Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs in a Top-Tier Tourism City

NING-KUANG CHUANG Department of Hospitality Management, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA SIMON A. LEI Department of Educational Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

The degree of job stress experienced by casino hotel chefs was inves- tigated through a total of 152 surveys from 25 randomly selected hotels in a top-tier tourism city. Overall, these chefs experienced a moderately high level of job stress, with human resources iden- tiﬁed as the most stressful item and work–family conﬂicts as the most stressful factor. Chefs who worked for 5–10 years, 60 hours per week, in the production kitchen, during the night swing shifts, and had a bachelor’s degree experienced the highest stress level. Increased human resource training and professional support are encouraged in the chef department to alleviate stress and to elevate job satisfaction among casino hotel chefs.

KEYWORDS Job stress, demographic characteristics, casino hotel chefs, coping strategies, health status, top-tier tourism city, professional support

INTRODUCTION Job Stress in Hospitality and Chef Professions One of the prevailing issues for today’s workforce, job stress derives from people’s reactions to the work environment and situations that appear threat- ening to them. According to Jamal and Baba (2000), “job stress indicates a poor ﬁt between the individual abilities and the work environment in

Address correspondence to Ning-Kuang Chuang, PhD, Hospitality Management Program, Kent State University, 300D White Hall, P.O. Box 5190, Kent, OH 44242, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

551 552 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei which either excessive demands are made on the individual or the individual is not fully equipped to handle a particular situation” (p. 728). Stress in the workplace, a common cause of job dissatisfaction (Golbasi, Kelleci, & Dogan, 2008), positively correlates with employee burnout and voluntary turnover intention and negatively correlates with employee performance, productivity, and absenteeism (Jamal, 1990; Robbins, 1996). Research studies have documented the job stress experienced by chefs and within the hospitality industry (Murray-Gibbons & Gibbons, 2007), which offers many unique benefits and characteristics that make the work different from other jobs. A job in the hotel food and beverage department, especially in top-tier tourism city, can be very exciting and challenging. Employees may work their own personal magic for the customers and at the same time make lifelong friendships in a fast-paced environment. Culinary professionals also have the opportunity to interact with chefs from different ethnic backgrounds with diverse training and management experiences (Chuang, Yin, & Dellmann-Jenkins, 2009). The same work environment has, however, emerged as a major factor in the quality of work life among those professionals. Retaining talented hotel chefs and culinary professionals has become a major challenge for hospitality management because of the industry’s notoriously poor compensation, long work hours, low job security, and limited advancement (Birdier, Tepeci, & Saldami, 2003; Malley, 1997). Nebel, Braunlich, and Zhang (1994) noted, “full service, luxury hotels are often judged by the quality of their food and beverage operations” (p. 3). Hospitality professionals who work in a top-tier tourism city are “frequently subjected to dynamic, multinational, multilingual, and many times unplanned or unforeseen peaks in their working environments” (Gill, Flaschner, & Shachar, 2006, p. 471). Another challenge to chefs who work in mega casino hotels is to lead the “army of culinarians [engaging in] combat- ing culinary battle after battle with high quality and mass-quantity demands and casino clientele’s expectations on a daily basis”; furthermore, the “multiple job tasks and the over million visitors per year” require highly skilled management and chefs (Chuang et al., 2009, p. 325). All of these factors have contributed to the high level of stress at work for all levels of management and staffs, including chefs (R. A. Brymer, 1984; Gill et al., 2006). Current research suggests that chefs often work in stressful, unstable, highly bureaucratic, and unpleasant work environments (Rowley & Purcell, 2001). Borchgrevink, Nelson, and Ruf (1998) portrayed the typical work life of chefs, indicating “chefs sacrifice much of their lives by spending a significant amount of time away from their own families” (p. 14). Pratten (2003) described a variety of problems British culinary employees experience and found that cramped work conditions, long working hours, low wages, and lack of training, were major reasons for turnover. The long tra- dition of authoritarianism was also a serious issue found in the culinary profession (Pratten, 2003). Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 553

Furthermore, previous research has suggested that chefs’ work lives are fraught with communication problems: feeling undervalued; a lack of control or autonomy at work; unrelated job duties; poor relationship with managers, supervisors, and coworkers; and physical violence and psychological abuse along with a strict hierarchy of authority (Boles & Babin, 1996; Chuang et al., 2009; Johns & Menzel, 1999; Karasek & Theorell, 1990; Murray-Gibbons & Gibbons, 2007; M. Smith & Carroll, 2006). Excessive workload and a lack of control over chefs’ work are strong predictors of job stress (Zohar, 1994). A lack of control or autonomy is often associated with the nature of work in a commercial kitchen and, for some, compounded by poor management or communication problems with supervisors, especially for chefs who would like to initiate policy change and take control, indicating that distress is the consequence of high job demand and low control. Karasek and Theorell’s (1990) demand–support model supports lack of full control as a cause of job stress. The conservation of resources theory also asserts that stress is anticipated when individuals experience demanding workload or perceive loss of job resources (e.g., support or autonomy; Hobfoll & Shirom, 2001). John and Menzel (1999) have reported frequent and widespread physical violence and psychological abuse in kitchens. Physical violence varies widely, ranging from kicking, pushing, and throwing objects to deliber- ately burning with hot food or equipment. Psychological abuse may include the pressure to conform to the norms in the kitchen, for example, full compliance to the strict hierarchy of authority in the workplace (John & Menzel, 1999). Bloisi and Hoel (2008) studied abusive behaviors among chefs and noted that the abusive behavior “is a part of the socialization process that creates the hardiness needed to function in a commercial kitchen or restaurant” (p. 649). Long hours and hot kitchen temperatures create a “pressurized work environment that [serves as] the rationale for abusive behavior” (p. 653). Autocratic management or army-style operations often result from stressful and cyclical peak-time demands occurring in the commercial kitchens in top-tier tourism cities (Bloisi & Hoel 2008; Chuang et al., 2009), where workers in kitchen and food outlets must fulﬁll the expectations of hotel guests, conventioneers, and travelers from around the world.

