Envious workers can derail hotel

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Envious employees in the hospitality industry can result in hostile customer relations to hotel guests, U.S. researchers suggest.

John O'Neill, associate professor at the School of Hospitality Management at Pennsylvania State University, says envious workers are also less likely to help co-workers or to volunteer for additional duties.

Desk staff, food and beverage workers, housekeepers -- workers who deal directly with hotel guests -- who have poor relationships with their bosses are more likely to envy co-workers with better relationships with supervisors, O'Neill says.

"People who are less envious often go above and beyond their normal job duties to do things like cover for an employee who has gone home to help a sick family member," O'Neill says in a statement. "Conversely workers who are more envious are less willing to perform these additional duties."

Limiting envy is crucial not just for the employee's career but also for the success of the itself, O'Neill says.

"The success of a hotel lies in how it treats its guests," O'Neill says.

The findings are published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management.