and accommodation. When combined with tourism, the term voluntourism is increasingly used in academic writings. The aim of this chapter is to  explore the marketing of volunteers to Iceland, a high-income country where tourism has rapidly expanded, and unemployment is low. All online ads that appeared on Workaway and HelpX on 27 February 2017 and on 27 February 2018 searching for volunteers to Iceland were analyzed. Collective labor agreements cover almost all tasks required by the hosts, with the consequences that the Icelandic labor union and the employers’ organization defined this work as illegal. However, it does not seem to bother the hosts, and despite warnings from the labor union about illegitimate recruitment, the number of ads for volunteers increased between 2017 and 2018. In the ads, the hosts mostly appeal to the volunteers assuming they are tourists who behave in line with ‘private benefits models’ and the ‘investment model’ rather individuals guided by altruistic concerns (Hustinx et al. 2010). The hosts tend to formulate their requirements in a straightforward, occasionally rude tone, seemingly unconcerned about lack in supply of volunteers, or they prefer to be without a volunteer rather than recruiting one who is not hardworking and adaptable enough. We conclude that it is important to improve the knowledge about the position of volunteers in the Icelandic labor market, for instance, to what extent they are voluntourists or young people in a weak labor market position.

 

Keywords (3-6):

Iceland, volunteers, tourism, marketing, exploitation, labor market

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The study treats an issue much debated in Iceland (one of the Nordic countries), i.e. foreign volunteers working within the country. The labor market participants have argued that these volunteers illegally replace employees in regular jobs, and thereby that their recruitment is a

 

9.      Gateway, fast lane, or early exit? Tourism and hospitality as a first employer of Norwegian youth 

 

Åse Helene Bakkevig Dagsland, Norwegian School of Hotel Management, University of Stavanger

Richard N.S. Robinson, UQ Business School, The University of Queensland

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Åse Helene Bakkevig Dagsland

Norwegian School of Hotel Management

University of Stavanger

Pob 8600 Forus

N-4036 Stavanger - Norway

 

 aase-helene.b.dagsland@uis.no

 

Contribution type (please check):

☒             Empirical paper

Abstract

Gateway, fast lane, or early exit? Tourism and hospitality as a first employer of Norwegian youth 

This chapter addresses the Nordic nexus between ‘youth employment’ and the ‘image and attractiveness of tourism employment’. Hospitality and tourism employment are gateways into working life for young people (Baum et al., 2016; Walmsley, 2015), but international evidence is mounting that the tourism youth employment experience is increasingly fast, furious and short. One of the Norwegian educational pathways into the industry is through vocational education, with two years of foundation classes in secondary school followed by two years as an apprentice in the industry, resulting in a certificate of apprenticeship (cf. Dagsland, et al., 2017; 2018). Formal apprenticeship systems are thus representing one of the possibilities for the industry to attract and secure a stable and competent workforce as well as to train this new workforce to fit its business needs. Engaging with recent contributions to the literature vis-à-vis tourism and hospitality youth employment, this chapter interrogates a Norwegian dataset pertaining to apprenticeship entrants’ first encounters, expectations and experiences in the industry.

This chapter will extend on previous evidence regarding youth employment experiences, in Norway. Young peoples’ prior perceptions of and beliefs about, work in this industry are positive (Dagsland, et al., 2017; 2018). In Norway 32% of the workforce in accommodation and serving is below the age of 24 (other industries 12 %). They, trends suggest, do not stay, however. Turnover rates are high (DAMVAD, 2014) and the industry is facing difficulties with recruiting and retaining a competent workforce; 61% report great/some degree of shortage of skilled workforce (Rørstad et al., 2018). We do not know much in general about youths’ first encounters with working life in the hospitality and tourism industry. Prior analysis of apprenticeship data (Dagsland et.al, 2011; 2015) showed that the prior positive expectations they have are mainly not met. Apprentices report a further experience regarding a lack of, inter alia inclusion, training and supervision, and respect. These findings underline important employment challenges for the industry, such as a change of attitude and ‘codes of conduct’. The industry seems to experience apprenticeship as a burden instead of an opportunity – the apprentices experience to be regarded as ‘cheap labour’ instead of ‘professionals to be’ – thus the industry may miss a unique opportunity of recruiting competent employees.