Health Status The labor-intensive and challenging work environment may “threaten the long-term health and well-being of employees, making hospitality a rather stressful occupation” (Birdir et al., 2003, p. 386). Excessive or constant job demands may wear out employees mentally and physically, which even- tually will consume their energy and lead to health problems (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). Supporting this contention, Savery 554 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei and Luks (2000) indicated that stress from “overwork, long hours at work, and work intensification” costs U.S. organizations an estimated $200 billion annually (p. 99), including “compensation claims, reduced productivity, absenteeism, added health insurance costs, and direct medical expenses for stress related illnesses” (cited in Savery & Luks, 2001, p. 99). These work-related stressors, individually and collectively, are associated with job dissatisfaction and various stress symptoms. The two major categories of stress symptoms that might be experienced by a “stressed out” employee are both physical and psychological. The physical symptoms are easier of the two types to detect because they can be “personally felt or seen” (R. A. Brymer, 1984, p. 9). Physical symptoms may include fatigue, headaches, stomachache, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Psychological symptoms by contrast cause more harm and damage to individual and organization because they are more difficult to detect (Birder et al., 2003). Psychological symptoms may include anxiety, depression, insomnia, emotional distress, low self-esteem, and dissatisfaction with the job (Muhonen & Torkelson, 2004; Widerszal-Bazyl, Cooper, Sparks, & Spector, 2000). According to Milkovich and Boudreau (1994), hospitality employees are “five times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those who have greater control over their jobs” (p. 586). In general, fatigue, high emotional exhaustion, and low job achievement are characteristics relating to job stress. Existing research has shown similar results (Buick & Thomas, 2001; Conte, Ringenbach, Moran, & Landy, 2001).

Personal Coping Strategies Surviving job stress “depends on an appraisal of the situation and on the coping strategies one can draw on” (Murray-Gibbons & Gibbons, 2007, p. 32). Although stress can derive from both positive and negative events, the negative aspects of job stress will lead to “a mental and physical condition that directly and adversely impacts an individual’s productivity, effectiveness, personal health, and quality of work” (Gill et al., 2006, p. 471). As job dissatisfaction, job withdrawal, and turnover intentions increase, the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of the employee decreases, leading to substantial costs for the organization (Ledgerwood, Crotts, & Everett, 1998). The physical and psychological symptoms of job stress “demonstrate the need for specific coping strategies to limit stressors within the organization” (Savery & Luks, 2001, p. 99). Research studies have shown that one’s health and well-being are influenced by both “perceptions of job stressors and how the individual copes with these stressors” (A. Brymer, Perrewer, & Johns, 1991, p. 49). Heszen-Niejodek (1997) has identified coping as a process of analysis and evaluation in deciding how to safeguard oneself against the adverse impacts of any stress and its associated negative health outcomes. One’s coping Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 555 style may involve a set of strategies available for him or her to manage stress successfully. Previous research studies have documented individual differences in managing stressful events. Physical exercise, recreational activities, and seeking social support are common positive personal coping strategies (A. Brymer et al., 1991; Shinn, Rosario, Morch, & Chestnut, 1984). Some common negative coping strategies include increased smoking; consumption of foods high in sugars, fats, and caffeine; along with increased alcohol intake and other drug use (A. Brymer et al., 1991; Rowley & Purcell, 2001). Although many stress factors in the workplace are clearly beyond the control of individual employees (Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, & Mullan, 1981), individual coping responses are likely to reduce stress, maintain employees’ overall health and job satisfaction (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).

Purpose of Study Job stress is problematic in the hospitality industry. A vast majority of supervisory and nonsupervisory employees, including hotel chefs, is experiencing elevated levels of stress in the workplace. However, no empirical research studies were found to examine casino hotel chefs at the top-tier tourism city in southern Nevada. The signiﬁcance of this study is four-fold. First, hospitality stress- related literature often focuses on frontline managers or staff members (e.g., Karatepe & Uludag, 2008), yet limited research studies have focused on casino hotel chefs. Second, hospitality literature tends to emphasize the relationships between variables such as job or role stress, burnout, locus of control, and job performance or attitudes (e.g., Murray-Gibbons & Gibbons, 2007), yet the degree of chefs’ stress based on their demographic characteristics remain poorly understood. Third, previous research studies often emphasize traditional hotels or restaurants in their normal setting (e.g., A. Brymer et al., 1991), but few studies emphasize casino (megare- sort) hotels in a top-tier tourism city. Finally, job growth in chef profession remains fairly strong in general and in Las Vegas (U.S. Department of Labor, 2010; Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority, n.d.) and may require additional research investigation for this profession. By understanding various levels of job stress, hospitality management can greatly improve the effectiveness of job design and can possibly increase positive outcomes, such as employee satisfaction and performance (Sneed, 1988). Speciﬁcally, the objectives of this study were to (a) examine the degree of stress experienced by casino hotel chefs based on their demographic characteristics and job-related variables, (b) identify and describe chefs’ perceptions of job stress and major stress determinants, (c) assess the health status (physical and psychological symptoms) of chefs, and (d) examine personal coping strategies (positive and negative) used by chefs in southern Nevada. 556 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei

