Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar;73(3):116-130.
doi: 10.1177/21650799241282787. Epub 2024 Oct 30.

Psychosocial Work Factors, Job Stress, and Self-Rated Health Among Hotel Housekeepers

M Esther García-Buades  1 , Maribel Montañez-Juan  1 , Joanna Blahopoulou  1 , Silvia Ortiz-Bonnin  1 , Xènia Chela-Alvarez  2 , Oana Bulilete  2 , Joan Llobera  2
Affiliations

Psychosocial Work Factors, Job Stress, and Self-Rated Health Among Hotel Housekeepers

M Esther García-Buades et al. Workplace Health Saf. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Hotel housekeeping is widely recognized as a poor-quality job due to its high demands and limited resources. Hotel housekeepers (HHs) face both hard physical work and mentally demanding conditions, yet psychosocial factors in this feminized and precarious occupation remain under-researched. To address this gap, this study examines HHs' exposure to psychosocial factors at work and their impact on job stress and self-rated health.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of a random sample of 926 HHs in the Balearic Islands (Spain) assessed job stress, self-rated health, psychosocial factors (job demands and resources), and sociodemographic variables using the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II (COPSOQ-II) and the National Health Survey. Descriptive analysis and hierarchical linear regression models were applied.

Results: The prevalence of job stress was 61.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [57.8%, 64.1%]), while the prevalence of poor self-rated health was 59.9% (95% CI = [56.6%, 62.9%]). Hotel housekeepers were highly exposed to job demands such as intense work pace, job-specific stressors, work-life conflict, and emotional demands; highly available job resources were role clarity, task meaning, and social support. Regression models revealed work pace, work-life conflict, nationality, and weak leader support as key predictors of job stress; and work-life conflict and leadership quality as key predictors of self-rated health.

Conclusion/application to practice: Although considered an eminently physical job, psychosocial work factors play a key role in explaining HHs' job stress and self-rated health. Occupational health professionals should design workplace interventions to reduce work pace, mitigate work-life conflict, and enhance resources such as leader support, sense of community, and leadership quality.

Keywords: hotel housekeepers; job demands and resources.; job stress; psychosocial work factors; self-rated health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Author Contributions/CRediT StatementConceptualization: MEG-B, MM-J, JB, SO-B, and OB; data collection coordination: OB, XC-A, and JL; methodology and data analysis: MEG-B, MM-J, JB, and SO-B; writing—original draft preparation: MEG-B and MM-J; writing—review and editing: MEG-B, MM-J, JB, SO-B, XC-A, OB, and JL; supervision: JL; project administration: OB, XC-A, and JL; funding acquisition: JL. All authors have read and agreed to the submitted version of the article. Conflict of InterestThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References

    1. Adams M., Li W. V., Saylor K., Rosemberg M. A. S. (2020). Interventions to promote hotel workers’ health: A scoping review. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 63(12), 1095–1103. 10.1002/ajim.23190 - DOI - PubMed
    1. AETIB. (2020). El turisme a les Illes Balears: Anuari 2019 [Tourism in the Balearic Islands: Yearbook 2019]. https://www.caib.es/sites/estadistiquesdelturisme/es/anuarios_de_turismo...
    1. Aldasoro J. C., Cantonnet M. L. (2021). The management of the new and emerging musculoskeletal and psychosocial risks by EU-28 enterprises. Journal of Safety Research, 77, 277–287. 10.1016/j.jsr.2021.03.011 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Allan B. A., Autin K. L., Wilkins-Yel K. G. (2021). Precarious work in the 21st century: A psychological perspective. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 126, 103491. 10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103491 - DOI
    1. Andrade M. S., Miller D., Westover J. H. (2021). Job satisfaction factors for housekeepers in the hotel industry: A global comparative analysis. International Hospitality Review, 35(1), 90–108. 10.1108/ihr-06-2020-0018 - DOI

Publication types