Non-Standard Work Arrangements, Health and Wellbeing Among Hotel Housekeepers

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ABSTRACT. The health status of hotel housekeepers hired through Non-Standard Work Arrangement (NSWA) is understudied. Making up the majority of the 1.8 million workers in the hospitality industry, hotel housekeepers (HHs) are likely to face alternative work arrangements because of several factors, including seasonal demands as well as the overemphasis on cost and labor control. HHs already experience stress at work (e.g., high job strain) and outside of work, and poor health. Thus, HHs hired through NSWA are likely to encounter heightened suboptimal work experiences and poor economic and health-related outcomes. Yet there is a dearth of studies exploring the health and lived experiences of hotel housekeepers employed through NSWA. Through the Healthy Work Design and Well-Being program, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) identified NSWA as a research priority. NIOSH noted the vulnerability of workers hired through NSWA given that it is characterized by “temporariness, instability, irregularity, and lack of legal protections and social benefits for workers” all of which may negatively affect workers’ health and wellbeing. To address this federally identified gap and in response to PAR-18-797-we propose to conduct a mixed-method sequential design study to quantitatively (N=140) explore the health status of HHs hired through NSWA compared to HHs hired through standard work (SW) and qualitatively (n=40) explore how the lived experiences and health status of the two groups (NSWA vs. SW) differ. This project will contribute to NIOSH’s mission in three ways. (1) The study responds to NIOSH’s Healthy Work Design and Well-Being program which identified NSWA as one of its priority areas and the call for an understanding of risks and conditions associated with occupational diseases and injuries. (2) This first descriptive exploratory study is necessary in laying the groundwork for future studies that will help further our scientific knowledge of the relationship between NSWA and the health of HHs and other worker groups. (3) The study findings will inform guidelines and policies on NSWA as well as future interventions that can facilitate organizational change and support the individual worker. This study has several innovative facets. First, it focuses on a vulnerable and understudied population, HHs. Second, this will be the first study to explore the health status and lived experience of HHs hired through NSWA. Third, this study incorporates the Identity, Research, and Health Dialogic Open-Ended (I-ReH-DO) interviewing approach which allows for narrative discourse for understanding dynamics of social constructs influencing health. The mixed- method approach brings scientific rigor making the study the first of its kind to include both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand the complexity of the phenomenon of NSWA in relation to workers’ health. Our educational experiences, research skills, previous studies, interdisciplinary team, and community-based connections with local organizations ensure the success of this project.