Cornell Study Examines Employee Preferences for Work Hours

Forty Hours Doesn't Work for Everyone: Examining Employee Preferences for Work Hours

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. October 31, 2008

ITHACA, NY, October 30, 2008. H ospitality managers would do well to consider employees' wishes in setting the number of hours they work each week, according to a new hotel management research study from Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research. Rather than use the arbitrary standard of forty hours as a fixed gauge in scheduling all workers, the study suggests applying employees' own preferences. The newly released hotel management study, "Forty Hours Doesn't Work for Everyone: Examining Employee Preferences for Work Hours," by Lindsay A. Zahn and Michael C. Sturman, is available from the center at no charge:

http://www.hotelschool.cornell.edu/research/chr/pubs/reports/abstract-14944.html.

"While there has been a lot of research looking at working more than forty hours, given today's economic conditions and cutbacks in work hours that workers are experiencing, we felt it was important for research to look into the psychological consequences of 'hours mismatch,' the difference between the number of hours employees desired and the actual number of hours received," said Zahn, a senior at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. "The usual standard of forty hours is meaningless in terms of whether employees are overscheduled or underscheduled. Instead, employees who don't get the hours they want are more likely to turn over, especially if they have too many or too few hours." Zahn added that the hotel management report surveyed the attitudes of over 1,000 workers.

"Although too many hours bothered many employees, too few hours also caused respondents to consider leaving their jobs," said Sturman, who is an associate professor at the School of Hotel Administration. "Again, the definition of 'too few hours' rests with the employee. A few hours less did not seem to be a problem, but when the schedule was short by eleven hours or more, employees were particularly unhappy-more so than when they were overscheduled."

Hotel Management Report Offers Valuable Assistance to Employers, Given Today's Economy

Zahn and Sturman recognize that the current economic environment will unavoidably mean cutbacks and layoffs in the hospitality industry. Consequently, they suggest that managers do their best to take employees' scheduling desires into account, rather than worry about the arbitrary forty-hour weekly standard.

Thanks to the support of the Center for Hospitality Research partners listed below, all Cornell Hospitality Reports and Tools are made available free of charge from the center's website, www.chr.cornell.edu.

About The Center for Hospitality Research

A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the center's 75 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly (formerly the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly). To learn more about center and its projects, visit www.chr.cornell.edu.

Center partners and sponsors: AIG Global Real Estate Investment, American Airlines Admirals Club, Davis & Gilbert LLP, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, Denihan Hospitality Group, Expedia, Inc., Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Fox Rothschild LLP, FX Real Estate and Entertainment, Inc., General Growth Properties, Inc., HVS, InterContinental Hotels Group, job.travel, JohnsonDiversey, Inc., Jumeirah Group, LRP Publications, Marriott International, Inc., Marsh's Hospitality Practice, Mobil Travel Guide, Inc., Nestl'e, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Proskauer Rose LLP, Smith Travel Research, Southern Wine and Spirits of America, Inc., SynXis (a Sabre Holdings Corporation), Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, Thayer Lodging Group, TIG Global, Thompson Hotels, Travelport, WATG, and WhiteSand Consulting

Center friends: 4Hoteliers.com o American Tescor, LLC o Argyle Executive Forum o Caribbean Hotel and Restaurant Buyers Guide o Cody Kramer Imports o Cruise Industry News o DK Shifflet & Associates o ehotelier.com o EyeforTravel o Fireman's Fund Insurance Company o Gerencia de Hoteles & Restaurantes o Global Hospitality Resources o Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) o hospitalityInside.com o hospitalitynet.org o Hospitality Technology Magazine o Hotel Asia Pacific o Hotel China o HotelExecutive.com o Hotel Interactive o Hotel Resource o International CHRIE o International Hotel and Restaurant Association o International Hotel Conference o International Society of Hospitality Consultants (ISHC) o iPerceptions o Lodging Hospitality o Lodging Magazine o Milestone Internet Marketing o MindFolio o Parasol o PhoCusWright, Inc. o PKF Hospitality Research o The Resort Trades o RealShare Hotel Investment & Finance Summit o Resort+Recreation Magazine o RestaurantEdge.com o Shibata Publishing Co. o Synovate o The Lodging Conference o TravelCLICK o UniFocus o WageWatch, Inc. o WIWIH.COM

Contact:

Glenn Withiam,

607.255.3025,

[email protected]