Recent contributions to the literature, which suggest the industry, in leveraging on the benefits of youth employment (cf. Baker et al. 2014; Warhurst & Nickson, 2007), has a developmental and duty of care responsibility (Jennings et al., 2013), and even a symbiotic relationship (Golubovskaya et al., 2017) with youth. This chapter, after presenting findings, will first telescope out to locate these Norwegian apprentice narratives within broader global and conceptual contexts and then zoom back in to consider theoretical, policy and practice implications for the Nordic and Norwegian contexts.

References

Baker, T., Rapp, A., Meyer, T. & Mullins, R. (2014). The role of brand communications on front line service employee beliefs, behaviors, and performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 42(6), 642-657.

Baum, T., Kralj, A., Robinson, R.N.S. & Solnet, D. (2016). Tourism Workforce Research: Review, Taxonomy and Agenda. Annals of Tourism Research, 60, 1-22.

DAMVAD (2014). Utredning om norsk servicenæring. For Nærings- og fiskeridepartementet. (The Norwegian Restaurant Business: White Paper for the Ministry of Business and Fishery) Oslo: DAMVAD.

 

Dagsland, Å.H.B., Mykletun, R. & Einarsen, S. (2011). Apprentices' Expectations and Experiences in the Socialisation Process in their Meeting with the Hospitality Industry. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 11(4), 395-415.

Dagsland, Å.H.B., Mykletun, R.J. & Einarsen, S. (2015). “We’re not slaves–we are actually the future!” A follow-up study of apprentices’ experiences in the Norwegian hospitality industry. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 67(4), 460-481.

Dagsland, Å.H.B., Mykletun, R.J. & Einarsen, S.V. (2017) Antecedents of Norwegian Adolescents’ Choice of Educational Pathway in Hospitality and Tourism. Nordic ournal of working life studies, 7(4), 51-71.

Golubovskaya, M., Solnet, D. & Robinson, R.N.S. (2017). Service organisations as the caretakers for the future workforce: A CSR perspective on youth employment and frontline service roles. 8th International Research Symposium in Service Management, Seoul, 5-8 August, pp.1-12.

Jennings, J., Breitkreuz, R. & James, A. (2013). When family members are also business owners: Is entrepreneurship good for families? Family Relations, 62, 472-489.

Rørstad, K., Børing, P., Solberg, E. & Carlsten, T.C. et al., (2018). NHOs Kompetansebarometer 2018. Resultater fra en undersøkelse om kompetansebehov blant NHOs medlemsbedrifter i 2018. (NHO’s competence inventory. Results from a survey on competence needs among NHO’s federated companies in 2018), NIFU Report 2018:23.

Walmsley, A. (2015). Youth employment in tourism and hospitality: A critical review. Oxford: Goodfellow Publisher Limited.

 

Keywords (3-6): Employment, youth development, training, apprenticeship experiences

A brief statement on Nordic countries connection – maximum 50 words:

The chapter presents some previous findings on Norwegian youth’s perceptions and beliefs about work in the industry and youth employment experiences during apprenticeship. After locating these within broader global and conceptual contexts, theoretical, practical and policy implications for training and industry in the Norwegian/Nordic context are discussed.

 

10. Migrant workers in the Icelandic tourism industry

 

Margrét Wendt, MS student, Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Iceland

Gunnar Thór Jóhannesson, Professor, Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Iceland

Unnur Dís Skaptadóttir, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Iceland

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Gunnar Thór Jóhannesson

Contribution type (please check):

☒         Case study

 

