Source: Radio New Zealand
A third of those surveyed said they planned to quit in the next year. Unsplash / Amie Johnson
More than a third of hospitality and tourism workers say they have been pressured into working while sick, not taking holidays or going without other minimum protections.
More than a third reported harassment or bullying at work with customers being the main culprits, according to a study commissioned by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Almost 1000 workers in the sectors were surveyed and results showed many workers enjoyed and were passionate about what they did but increasing numbers did not think they were paid fairly and more than a third of workers planned to quit in the next year.
The two industries differed with about 40 percent of hospitality workers planning to leave compared to 31 percent for tourism workers.
More than half of workers earned below the living wage at the time of $28.95 with only 48 percent feeling they were paid fairly, down from 57 percent in 2024.
About one in 12 workers reported being paid below the minimum wage.
Tourism workers said they had greater access to training, better career opportunities and more supportive pathways for development – 69 percent compared to 58 percent of hospitality workers.
The study concluded many workers did not appear to leave the industry because they disliked the work but because conditions no longer appealed.
“Low pay, long or unsustainable hours and limited career progression are the strongest drivers of exit even among workers who enjoy hospitality and tourism,” the report said.
Indicators of burnout remained high with two thirds of workers reporting they felt tired due to their work and about 43 percent reported feelings of hopelessness associated with working with customers.
But worker commitment, skill confidence and workplace dignity were strong.
“Hospitality and tourism are not constrained by worker motivation but by the conditions that enable sustained participation,” the report said.
“Retention and productivity are shaped by progression, training quality, pay adequacy, workplace dignity and safety, not by individual resilience or passion alone.”
The study recommended employers should encourage workers to remain in the industries by offering more training initiatives, pay progression and career development, and setting clear expectations for customer behaviour with zero tolerance for abuse.
Employers not doing enough to protect their employees – researcher
AUT and lead researcher, Professor David Williamson told Checkpoint the survey had been undertaken for the last five years and it was worrying to see that the rates of negative experiences in the workforce were increasing.
The percentage of those surveyed who reported bullying and harassment was 35 percent this year up from 23 percent the year before, he said.
The study found that last year in about half of the cases where hospitality and tourism workers were harassed or bullied customers were the perpetrators, that’s up from 26 percent in 2024.
Williamson said workers were having to deal with physically or verbally abusive customers, as well as drunk customers.
Asked why the figures had become worse, Williamson said it was important to look at the background of bullying and harassment in the sector.
Many staff working in hospitality were young and often it was their first job which made it difficult for them to deal with poor customer behaviour, he said.
“I think perhaps as well we’re seeing the result of Covid and economic pressure resulting in perhaps customers being more abusive than they have been pre-Covid.”
The survey indicated that employers were not doing enough to protect their employees, he said.
“When we look at the qualitative comments coming back from employees they’re talking about not being protected, not being supported, and again we can see the link to younger managers who either themselves haven’t been trained effectively or who are just too young to really know how to deal with those situations.”
When asked why they intended leaving hospitality, survey respondents gave bullying and harassment and low pay as the top two reasons, he said.
“It’s the combination between not being paid enough to put up with a very difficult work situation.”
The report had made a number of recommendations, he said.
“It’s about capturing that early career retention, making sure you’re addressing the young workers who are coming in that you’re training your managers so you have a safe working environment, that they’re not being harassed, that you’re training them well, that you’re also linking promotion opportunities to that training so as you become more skilled you can see a career progression and you know setting zero tolerance abuse standards across the whole industry so this will not be tolerated from customers or co-workers.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