METHODOLOGY Survey Development and Administration To facilitate this study, a three-part survey instrument was developed with the following three major steps: we (a) initially examined a survey instrument developed by Cooper (1983), then (b) supplemented and modified the survey via a review of hospitality literature related to job stress and satisfaction (Borchgrevink, Nelson, & Ruf, 1998; Hancer & George, 2003; Pratten, 2003; K. Smith, Gregory, & Cannon, 1996), followed by (c) in-depth inter- views with five top chefs in southern Nevada. The last two steps were to generate items reflecting the work context of the chef’s profession. Finally, a pilot study was conducted to further adjust and validate this instrument before disseminating to the actual survey group. The final survey instrument consisted of three sets of close-ended questions. The first section contained 15 items, assessing the demographic information of top casino hotel chefs. The second section listed 21 questions measuring job stress and 32 questions measuring job satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.The final section of this survey instrument contained two open-ended questions seeking written comments from respondents regarding sources of job stress and personal coping methods. Another checklist question included stress- related symptoms was used to measure chefs’ health status. The checklist was partially modified from Graham et al.’s (1996) study that adopted items from the General Health Questionnaire. Chefs’ responses were recorded in writing and researchers met later to discuss any discrepancy until consen- sus was met. The percentage of agreement between the two coders was over 90%. The survey instrument and cover letter were hand-delivered to individual chefs with supervisory duties. Potential participants were notified about the purpose of the research, and researchers were interested in how chefs truly felt about their work to determine what should be done in order to minimize job-related stress effectively. Chefs were informed that their partic- ipation was completely voluntary and their identities such as names of chefs and casino hotels remained confidential. Within three weeks of the initial survey distribution, researchers collected the survey instruments.

Statistical Analyses Data were analyzed based on the research objectives using various statistical analyses, including: (a) Cronbach’s alpha was computed to measure the reliability of job stress and satisfaction scales, (b) factor analysis was conducted to examine the factor structures on the job-stress scale, and (c) descriptive statistics, including mean ranking comparison, was performed to examine items and factors on the job-stress scale that concerned hotel chefs the Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 557 most. A number of one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were also conducted to determine levels of stress on the chefs’ demographic proﬁles and job-related variables. Statistical signiﬁcance was determined at p < .05.

RESULTS Quantitative Analyses The values of coefficient alpha for both overall job stress and job satisfaction were .89. The results of the Cronbach reliability analysis indicated the measurements used in this study were reliable and satisfactory. Of the 450 surveys sent to chefs from the 25 randomly selected hotels, a total of 170 surveys were returned, and 152 were actually used for data analysis, representing an overall response rate of 34%. These hotels were upscale or luxury hotels with more than 1,500 guest rooms. Chef participants surveyed in this research included 91% males (n = 139) and 9% female chefs (n = 13) with a majority ranging in age from 24 to 40 years old (67%). The sample represented various types of foodservice operations, including fine dining (n = 52), casual (n = 21), production kitchen (n = 26), buffets and coffee shops (n = 23), and banquets (n = 19). Overall, participating casino hotel chefs experienced an above-average level of stress with a mean score of 3.24 (out of 5). The majority (63.2%) of chefs showed an average level of job stress, 18.4% reported a high level of job stress, and 17.8 % reported a low level of job stress. Principle compo- nents factor analysis was then conducted and identified four factors for job stress scale, including relationships at work (4 items; M = 2.88, SD = .974, α = .87), job-specific issues (5 items; M = 2.94, SD = 1.095, α = .71), work– family conflicts (5 items; M = 3.62, SD = 1.074, α = .87), and poor support (7 items; M = 3.33, SD = 1.013, α = .70). Work–family conflicts included disruption of work–home life, role conflicts, and work–family personal life imbalance. The job-specific issues included inadequate facilities and culinary staff, food-borne illness outbreak, managerial responsibilities, and dealing with emotional culinary staff. The poor support included insufficient input and support from management and organization, poor pay and compensation, use of culinary skills and managerial or administrative expertise, and delegation of resources. The first objective was to examine the levels of stress experienced by casino hotel chefs. Table 1 shows that the chefs ranked their responsibility for staff welfare, hiring, training, and career growth the most stressful item; dealing with food-borne issues was the least stressful item. Based on mean scores on the four stress factors on the job-stress scale, chefs were most stressed by family-work conflict, followed by poor support, job-specific issues, and relationships at work. With regard to additional sources of job satisfaction, hotel chefs were most satisfied with their passion for culinary 558 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei

TABLE 1 Highest and Lowest Stress Factors

Highest stress Lowest stress

Stress factors M Ranking M Ranking

I am responsible for the 3.91 1 welfare/training/career growth of other staff Having an overall high volume of work 3.80 2 Disruption of your home/family due to the 3.72 3 long hours of work Feeling that your accumulated culinary skills 3.72 3 and managerial and administrative expertise are not being put to their best use Having conflicting demands on your time 3.65 5 (e.g., culinary production/management/ administration) Dealing with the stress of being sued for 2.33 1 food-borne illness Encountering difficulties in relationships with 2.78 2 fellow chefs/peers Encountering difficulties in relationships with 2.86 3 management Encountering difficulties in relationships with 2.90 4 employees Having inadequate facilities to do your job 2.94 5 properly work followed by interpersonal relationships and communication, work- related, motivation, growth and recognition, and compensation and benefits.