Abstract

Mobility is a key characteristic of today's world (Skaptadóttir & Loftsdóttir, 2016). People are increasingly mobile with regards to where they are able to live and work, which has affected the tourism industry and its workforce greatly. Today, migrant workers form a substantial part of the local tourism workforce in many countries, including Nordic countries (Baum, 2007). It has been found that the industry’s diversified workforce can bring about both challenges and benefits for the tourism industry and the motivations for migrant workers to take up work within the tourism industry are arguably diverse (Baum, 2007; Devine, Baum, Hearns & Devine; 2007; Janta, 2011; Joppe; 2012; Duncan, Scott & Baum, 2013; Baum, 2015). Iceland is an example of a country that has seen an immense increase in foreign workers in the tourism industry. Until the 21st century, Iceland had barely been affected by immigration. Today, however, migrant workers constitute more than 20% of all employees in the Icelandic tourism industry (Stjórnstöð Ferðamála, 2016). This new labour composition of a diverse workforce brings about benefits as well as challenges for employees, employers as well as the Icelandic tourism industry itself. This chapter will present a case study from Iceland about migrant workers in the Icelandic hotel sector, based on qualitative interviews with migrant workers and hotel managers. It examines what challenges and benefits migrant workers perceive to result from their employment in the tourism industry and presents what challenges and benefits hotel managers perceive to result from managing a culturally diverse workforce. It also sheds light on worker’s motivations for moving to Iceland and taking up work in the tourism industry as well as the expectations and the lived experience of working in an Icelandic hotel. This study provides valuable insights into the experiences of migrant workers as well as the dynamics present in the tourism industry in Iceland, which is relevant for both the academic community as well as public and private stakeholders.  

Keywords (3-6):

Tourism labour, migrant workers, Iceland, hotel sector

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

This study is a case study of hotel employees and hotel managers in Iceland, one of the Nordic countries. While the study's findings are important for Iceland's tourism industry, it also presents implications for the tourism industry and stakeholders in other Nordic countries.

 

11. Dutch tourism entrepreneurs and their practices of downshifting: possible consequences for the Swedish welfare state.

 

Marco Eimermann, Umeå University, Sweden (Research assistant professor)

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Department of Geography

Umeå University

90187 Umeå, Sweden

marco.eimermann@umu.se

 

Contribution type (please check):

☒         Case study

Abstract

This chapter builds on findings from qualitative in-depth studies on Dutch lifestyle migrant tourism entrepreneurs living and working in the Swedish county Värmland (e.g. Eimermann 2016, Eimermann & Kordel 2018, Eimermann et al. 2018). In the context of lifestyle migration (Benson & O’Reilly 2016), such studies examine social rather than economic motivations for migrating as well as socio-economic post-migration experiences. The studies are often related with perspectives on production, consumption and integration in the receiving communities. In addition to these studies of intra-EU lifestyle migration, this chapter introduces the concept of downshifting. Downshifting has been described as a contemporary phenomenon where professionals, executives and managers voluntarily opt out of financially rewarding career paths to earn their living in alternative ways, involving lowered income and status (Tan 2000). The chapter discusses to what degree the interviewed entrepreneurs were downshifting, as not all of them had been executives or managers before migration. Yet, they did renegotiate the balance between work and leisure time by regulating the level of consumption to a lower income (Schor 2005). The chapter’s theoretical discussion departs from Saltzman’s (1991) 5 types of downshifters: plateauers, backtrackers, career shifters, the self-employed and urban escapees. The chapter then presents reflections on consequences of downshifting for the Swedish welfare state. If the interviewees work less and contribute less income tax, what does this mean for the Nordic model and how can services such as child care, health care and pension systems be maintained?

Keywords (3-6):

Downshifting, interviews, lifestyle migrants, tourism entrepreneurs, Sweden

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The research participants are living in Sweden. Their motivations to move there from the Netherlands are based on their imaginaries of Swedish landscapes and societies in general. Within the Nordic model, these lifestyle migrant tourism entrepreneurs are experiencing both opportunities and challenges when collaborating with Swedish formal and informal institutions.

 

 

12. Governing of Tourism Work in the Nordics – Finnish perspective

 

Maria Hakkarainen, PhD, Senior lecturer,University of Lapland

Anu Harju-Myllyaho, M. Soc.Sci, Manager, Responsibility in Business and Services, Lapland University of Applied Sciences

Mari Vähäkuopus, M.Sci.(econ), Lecturer, Lapland University of Applied Sciences

Corresponding author details (address including email): anu.harju-myllyaho@lapinamk.fi

Contribution type (please check):

☐ X Empirical paper

Abstract

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world economy. The growth rate at the moment is globally approximately 5%. Also in Finland, tourism growth is strong, especially in Lapland. The economic impacts of tourism are significant and this has implications to tourism employment as well. (OECD 2018). According to the Finnish government, tourism covered 2,5 percent of GDP in 2016 and it is expected to reach three percent in 2025. Tourism employees 140 000 workers the moment and some 40 000 more jobs are anticipated to the industry by 2025. (Ministry of economic affairs and employment 2018.)

