Employee loyalty and counter-productive work behaviour among employees in the Indian hospitality sector

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of employee loyalty and counter-productive work behaviour (CWB) among employees working in the Indian hospitality sector. The study also compared the status of employee loyalty among managers, who exhibit either very high and or very low traits of CWB. The study also examined the factors responsible for the high tendency of employee loyalty and for that of CWB. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected by using questionnaire and interview methods from employees and managers working in hotels situated in the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhi, India. A sample of total 220 junior and middle level managers and other employees was taken and a selected sample was tested for tendencies of employee loyalty and CWB and analyzed to interpret the findings. Findings The findings reveal that the tendency of employee loyalty among managers in the hospitality sector was high, whereas the status of CWB was low. Results also predicted that the tendency of employee loyalty was high among the managers with low traits of counter-productive behaviour and very low among managers with a higher tendency of CWB. Factors such as compensation and benefits, job security and growth and satisfaction were found to be responsible for high tendency of employee loyalty; the controlling of factors such as ignoring or arguing with others, physically damaging organizational property, stealing organizational or employee’s property, intentionally working slowly, doing work incorrectly, neglecting to follow procedures, taking longer breaks than allowed, coming late and leaving early was responsible for a high degree of CWB. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted by involving lower and middle level hospitality sector managers in the NCR Delhi region only. To generalize the findings effectively, a more comprehensive study should be conducted that also involves senior level managers. Originality/value There are relatively few prior studies of the factors addressed in this study which has sought to explore an under-research aspect of workplace behaviour.