Stress and Demographic Profile The next objective was to investigate the effects of demographic profiles on hotel chefs’ job stress. One-way ANOVA revealed statistically significant differences in job stress among casino hotel chefs based on number of work hours per week, job title, work shifts, number of years as chefs, and level of education. However, no significant differences were found for age and marital status of chefs, along with number of patrons or covers served per day, and seating capacity of casino hotels. Gender of chefs was not included in the analysis due to uneven distribution between male and female participants (139 vs. 13). Casino chefs who worked over 61 hours per week had a significantly higher stress level (M = 74.37) compared to chefs who worked under 50 hours per week (M = 68.15). Job stress experienced by casino hotel chefs was found significantly different from that of production and restaurant room or head chefs (p < .05). Among these three, production chefs felt the highest stress level (M = 74.44) followed by restaurant room or head chefs (M = 73.30); banquet chefs had the lowest level of stress (M = 66.66). Among all job titles, casino executive chefs had the highest stress level (M = 80.67), and executive sous chefs had the lowest stress levels (M = 65.52). Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 559

Significant differences also occurred among chefs working in various work shifts. Specifically, chefs working for night swing shifts were different from and had highest stress levels (M = 79.50) than chefs working swing (M = 72.25) or day (M = 70.42) shifts. Significant differences also emerged for the number of years working as professional chefs. Specifically, chefs working over 15 years differed from their counterpart chefs who worked between 5 to 9 years (p < .05). Among all chefs, the highest stress levels were apparent among chefs who had been in this profession between 5 and 9 years (M = 74.97), followed by chefs working for fewer than 5 years (M = 71.41), and 10 to 14 years (M = 70.58). Those who worked as chef for over 15 years (M = 68.49) indicated the lowest stress level. In terms of educational level, significant differences surfaced among chefs with a bachelor’s degree, high school diploma, and culinary school certificate (p < .05). Among these three educational levels, chefs with a bachelor’s degree experienced the highest stress level (M = 77.00), followed by chefs with a high school diploma (M = 69.74), and culinary training and certification (M = 67.99) in descending order of stress level.

Stress and Job Satisfaction One-way ANOVA was performed to determine stress effects on job satisfaction of chefs. Casino hotel chefs were subdivided into three groups (high, medium, and low stress levels), using standard deviations as cutting points. Results of ANOVA revealed significant differences in their level of satisfaction while experiencing different stress factors. Specifically, significant group differences arose in chefs’ satisfaction when experiencing stress related to the following factors: relationships at work, F (2,148) = 5.00, p < .01, job- specific issues, F (2,148) = 6.08, p < .01, and poor support F (2,148) = 7.31, p < .01. Post-hoc tests revealed that when experiencing relationships at work, casino hotel chefs with high satisfaction felt the lowest stress (M = 9.85), but chefs with the lowest satisfaction had the highest stress levels (M = 13.19). When facing job-specific issues, chefs with low satisfaction had the highest stress level (M = 17.62), but chefs with the lowest stress had the highest satisfaction level (M = 13.81). Moreover, when facing support issues, chefs with high satisfaction had the lowest stress level (M = 20.54), followed by chefs with medium satisfaction (M = 23.52), and finally chefs with low satisfaction (M = 25.52).

Qualitative Analysis The second objective of this study was to identify and describe perceptions of job stress and major stress determinants of casino hotel chefs. In answer to an open-ended question, casino hotel chefs furnished additional information regarding job-stress levels (Table 2). The collection and analysis 560 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei

TABLE 2 Additional Unabridged Written Comments from Hotel Casino Chefs in Southern Nevada

Comments

1. Is not a stress when you love what you do? If staff is well trained and focused, everything is ﬁne. 2. I am fortunate to work for and with great chefs, who work as a team and make sure to distribute work and responsibilities equally. This helps keep stress levels low or at least manageable. 3. Once in a while take a deep breath. 4. The job is stressful but also very rewarding. It allows for creative freedom and full artistic expression in different mediums—sugar, ice, chocolate, etc. 5. Did not start drinking or smoking until I started working in this city. 6. Stress is present if you are unorganized or under equipped. Otherwise, it’s all in a day’s work. There is little pressure with proper planning and execution. 7. Trying to be the best you know you can when business demands get low. 8. You got to like what you’re doing and in the profession it is always different. It is what you make it. 9. Asian philosophies work wonders. 10. Dealing with cooks who are unsanitary and do not listen well. 11. No home life. 12. In this particular restaurant, stress level is very low due to the organizational abilities of current chefs. 13. Handle criticism from other people, people skills. 14. Sometimes it’s zero stress and fun and other times stress level is 10. 15. There is a constant pressure to perform on a high level each day and night, but I love the challenge. 16. Constant changes can make you very good on your feet, but at the same time stressed out as well. 17. From day to day is different. You learn to deal with more and more. 18. Generally speaking a chef’s job level is stressful. My current situation is not as stressful but it could be. 19. It’s all about the bottom line period. 20. See too many mid-management supervisors blow off before thinking, best to walk away and think about the situation. 21. We are just underpaid. 22. The culinary industry is a labor of love. I walked in to my position with my eyes open fully aware of its expectations. 23. Be on top of everything and take care of problems before it becomes bigger. 24. Very rewarding to make customers happy, build team members and teach them the next task. 25. The day to day “drama” sometimes gets in the way of performing my job to the fullest extent. of responses to open-ended questions revealed the stressful work aspects of hotel chefs. Participants repeatedly mentioned signiﬁcant themes or concepts throughout their responses. Over 25% of the chefs (n = 41) responded to this question, identifying two main concepts—chefs who were stressed and those who were not. Selected written comments from chefs included the following statements:

● Like I said, you got to be a little crazy to do this everyday. ● Stress levels change from week to week. Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 561

● It becomes routine having high stress levels. It comes with the job! ● Depending circumstances involved, high and low levels of stress are second nature in this type of job. ● At times, my stress level will rise, but I know what I am doing, so it is minimal. ● There are many ways to deal with job stress. By being well-prepared and by training employees properly, you can alleviate much of it.

Health Status The third objective of this study involved the health status of chefs. Casino hotel chefs were asked to check symptoms relating to job stress issues. Among all responses, 45% of those identiﬁed more than two symptoms on the survey. One young chef (age 26) with administrative and supervisory responsibility reported that he took 10 pills daily and exhibited different health symptoms from month to month. Table 3 shows physical and psychological symptoms of stress reported by chefs. Among the symptoms of stress, chefs reported fatigue most frequently, followed by insomnia, alcohol consumption, and anxiety in descending order of frequency; furthermore, 5.7% of the chefs indicated that they had not experienced any major stress symptoms or perceived their work as relatively stress free.

Personal Coping Strategies The final objective of this study was to examine the coping strategies used by casino hotel chefs in a top-tier tourism city. Although nearly all chefs experienced some degree of job stress, some adapted to and dealt with it effectively, but others have not. For instance, one chef coped with stress by “going to [the] office and reflect[ing] on [the] situation”; another chef reported “tak[ing] problems one day at a time.” Table 4 shows the top five methods

TABLE 3 Physical and Psychological Symptoms Reported by Hotel Casino Chefs

Data

Stress symptoms Ranking %

Fatigue 1 22.6 Insomnia 2 17.0 Alcohol consumption 3 15.1 Anxiety 3 15.1 Depression 5 7.5 High blood pressure 5 7.5 Emotional distress 7 5.7 None 7 5.7 Others 9 1.9 562 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei

TABLE 4 Personal Coping Methods Reported by Hotel Casino Chefs

Data

Coping methods n Ranking %

Listen to music 42 1 20.7 Drinking 36 2 17.7 Exercise 30 3 14.8 Smoking 23 4 11.3 Family and friends 21 5 10.3 Outdoor activities 12 6 5.9 Travel 10 7 4.9 Boxing/ﬁghting/racing/driving 6 8 3.0 Sleeping and resting 5 9 2.5 Computer game and movies 5 9 2.5 Religious activities and meditation 4 11 2.0 Reading 2 13 1.0 Woodworking 1 14 0.5 Eating 1 14 0.5 Romantic intimacy 1 14 0.5 Drug usage 1 14 0.5 Others 3 12 1.5 of relieving stress: listening to music, drinking, exercising, smoking, and spending quality time with family and friends, respectively.

DISCUSSION

This study examined various levels of job stress among 152 hotel chefs in 25 randomly selected casino hotel properties in a top-tier tourism city. Researchers administered a survey to explore underlying dimensions of job stress among casino hotel chefs with supervisory responsibilities. Stress is inherent in the chef profession and can adversely inﬂuence chefs’ well- being, thus decreasing their overall job satisfaction. These casino hotel chefs’ attitudes, perceptions, and judgments formed the basis of the overall ﬁnding, indicating that they experienced a moderately high level of job stress.

Sources of Job Stress

HUMAN RESOURCE ISSUES Results of this study indicated that the item on the job-stress scale produc- ing the highest stress was human resource issues associated with the chef’s responsibilities to hire and retain highly qualiﬁed culinary professionals as well as to promote their career growth. Chefs’ stress levels may be triggered Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 563 by various factors, including pay issues (different pay structures on the basis of location), competition within the casino hotel or with other properties and among chefs (the competitions intensify when talented chefs come to a top-tier tourism city for better positions and professional support), administrative responsibility and revenue structure (depends on whether the outlets are hotel owned and operated or outsources to food companies), labor union issues, economic crisis, or human relations issues. One chef in this study commented on the stress that occurs “when business demands get low and you get to cut staff”; another noted that “dealing with cooks who are unsanitary and do not listen well is stressful.” The results of this study are consistent with the ﬁndings of Pratten’s (2003) study, which indicated that top chefs might experience more administrative pressure and require more than cooking skills because training and career planning issues were the major factors causing young chefs to leave their employment.