While the growth is positive, it has brought along challenges concerning labor and employment. The companies lack skilled employees, while there might be open positions on the market. Neither the amount nor the quality of existing expertise needed in the industry match the existing available labour force in the market. Minister of economic affairs and employment in Finland has stated that the shortage of skilled labor cannot be an obstacle for the tourism growth. However, the reasons for the challenges are multidimensional and equally complex solutions are needed.

In this article, we analyse how tourism is governed by public instances in Finland and how this is realized in every day practices, such as recruitment and management of tourism companies. First, we discuss the main reasons for the multidimensional challenges in managing skilled labor, which are causing many smaller practical as well as larger structural challenges.

Second, we explore viewpoints to a Finnish government’s tourism employment initiative MatkailuDiili as an example. MatkailuDiili is a core development project funded by The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland to find solutions for the challenges faced in tourism sector. We describe how the experiments organized within the project have approached the employment issues and the impact they have had in the industry.

Keywords (3-6): Finland, public organizations, employment

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The article is firmly connected to Nordic countries, since the context of the article is in Finland. Finland is one of the Nordic countries. However, it has unique features, such as four distinct regions that differ from one another in terms of attractions and employment.

 

 

13. Potential treasure for tourism – handicrafts as employment and cultural experience service in Nordic North

 

Outi Kugapi, Multidimensional Tourism Institute, University of Lapland, Finland

Maria Huhmarniemi, Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland, Finland

Laura Laivamaa, Faculty of Art and Design, University of Lapland, Finland

 

Corresponding author details (address including email):

 

Outi Kugapi

Yliopistonkatu 8

96300 Rovaniemi

Finland

outi.kugapi@ulapland.fi

 

Contribution type (please check):

x          Empirical paper

 

Abstract

 

The tourism in the Nordic countries is at turning point; all the countries are expecting the number of arriving tourists to grow, which can mean more jobs that are available for people who wish to work and live in the north (Lapin liitto, 2018). In Lapland, the growth is most remarkable. However, tourism is often criticized for offering only seasonal jobs and this can lead to unevenly divided workforce and lack of skilled employees (i.e. Tuulentie & Heimtun, 2014; Chen & Wang, 2015). There are also concerns of ecological sustainability together with worries of climate change, but cultural sustainability lacks attention even though tourists and their interest seem to be changing. Nowadays, tourists visit Nordic countries not only because of the nature, but also because of the local cultures including the only indigenous culture in Europe, the Sámi (see i.e. Veijola & Strauss-Mazzullo, 2019). This shows that there is a need for culture-based tourism and thinking outside of the box when planning the services.

 

There are expectations that tourism in Nordic countries can increase with help of the cultural sector and creative industries (OKM, 2018; Sandell & Skarveli, 2016). By adding these elements to Nordic tourism, not only the employment rate for artists but also the quality of tourism services could be improved. For example, crafted souvenirs and craft-based experience services can present cultural heritage and increase cultural sustainability and authenticity in Nordic tourism. In ideal situation, this would lead to year-around jobs and more sustainable ways of living, staying and visiting in Nordic countries. Local cultures have so much to offer – things that have not even been thought of.

 

Handmade in Lapland -project (ESF) has conducted 15 interviews for handicraft and design entrepreneurs, tourism DMO’s and design retailers in late 2018 – early 2019 in Finnish Lapland to research the state of tourism in creative industry and the potential of adding craft-based services for tourists. During spring 2019, the project will organize four service design workshops where this topic will be discussed with different actors, both from tourism and creative areas. Based on the preliminary analysis of the interviews, there is potential and concrete need to create new tourist services, which are based on art, design and handicrafts. The data from the workshops will be analyzed together with the interviews to create a better understanding of the potential employment for artists as well as the challenges in it.

 

Keywords (3-6):

craft-based tourism, experience services, employment, cultural sustainability, souvenirs

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

 

The research is made in Finland, but similar possibilities and challenges are shared with other Nordic countries where tourism services are mainly nature-based. Craft-based tourism has potential for increasing sustainability; it carries cultural values, heritage and tacit knowledge, which could easily be integrated to tourism and highlighted more for travelers.

