Hospitality Work and Mental Health: What Recent Research Is Telling Us

By Dr. Robertico Croes

Recent research increasingly treats the mental health of hospitality workers as a question of how work is organized, not simply how well individual employees manage stress. Across hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses, the literature points to five connected concerns: excessive demands, inadequate rewards, job insecurity, emotional labor and weak organizational support.

First, workload matters. El-Sherbeeny and colleagues’ 2024 study of luxury-hotel employees found that physical and mental workloads reduced workers’ overall well-being and affected safe workplace behavior. Physical demands also increased mental strain. Significantly, psychological resilience did not eliminate these effects. This suggests that encouraging workers to become “more resilient” is insufficient when the underlying workload remains excessive.

Second, employees evaluate what they give in relation to what they receive. Rosemberg and colleagues’ 2025 study of hotel workers applied the effort-reward imbalance model. It found that workers who experienced an unfavorable relationship between their effort and their rewards faced a greater risk of burnout. Rewards include more than wages. They also involve recognition, job security, career opportunities, respect and fair treatment. When workers continually give energy and emotional care without receiving adequate compensation or appreciation, exhaustion becomes more likely.

Third, job insecurity is emerging as a major mental-health risk. Chong, Ng and Chen found that insecurity contributes to burnout among hospitality employees. Workers who are uncertain about their hours, income or future employment may remain psychologically alert even when they are not working. This prevents genuine recovery and can gradually affect sleep, family relationships and general health.

Fourth, emotional labor remains central. Hospitality workers are required to remain patient, pleasant, and helpful regardless of their own feelings or guests' behavior. Giotis and Bouhagiar’s 2026 study of 139 Greek hotel employees reported high stress, extended working hours, anxiety, emotional exhaustion, sleep disturbances and difficulty maintaining work-life balance. Few workers sought professional assistance, partly because of stigma and limited organizational attention. Employees called for shorter working hours, better communication with management, and structured mental health programs.

The literature therefore questions approaches that place responsibility primarily on employees. Counseling, mindfulness and resilience training can help, but they cannot compensate for understaffing, unpredictable schedules, abusive guest behavior, inadequate pay or unsupportive management. Effective responses must combine individual assistance with better work design.

Why small-island destinations require a broader approach

The most important recent development is the recognition that hospitality-worker well-being is shaped by conditions outside the workplace. This is particularly relevant for small-island destinations, where tourism can dominate employment and workers may have few realistic alternatives.

Puig-Cabrera, Movono and Scheyvens’ 2026 analysis drew on research and more than 700 employee accounts from the Dominican Republic, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. The authors argue that traditional measures, such as job satisfaction, are too narrow for small- island settings. Well-being must also include mental and physical health, sleep, employment security, fair treatment, compensation, professional development, family life, community support, cultural identity and employees’ ability to influence decisions.

Small islands face geographic isolation, dependence on external tourism demand, seasonal fluctuations and limited economic diversification. These conditions can reduce workers’ bargaining power and intensify insecurity. A tourism crisis is therefore not only a business disruption. It can become a household, community and national mental-health crisis.

The recent literature offers a consistent conclusion: hospitality-worker mental health should be treated as an indicator of sustainable tourism. Governments and tourism organizations should measure it regularly, while employers should improve scheduling, workloads, managerial support, recognition and access to confidential care.

For small-island destinations such as Aruba, tourism success cannot be assessed solely by arrivals, occupancy, or visitor spending. A truly successful destination must also ask whether the people providing hospitality have the security, support and opportunity to live well.

Selected recent studies

Chong, C. A., Ng, L. P., & Chen, I.-C. (2024). The impact of job insecurity on job burnout among hospitality employees. International Hospitality Review, 38(1), 160–181.

El-Sherbeeny, A. M., Alsetoohy, O., Sheikhelsouk, S., Liu, S., & Abou Kamar, M. (2024). Enhancing hotel employees’ well-being and safe behaviors. Oeconomia Copernicana, 15(2), 765–807.

Giotis, G., & Bouhagiar, T. (2026). Mental well-being and psychological distress in the workplace. Turyzm/Tourism, 36(1), 85–97.

Puig-Cabrera, M., Movono, A., & Scheyvens, R. (2026). Review of the well-being agenda in small island states. Island Studies Journal, 21(1), 207–229.

Rosemberg, M. A. S., Ghosh, B., Jun, J., Armijo, J., & Marriott, D. J. (2025). Psychosocial stress at work and risks for burnout among hotel workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 67(3), 223–227.