WORK–FAMILY CONFLICT The highest reported stress factor on the job-stress scale was work–family conflict (work–family personal life imbalance). This study thus supports previous research, indicating that working long hours and an imbalance in work and family are typical in the hospitality industry and are major sources of stress (Borchgrevink et al., 1998; Frone, Russel, & Cooper, 1992). Role conflict, role overload, and excessive work demand are among the antecedents of work-family conflict, and are strong predictors of job stress (Zohar, 1994). Role conflict and exceedingly demanding work were confirmed by one chef in this study, who reported, “This job leaves little time for anything else outside of work I love, but [I] have to sacrifice family, holidays, etc.” The massive volume and timeliness of food production and intense job demands may all contribute to the high stress levels of chefs. Role conflict can originate in the workplace and subsequently interfere with personal life; similarly, conflict can originate in personal life and interfere with work (Frone et al., 1992). In general, role conflict positively correlates with tension, fatigue, absenteeism, turnover, and anxiety (A. Brymer et al., 1991).

Stress and Demographic Profiles Results of this study indicate that overall job stress levels differ among casino hotel chefs based on five demographic characteristics, including number of years as chefs, number of work hours, job title and shift type, and educational level. Specifically, those who have been chefs for 5 to 10 years, worked over 60 hours weekly, worked in the production kitchen, worked during the swing or night shifts, and held a bachelor’s degree experienced the highest levels of stress. 564 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei

NUMBER OF YEARS AS A CHEF Chefs who worked more than 15 years experienced the lowest stress level, while chefs working 5 to 10 years experienced the highest stress level. The accumulated experiences as a professional chef may help cope with the pressure and demand at work. Although the working conditions in foodservice industry tend to “lend themselves to turnover” (Ghiselli, La Lopa, & Bai, 2001, p. 29), casino hotel chefs who stay may be better able to adapt to challenges and demands of the work environment. In addition, chefs who worked 5 to 10 years have a higher stress level than chefs who worked under 5 years, as the latter may still look at this job as “temporary work opportunity” before beginning or conﬁrming a career in the industry (Pratten, 2003).

NUMBER OF WORK HOURS PER WEEK Chefs who worked over 61 hours per week had a signiﬁcantly higher stress level than chefs who worked less than 61 hours per week. Within the hospitality industry, overtime is common with a number of chefs worked for more than 65 hours a week (M. Smith & Carroll, 2006). Our data supported this notion as 40% of chefs (n = 61) in this study worked over 60 hours per week. Casino hotel top chefs are salary-based management employees who normally work 10 to 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, during the stable and slow season. However, they are required to work as many hours as they need during the long peak season in the top- tier tourism city. Depend on the functions of the hotel operation, hotel chefs may pick up hours easily in order to accommodate the mass quantity demands and the high-volume visitors per year in this nonsleeping city. Casino hotel chefs’ daily responsibilities are difﬁcult to quantify by the normal work hours.

JOB TITLE Production chefs experienced significantly more stress than banquet and restaurant head chefs. The production kitchen functions as a supporting kitchen upon which other commercial kitchens and foodservice outlets depend (Chuang et al., 2009). The pressure of production chefs might fluc- tuate as the volume of food demand required by other kitchens (banquet, 24-hour café, buffet, pastry shop, etc.) increase or decrease. While the production kitchen serves as the supply line by providing any food items other kitchens need, banquet kitchens may better arrange their food preparation based on the convention or banquet schedule. Chefs in high visitor-flow hotels and highly competitive environments in the top-tier tourism city have Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 565 often experienced more workplace stressors such as busyness and crowding compared to their counterparts in light or medium visitor-flow environments (Law, Pearce, & Woods, 1995). Furthermore, the mass production feature may reduce the level of attention top chefs can give to staff chefs whom they supposed to supervise or are responsible for, a situation that may in turn become a source of job stress.

WORK SHIFTS Chefs who worked day swing shifts experienced signiﬁcantly less stress than chefs who worked night swing shifts. Chefs who worked swing shift also experienced higher stress than chef worked day shift. The results of this study were consistent with previous research indicating that employees may experience different stress levels among work shifts; swing shifts were associated with employee burnout (Ledgerwood et al., 1998). Parasuraman and Alutto (1981) noted that working in different shifts or function groups may “affect [people’s] perceptions of their ability to perform their organizational role effectively and thereby the perceived magnitude of different stressors” (p. 50). In addition, executive chefs in this study experienced the highest stress level among all chefs because they were required to oversee the entire operations at the property with signiﬁcant managerial, administrative, and revenue responsibilities.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING Chefs with culinary degrees and proper training seemed to experience significantly less stress than those with bachelor’s or associate’s degrees. According to Karatepe and Uludag (2008), “better-educated employees had greater confidence in their job skills and abilities” (p. 120). Nevertheless, such a finding is inconsistent with this study, which indicated that chefs with bachelor’s degrees experienced the highest stress levels. Nebel et al. (1994) noted that regardless of the level of education and the degree, the same number of years is probably necessary to become a top food and beverage manager. This observation helps explain the higher stress levels found among those casino hotel chefs with bachelor degree’s than those with culinary training. One of the chefs stated, “I think a lot of people realize that what they do for a living is not necessarily what they expected to be doing at a certain point in their lives.” Chefs with advanced aca- demic degrees may still need to work hard to sharpen their professional and practical skills to compete with those with culinary training (voca- tional certification or degree). Career success requires “time on the floor” and “solid working knowledge of most food and beverage areas” (Nebel et al., 1994). 566 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei

Job Stress and Satisfaction The findings of this study reveal that chefs with high stress had low job satisfaction (and vice versa), and these findings center on relationships at work, job-specific factors, and poor support. Results of this study support the notion that stress is related to job dissatisfaction (Jamal, 1990; Mohr & Puck, 2007; Robbins, 1996). Job-specific factors involved dealing with people, ade- quacy of equipment and the facility and organizational structure and climate. Prior study supported this finding, indicating that “chefs are more than cooks in that they are required to possess planning and management skills, perform both culinary personnel training and supervising responsibilities as well as coordinate food-related departments for hotel culinary production” (Chuang et al., 2009, p. 323). This finding was also consistent with previous research indicating that stress “related to poor support was an important variable in predicting job satisfaction” (Prosser et al., 1997, p. 58) and social support helps “neutralize the effect of stress on doctor’s office costs” (Manning, Jackson, & Fusilier, 1996, p. 748). This result was supported by the current research’s quantitative data, which indicated that poor support was the second most stressful factor reported by chefs in this study. Numerous chefs highlighted the importance of support to manage their stress at work. The support reported here could be upward or downward; one chef commented that stress can be reduced if he or she “has a super staff” and the stress actually “shows me different responsibilities, makes my job (and life) a lot easier.” Another chef commented, “The position of chef can be extremely stressful; having the support of the team; immediate supervisors allow us not to have to deal with as much stress as I have seen peers the same level as me.” In addition to the professional and social supports, another chef highlighted the support of significant others and stated, “It’s a hard job. You need a strong support team from your family.” In line with the team support, relationships at work were identified as the least stressful factor among chefs yet important to job satisfaction because chefs tend to follow each other and the brothers-in-arms bonding culture among the team reduces stress and increases retention of chefs department in the top-tier tourism city (Chuang et al., 2009). The team supports also help alleviate workplace tensions and reduce burnout (Ledgerwood et al., 1998).

Sources of Job Stress (Qualitative Analyses) Interviewing more than 40 casino hotel chefs further validated results of this study with narrative supporting evidence of various job stress levels. Two distinct patterns consistently emerged after interviewing these chefs. Selected written comments from chefs revealed that they apparently experienced various levels of stress in the workplace. At the low-stress level, one chef mentioned, “I am fortunate to work for and with great chefs, who work as a team and make sure to distribute work Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 567 and responsibilities equally. This helps keep stress levels low or at least manageable.” Another chef wrote, “In this particular restaurant, stress level is very low due to the organizational abilities of current chefs.” A third chef replied, “Very rewarding to make customers happy, build team members, and teach them the next task.” In contrast, a number of chefs experienced moderately high levels of stress and did not believe that their job was very rewarding. For instance, one chef replied, “I don’t know of any other job as stressful as chefs.” Another chef wrote, “See too many mid-management supervisors blow off before thinking, best to walk away and think about the situation.” A third chef responded, “The day to day ‘drama’ sometimes gets in the way of performing my job to the fullest extent.” In addition, low compensation, lack of recognition, severe consequences for failure, lack of effective communication, and poor leadership are job factors that can also contribute to high stress levels of chefs.

Health Status When stressors are present in the workplace, chefs often faced two major types of stress symptoms in this study. “Physical symptoms include excessive smoking, drinking, cardiovascular problems, and loss of energy (fatigue), while psychological symptoms include anxiety, depression, insomnia, and emotional distress” (Birdir et al., 2003, p. 392). These stress symptoms also appeared in the current study with fatigue and insomnia being the ﬁrst and second most common symptoms, respectively, while anxiety and alcohol consumption tied for the third most common symptom.

Personal Coping Strategies This study examined personal coping strategies used by casino hotel chefs to deal with stressors in the workplace. Listening to music was the most prominent positive coping strategy used by chefs in this study, followed by drinking, exercising, smoking, and talking to others (family and friends). According to Law et al. (1995), “frequent assistance or guidance from people who are familiar with frequent stressful situations can be an effective coping strategy to decrease stress. However, this strategy may not change the stressor situation and may only provide a short-term solution” (p. 282). Exercising, relaxation (sleeping and resting), and medication, even if momentarily, are constructive (positive) coping strategies (Law et al., 1995); the chefs in this study found them useful. Although most chefs responding to the question were able to manage or cope with job stress, this study revealed that their choice of coping mechanisms was not always positive and likely to be a short-term solution. For instance, the use of alcohol and drugs, smoking, ﬁghting, overeating, 568 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei and undereating were associated with increasing stress. The use of positive coping mechanisms did not provide a long-term solution (A. Brymer et al., 1991). Such mechanisms may include reading, traveling, woodworking, and listening to music in this study. Research studies have shown a negative correlation between job stress and satisfaction (Kaarna, Polluste, & Lepnurm, 2004; Tyson, Pongruengphant, & Aggarwal, 2002), which is in agreement with this study as discussed earlier. Chefs who manage various job stressors successfully tend to have higher job satisfaction (Golbasi et al., 2008) than chefs who are unable to do so. Job satisfaction and low stress, according to Edwards (1991), have implication for a ﬁt between person and job or a match between what employees want and receive from the job. In our study, positive work relationships, adequate job resources and organizational culture, and professional support systems have potential to improve chefs’ quality work life.