 

References:

Chen, J. S & Wang, W. (2015). Foreign labours in Arctic destinations:

seasonal workers' motivations and job skills. Current Issues in Tourism, 18(4), pp. 350-360, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2014.894499

OKM (2018). Taide ja kulttuuri osana alueiden kehitystä; Näkymä vuoteen 2025. Helsinki:

Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön julkaisuja 2018:20. Retrieved from: http://urn.f/URN:ISBN:978-952-263-566-2

 

Lapin liitto (2018). Lapin suhdannekatsaus2018. Retrieved from: http://www.lappi.fi/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=53801&name=DLFE-33608.pdf

 

Sandell, T. & Skarveli, L. (2016). Mapping exercise: How could creative industries foster innovation in tourism in the Northern Dimension area? Country Report ± Finland. The Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture. Retrieved from https://www.ndpculture.org/studies/mapping-exercise-how-could-creative-industries-foster-innovation-in-tourismin-the-northern-dimension-area

 

Tuulentie, S. & Heimtun, B. (2014). New Rural Residents or Working Tourists? Place Attachment of Mobile Tourism Workers in Finnish Lapland and Northern Norway. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 14(4), pp. 367-384, DOI: 10.1080/15022250.2014.967998

 

Veijola S., Strauss-Mazzullo H. (2019) Tourism at the Crossroads of Contesting Paradigms of Arctic Development. In: Finger M., Heininen L. (eds) The GlobalArctic Handbook. Springer, Cham.

 

 

14. Teenage girls in tourism in Iceland: Terms of employment and job satisfaction.

 

Anna Vilborg Einarsdóttir and Laufey Haraldsdóttir.

Department of Rural Tourism, Hólar University College, Iceland.

Corresponding authors:

Anna Vilborg Einarsdóttir, Assistant professor, Department of Rural Tourism, Hólar University College, Iceland. annavilborg@holar.is

Laufey Haraldsdóttir, Head of Department of Rural Tourism, Hólar University College, Iceland. laufey@holar.is

Contribution type: Empirical paper.

Abstract:

Young employers have for years been an important work force in the tourism and hospitality sector in Iceland. In April 2018, 27.000 people worked in the tourism sector in Iceland, whereas information on gender and age groups are not available in Icelandic official documents (Statistics Iceland, n.d.). Young employees are crucial for the tourism sector and in maintaining the economic system in Iceland. Their lack of experience in the labor market results in their position far down in the work force pyramid. Common jobs that teenage girls are employed in are within the service industry, such as restaurants, cafes, hotels and guesthouses (Efling Union, 2018).

This paper examines teenage girl’s perspectives towards their employment in tourism and hospitality in Iceland, in the face of tremendous expansion of the sector the last decade and increased demand for labor. Interviews with girls in the age of 16 to 17 were conducted to discover (i) their perspectives towards working in the tourism sector (ii) the terms of their employment (iii) their job satisfaction (iii) the meaning of youth employment in in tourism in the socio-economic context of Iceland.

Analysis of the interview data revealed that the girls feel proud about their work and experience that their work is valued. When recruited, most were thrown into the deep end of the pool without formal instructions or training for the job. Poor recruitment practices and minimum wages don´t seem to matter in the first instances as long as the negotiated payment arrives at the right time. With increased experience, their empowerment and courage to demand their rights and improved working conditions, increases.

Keywords: Job satisfaction, terms of employment, teenage girls, tourism sector, Iceland.

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to the Nordic Countries:

Limited research exists on the labor market in the tourism sector in Iceland and none on teenagers, despite the significant importance of this age group for the industry. This study will contribute to improved knowledge of youth work experience in this field in Iceland and the Nordic countries.

