Managerial attitudes towards work activities in the hospitality and service industries

This paper identifies the extent to which front‐line managers in the hospitality, retail and banking sectors perceive work activities to be pleasant or unpleasant. General factorial multivariate analysis of variance was used to assess attitudes towards ten activities according to demographic characteristics. The activities were: deskwork, decision making, developing, disciplining, informing, innovating, leading, monitoring, persuading and time pressure. The findings indicate that managers in the service sector generally have a range of perceptions about activities, with some regarded as pleasant and others as unpleasant. The managerial perceptions identified in this study could have useful implications for the introduction of attempts to enhance staff motivation and performance. An improved awareness of managerial activity preferences on the part of senior managers and researchers may help to avoid certain problems and strengthen staff motivation. The present research is exploratory and should be followed up with a thorough assessment of whether there is a relationship between performance and activity preference.