CONCLUSIONS AND MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS

This study revealed that many casino hotel chefs in Las Vegas, Nevada, perceive their jobs to be stressful in various degrees. Results also revealed some demographic characteristics that distinguished chefs’ jobs from other hospitality professions, and how these characteristics related with job stress. Chefs may not have the same quality time to enhance their managerial skills as they do for advancing operational and culinary skills during their training years. It can be problematic when they reach the top, with responsibilities to lead and manage fine culinarians in this top-tier tourism city. Top management can help identify chefs’ various needs, such as enhancing human resources trainings and improving professional or organizational supports, thereby, substantially alleviating chefs’ stress levels. With regard to work–family conflict or other job-related issues, top management may consider the following to help prepare top chefs for possible workplace and interpersonal issues: (a) delegate management responsibilities, (b) provide multiple communication channels and timely feedback, and (c) address a cohesive work environment that support continued learning, skill advancement, and camaraderie in order to divert chefs’ stress. In addition, evidence shows that intrinsic motivation and recognition can alleviate job stress in casino hotel chefs and increase their job satisfaction (Chuang et al., 2009). Regardless of the demographic profiles of chefs in this study, one must realize that stress levels among chefs can vary widely even in identical job situations. Some chefs thrive under high pressure and high volume of work, having to perform several duties simultaneously, but others find themselves easily overwhelmed (American Institute of Stress, n.d.). Consequently, casino hotel chefs facing different stress levels tend to present differing Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 569 health status, which in turn might adversely affect their overall work performance. Stress is a serious problem, but it is not if hospitality managers and employees are willing to engage in the stress management process. Chefs are encouraged to “recognize their stress symptoms and underlying causes of job stress” (Birdir et al., 2003, p. 392), so that effective strategies can be employed to successfully manage stress in the workplace. As noted by one chef in this study, “After 30-plus years in the business, you ‘learn’ how to deal with the stress. Each operation, hotel, or restaurant has its own levels of stress, which I have ‘learned’ to deal with.” Although casino hotel chefs cannot completely eliminate the numerous stressors they encounter at work, they can manage those stressors in their work environment effectively, with available resources (health and wellness promotion programs) and appropriate support from top management and organization. According to Golbasi et al. (2008), chefs’ ability to manage stressors effectively is an important factor that affects job satisfaction. Because employment status and demographic profiles of chefs are related to the degree of job-stress, hospitality organizations may provide coping assistance at various levels (individual, group, or organization), which might better address hotel chefs stress issues. For instance, employee assistance program, stress management training, and giving chefs more control over their work (autonomy) are three successful approaches for reduc- ing employee stress at the organizational level (A. Brymer et al., 1991). In addition, casino hotel managers are also encouraged to re-evaluate (a) the existing coping styles of chefs (work on own stress or avoid the encountering), along with their attitudes toward social support (need companionship or coping alone), so that efficient and appropriate interventions can be successfully applied to the workplace (Heszen-Hiejodek, 1997) and (b) job design for chefs in order to greatly reduce their anxiety with regard to role conflict and improve their job satisfaction. Furthermore, top casino hotel managers can evaluate and modify their existing coping or stress programs or interventions periodically and help chefs identify effective strategies to transform their stress into motivation. Overall, results of this study identified work characteristics upon which casino hotel managers can focus in order to assist chefs in dealing with job stress, developing effective coping strategies, improving the quality of their work life, and making the casino hotel chef department a much better place to work.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS

There are four limitations in this study. First, this study was based on voluntary self-assessments of job stress, and the reader must be cautious in drawing conclusions. A challenge in interpreting reported stress levels is 570 N.-K. Chuang and S. A. Lei that self-defensive processes, such as the denial, avoidance, or withdrawal may result in underreporting sources of stress (Caspari, 1976). For this rea- son, the reported stress in this study is likely to be an underestimation of actual stress levels among casino hotel chefs in southern Nevada. Second, a cross-sectional design is used in this study. Casino hotel chefs were assessed at a single time in their lives. A cross-sectional study is fast and can study a fairly large number of chefs at little cost or effort. Also, researchers do not have to worry about chefs dropping out during the course of study. This study is efficient at identifying association between variables (e.g., stress vs. job satisfaction), yet may have trouble deciding the cause-and-effect relationship among study variables. With data being collected only once, researchers may not know if some chefs will alter their coping strategies in order to greatly increase job satisfaction, and to manage stress successfully, and to improve their personal health over time. Third, the relatively small sample size is a limitation of this study. The overall survey return rate was approximately 34%. Casino hotel chefs are typically inundated during peak summer months and several major holidays throughout the year. These chefs may have been too busy to actively participate in such a survey. A number of chefs may have chosen not to participate in this survey due to lack of time and union issues. Consequently, the relatively small sample size may limit the ability to generalize the findings of this study. Finally, another limitation of this study is that all data were collected from casinos hotel located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Researchers could expand this study to include chefs from additional hotels and casino properties of various sizes, ratings, operations, or owned by a variety of companies and hospitality organizations. A larger sample size from various geographic locations nationwide would enhance the validity and reliability of the research findings (Silva, 2006); therefore, future research studies should investigate chefs from multiple hospitality settings to ensure generalizability. In future studies, researchers may consider investigating the relationships among specific job stressors, personal coping strategies, and job satisfaction, as well as how demographic variables mediate the relationships. Additional research is recommended to examine the influence of customer contact, front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house interactions, as well as personality on perceptions of stress and corresponding coping strategies used by chefs. In addition, some chefs smoke, drink, and develop eating disorders in an attempt to manage their stress. Thus, researchers may mon- itor health status of chefs and further investigate possible reasons that they adopt the same relatively ineffective (negative) coping strategies in order to manage stress. Job Stress Among Casino Hotel Chefs 571

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