15. Migrant workers in tourism – Challenges of unions in Iceland in wake of rapid growth and flirt with neoliberalism

 

Magnfríður Júlíusdóttir, University of Iceland, & Íris H. Halldórsdóttir, Icelandic Tourism Research Centre

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Magnfríður, mj@hi.is & Íris, irish@unak.is

Contribution type (please check):

☒ Case study +

Abstract   

The tourism industry in Iceland has increasingly relied on international migrant workers, the majority being part of intra-European mobile workforce. Since 2011 the number of employees in tourism has doubled and in 2017 a quarter of the employees were foreign citizens. These developments of highly mobile and often temporary workers of diverse socioeconomic and cultural background poses new challenges for the geographically based labour unions in Iceland. In areas experiencing the fastest growth in tourism employment, nearly half of union members are now foreign citizens. Monitoring the compliance to labour agreements for workers in tourism is a growing concern of labour unions staff. In the

chapter we analyse these developments in Iceland in the context of research on work conditions and organisation of migrant workers in tourism (McDowell, Batnitzky & Dyer, 2009; Jordhus-Lier & Underthun, 2015). In Iceland, strong unions of the Nordic model traditions, have resisted rising influence of neoliberal ideologies, both in government and the Federation of Employers, in the 1990s (Ólafsson, 2011), by demanding unconditional inclusion of international migrant workers in collective agreements in the labour market.

In the chapter we analyse findings from our case study on two regions in Iceland, outside the capital area, where tourist numbers have grown exponentially in the last decade. One is the area around the Keflavik international airport and the Blue Lagoon and the other the South region, where many of the most visited attractions are located. We analyse statistics on the nationality of employees in different sub-sectors of tourism and the structures of tourism related industries, but analyses of interviews with staff at local labour unions is the main content of the chapter. Among themes are the challences experienced by lack of coordinated governance structures to deal with this new situation and the precarious situation of some migrant workers, depending on employers for housing and compliance to labour market agreements. One of the themes we will go deeper into is the unions critique of lack of focus on labour issues in the official quality and environmental system used in Icelandic tourism, as a part of growing emphasis on sustainable and responsible tourism. Apart from focusing on labour market relations in times of mobility and neoliberalism, we add smaller towns and farming areas developing into whole year destinations, into the geographic context of research on migrant workers in tourism. In the Nordic context research on big cities and seasonal resorts has been more prominent (Carson, Carson & Lundmark, 2014; Jordhus-Lier & Underthun, 2015).

Carson, D.A., Carson D.B. & Lundmark L. (2014). Tourism and Mobilities in Sparsely Populated Areas: Towards a Framework and Research Agenda. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism, 14(4), 353-366.

Jordhus-Lier, D. & Underthun, A. (2015). A Hospitable World? Organising work and workers in hotels and tourist resorts. London & New York: Routledge.

McDowell, L., Batnitzky, A. & Dyer, S. (2009). Precarious Work and Economic Migration: Emerging Immigrant Divisions of Labour in Greater London´s Service Sector. Intern. Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 33(1), 3-25.

Ólafsson, Stefán 2011. ‘Icelandic Capitalism: From Statism to Neoliberalism and Financial Collapse.’ In L. Mjøset (ed.) The Nordic Varieties of Capitalism, Comparative Social Research, 28. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 1–51.

Keywords (3-6):

Labour unions; migrant workers; tourism; Iceland

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

Case studies from Iceland and part of the analysis focuses on the neoliberal ideas clashing with the strong position of unions and collective bargaining in the Nordic countries

 

 

16. Employing Generations Y and Z in tourism and hospitality: opportunities and challenges

 

Ekonen, Marianne; JAMK University of Applied Sciences

Törn-Laapio, Anne; JAMK University of Applied Sciences

Heikkilä, Hilkka; JAMK University of Applied Sciences

Vaara, Elina; JAMK University of Applied Sciences

Leppälä, Mirva; JAMK University of Applied Sciences

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Marianne Ekonen

JAMK University of Applied Sciences

Rajakatu 35, 40200 Jyväskylä, FINLAND

marianne.ekonen@jamk.fi

Contribution type (please check):

☒             Empirical paper

 

Abstract

In Finland, the amount of foreign travellers has doubled in the 21^st century and 40.000 new employees needs to be recruited by 2025. At the same time, the tourism and hospitality sector suffers from the labour shortage and recruitment problems. Today, 30 per cent of the sector’s employees are under 26 years old. (Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa, 2019). Changing demographics means that the new generations of employees are entering the tourism and hospitality workforce and are challenging the previous management paradigms and practices in the workplaces. Specifically, a majority of the employees that enter the work force nowadays are known as Generation Y and Generation Z. There have been a variety of opinions put forward about Millennials’ organizational relationships and performance (Myers & Sdaghiani, 2010), factors influencing workplace motivation (Calk & Patrick, 2017), generational differences in work values (Chen & Choi, 2008), and the role of supervisor for them (Kultalahti, 2015). Previous studies show that Millennial workers are motivated by basic needs and the desire for belonging, and seek actualization through challenging and meaningful work (Calk & Patrick, 2017). Currently, the empirical studies that explore these questions are still rare especially in Nordic countries. This study aims to identify and explain how the generations Y and Z experience their work, work communities and leadership in the workplaces. The data will be collected during the spring 2019 through an online survey to 5-10 small and medium-sized tourism and hospitality companies in the Central Finland. The Implications are drawn for tourism and hospitality sector’s supervisors to recruit, retain and manage Y and Z workforce successfully.

Keywords (3-6):

Generations Y and Z, Millennials, Tourism and hospitality, Leadership

 

References:

Jochem, S. 2011. Nordic Employment Policies – Change and Continuity Before and During the Financial Crisis. Social Policy & Administration, 45(2): 131-145.

Calk , R. & Patrick, A. 2017. Millennials Through The Looking Glass: Workplace Motivating Factors. The Journal of Business Inquiry, 16 (2): 131-139.

Chen, P-J. & Choi, Y. 2008. Generational differences in work values: a study of hospitality management. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 20 (6): 595-615.

Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa, 2019 https://mara.fi/en/hospitality-industry

Kultalahti, S. 2015. “It’s so nice to be at work!” Adopting different perspectives in understanding Generation Y at work. Acta Wasaensia, 339. Business Administration 139. Management and Organization.

Myers & Sdaghiani, 2010. Millennials in the Workplace: A Communication Perspective on Millennials’ Organizational Relationships and Performance. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25 (2): 225-238.

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

The chapter’s theme is current issue, because tourism in Finland has doubled in the 21^st century and it is estimated that 40.000 employees needs to be recruited by 2025. At present 30 per cent of the sector’s employees are under 26 years old. The sector suffers from the labour shortage and recruitment problems.

 

 

 

17. Employee motivation and satisfaction practices – A case from Iceland

 

Magnus Asgeirsson, Adjunct, University of Iceland

Paulína Neshybová, MS Graduate, University of Iceland

Brynjar Thorsteinsson, Assistant professor, Bifrost University, Iceland

Ester Gustavsdottir, HR specialist, Reykjavik University, Iceland

Corresponding author details (address including email):

Magnus Asgeirsson, mha@hi.is

Contribution type (please check):

☒         Case study

☒            Review/position paper

 

Abstract:

Tourism in Iceland has grown at an unprecedented rate (25-40% per annum), in terms of arrivals in the past few years and as a result is now one of the largest sectors of employment in the country. This vast growth has presented challenges in infrastructure for the whole industry as well as on individual company level. One of the main challenges for managers is to maintain service quality and keep or increase customer satisfaction levels to ensure a good reputation amongst customers. It is therefore vital for managers to look at keeping job satisfaction and motivation amongst their employees at a high level, because that has proven to reduce staff turnover, influence service quality, customer satisfaction and in general overall performance of a company. This relation is believed to be even stronger and therefore more important within labour intensive and fast moving service sector, like tourism (Arnet, Laverie & Mclane, 2002).

The aim of this chapter is to shed light on some of the challenges hotel managers are left with in order to ensure job satisfaction and motivation amongst their employees, how employees and managers views are different regarding the issue, and what role HR department plays, or in theory, should play in ensuring this. The case for this chapter is based on semi-structured interviews with both managers and front desk employees at four different hotels, belonging to one of the biggest hotel chain in Iceland. The chain has grown somewhat through the past years but was already well established before the tourism boom.

Findings suggest that there is a great need for improvement when it comes to employee motivation and satisfaction practises. No universal approach or system for job satisfaction and motivation is in place from the HR department that adheres to all hotels within the chain. The practices that are applied are developed mostly by hotel management, and therefore differ from outposts. Similar situation is portrayed in regards to job knowledge and training. The HR department of the hotel chain seems to be somewhat distant from the daily routine or mundane work at the hotels, since neither managers nor employees have knowledge or understanding of the department’s role and barely feel its presence. More professionalism is needed within the hotels to encourage job satisfaction and motivation amongst employees.

 

Keywords (3-6):

Job satisfaction, Employee motivation, Human Resource Management, Hospitality, Tourism, Iceland

 

A brief statement on how you see your study connected to Nordic countries – maximum 50 words:

Findings and literature review from the thesis, as well as years of experience within the sector from all authors, draws forth the conclusions that the issue portrayed here is more the norm than exceptions and therefore has relevance in a book like this that is aimed addressing employment issues within the sector of hospitality and tourism.  

 

 

18. Sustainable tourism employment, the concept of decent work and Sweden.

 

Tara Duncan, Jörgen Elbe and Anna Gudmundsson Hillman

School of Technology and Business Studies, Dalarna University, Falun, Sweden

 

This chapter utilises data from a systematic review of literature, funded by FORMAS (The Swedish Research Council for Sustainable Development), to examine the idea of sustainable tourism employment in Sweden. The chapter will begin by bringing together ideas of sustainable human resource management and decent work (following the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 8), considering them in the context of Sweden. Following this, the main themes uncovered from the systematic review of literature will be reviewed in detail and related back to the earlier conceptual discussions. The chapter will argue that there remains a dearth of research into tourism employment with almost no research considering the sustainability of tourism employment globally, and particularly in the Swedish, and Nordic contexts.

 

The chapter will argue that this lack of focus on tourism employment remains perplexing given the centrality of work to people and communities and the continued reliance of tourism as an economic driver. This is particularly relevant in the Swedish context where the 2017 Report ‘Ett land att besöka [A country to visit]’ (SOU 2017:95) discusses the need to strengthen the tourism industry to be an export and job engine for the country. Intertwining the themes from the systematic review with the growing literature about decent work and sustainable human resource management, the chapter will illustrate that positives can begin to be seen and examples from Sweden will help to illustrate this.

 

The chapter will conclude by considering how tourism employment can be or become sustainable. Linking back to the Sustainable Development Goals, the chapter will considers whether current conceptions of tourism work recognise wider interdependent political, socio-cultural and economic drivers necessary to sustain a ‘decent’ tourism workforce and where Sweden is within these discussions. The paper will finish by suggesting, for Sweden and globally, and as Baum (2018, p.13) suggests, it only through recognising these interdependencies that there be any “notion of achieving a decent work culture [as] a realistic proposition for [sustainable] tourism employment”.

 

 

 

19.  Conclusion

 

Andreas Walmsley, Kajsa Aberg, Petra Blinnikka, Gunnar Thor Johannesson

O autorze

Andreas Walmsley is Associate Professor  with the International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship at Coventry University, UK. He is also Affiliate Researcher at the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre, where he helped establish and currently co-leads Tourism Workforce, a research group that focuses on tourism employment in Nordic countries.

Kajsa Åberg is a tourism strategist for the regional development organization in Vasterbotten County, northern Sweden. She has a background as tourism entrepreneur and human geographer with a doctoral thesis entailing studies on the tourism workforce in the Nordic context.

Petra Blinnikka is a senior lecturer in tourism and services management at JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Finland. She has worked within tourism development and education for 17 years. She is a founder and coordinator of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, ICRT, Finland.

Gunnar Thór Jóhannesson is Professor at the Department of Geography and Tourism, University of Iceland. He is a founding member of AIRTH – Alliance for Innovators and Researchers in Tourism and Hospitality and vice-lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Northern Tourism. 

Blurb

Viewed through a politico-economic lens, Nordic countries share what is often referred to as the ‘Nordic model’, characterised by a comprehensive welfare state; higher spending on childcare; more equitable income distribution; and lifelong-learning policies. This edited collection considers these contexts to explore the complex nature of tourism employment, thereby providing insights into the dynamic nature, characteristics, and meaning of work in tourism. Contributors combine explorations of the impact of policy on tourism employment with a more traditional human resources management approach focusing on employment issues from an organizational perspective, such as job satisfaction, training, and retention. The text points to opportunities as well as challenges relating to issues such as the notion of ‘decent work’, the role and contribution of migrant workers, and more broadly, the varying policy objectives embedded within the Nordic welfare model. Offering a detailed, multi-faceted analysis of tourism employment, this book is a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners interested in tourism employment in the region.