How Job Crafting Affects Hotel Employees’ Turnover Intention during COVID-19: An Empirical Study from China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The research gap is well presented and justified.

the literature review is adequate as well as the methodology.

 

1453 hotel employees - mentioned in the abstract - but on page 7 it is said 831 respondents. On page 10 it is referred that authors gathered a new dataset of 622 valid responses but it is not clear on how this happened. Same respondents? Same hotels? Moreover, authors refer to table 3 which is even more confusing as this table presents the results for job crafting items.  Did the research take place at 2 stages? With the repetition of procedure? Were the respondents the same? How does this situation links to the charaterization of the sample previously presented? 

The results, discussion and conclusions are accurate and supported by the evidences.

The paper is also well-organized and well-written with just a few minor typos.

 

 

 

Well written with just a few minor typos.

 

Author Response

Dear editors and reviewers,

Thanks to the reviewers for the “How job crafting affects hotel employees’ turnover intention during COVID-19: An empirical study from China ”(ID: 2400198). According to the reviewers’ comments, questions and suggestions, we have marked "Track Changes" in the revised manuscript.

We have made modifications according to the reviewer’s comments. The reviewers’ comments are laid out below in bold italicized font and specific concerns have been numbered. Our response is given in normal font and changes/additions to the manuscript are given in blue text. Thanks again to all reviewers and editors for yours recognition and comments on our article.

Reviewer 1

1.1453 hotel employees - mentioned in the abstract - but on page 7 it is said 831 respondents. On page 10 it is referred that authors gathered a new dataset of 622 valid responses but it is not clear on how this happened. Same respondents? Same hotels?

 

Response to Q1: Thank you very much for the reviewer’s suggestions. A total of 1453 questionnaires were collected in this paper, which were divided into two data surveys. These data were obtained from different hotels and employees. In the first round, 831 valid questionnaires were obtained for EFA and CFA analysis. In the second round, 622 valid questionnaires were obtained for model verification analysis. Since it is impossible for all data to be verified equally, it is more scientific to divide it into two parts based on the experience of previous researchers. I have elaborated and explained in parts 3.2 and 4.3.

 

2.Moreover, authors refer to table 3 which is even more confusing as this table presents the results for job crafting items. Did the research take place at 2 stages? With the repetition of procedure? Were the respondents the same? How does this situation links to the characterization of the sample previously presented?

 

Response to Q2: Table 3 does show the results of the job crafting, as the scale was initially applied in the field of education and psychology, so it had to be verified for suitability to the Chinese hotel scenario. Therefore a part of the 831 questionnaires were taken for EFA analysis and a part for CFA analysis, so that the later model validation could be better carried out. All 1453 questionnaires were collected together, but were divided into several different sections for analysis and validation. Such results may be more suitable for hotel employees in the Chinese context.

 

 

3.The paper is also well-organized and well-written with just a few minor typos.

 

Response to Q3: Many thanks to the reviewer for your recognition and comments on our article, and the text has been proofread.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to read and comment on this article.

 

The article provides a thorough and comprehensive contextualization of the research topic, highlighting the gaps in previous research and the need for the current study. It also provides a theoretical background on the concepts related to the study, making it easier for readers to understand the significance of the findings. The article makes an original contribution to the literature by investigating the impact of job crafting on turnover intention, career identity, and job engagement of hotel employees in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also creates a scale to measure job crafting quality among hotel employees. However, every study has strengths and some demerits which can be addressed. Some potential areas for improvement or further clarity that the author could consider include:

 

The article states that job crafting has been shown to be linked to other employee metrics, but it does not provide any details on what those metrics are or how they are related to job crafting. A more detailed discussion of the relationship between job crafting and other employee metrics would help readers better understand the importance of this topic.

 

The article focuses primarily on the hotel industry in China, but it does not provide much information on how the findings of this study might be relevant to hotel industries in other countries. A more detailed discussion of the similarities and differences between hotel industries in different countries would help readers better understand the broader implications of the study's findings.

 

The research methodology is sound, and the data analysis is appropriate. Addressing potential issues of common method bias, since all variables were measured using self-report questionnaires.

 

Discussing the potential implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the results and how the pandemic might have influenced hotel employees' job crafting, career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention. The article could benefit from further discussion on the limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and practical implications for hotel managers.

 

Good Luck

Minor amendments required which can be done through proof read.

Author Response

Dear editors and reviewers,

Thanks to the reviewers for the “How job crafting affects hotel employees’ turnover intention during COVID-19: An empirical study from China ”(ID: 2400198). According to the reviewers’ comments, questions and suggestions, we have marked "Track Changes" in the revised manuscript.

We have made modifications according to the reviewer’s comments. The reviewers’ comments are laid out below in bold italicized font and specific concerns have been numbered. Our response is given in normal font and changes/additions to the manuscript are given in blue text. Thanks again to all reviewers and editors for yours recognition and comments on our article.

Reviewer 2

1.The article states that job crafting has been shown to be linked to other employee metrics, but it does not provide any details on what those metrics are or how they are related to job crafting. A more detailed discussion of the relationship between job crafting and other employee metrics would help readers better understand the importance of this topic. 

Response to Q1: The article has added the relationship between job crafting and other indicators in the literature review section. We added and modified this in part 1 of 2.2 (L152-167).

In previous studies, job crafting has been linked to many other job metrics. To provide an example, teachers who have mastered the art of job crafting can better deal with the challenges of the classroom, maintain a greater degree of passion for their profession, and experience less burnout. Roczniewska et al. evaluated 81 nurses in Poland and discovered a positive association between their job crafting and self-regulation level and a negative correlation with burnout. Nurses were more likely to be able to self-regulate and prevent chronic burnout if they had high levels of job crafting. Researchers have examined the relationship between job crafting and employee performance and how these two variables interact to affect other variables. A study of surgeons by Domnguez and Dolmans also found that job crafting positively affected work performance. Previous studies mainly discussed the relationship between job crafting and job satisfaction, job burnout and other job indicators. The study of job crafting and other variables was conducted in fixed industry settings, such as healthcare and finance. There is little research on tourism and hospitality. An essential goal of this investigation is to study how hotel employees in developing countries construct their job crafting and the link between this and other factors.

2.The article focuses primarily on the hotel industry in China, but it does not provide much information on how the findings of this study might be relevant to hotel industries in other countries. A more detailed discussion of the similarities and differences between hotel industries in different countries would help readers better understand the broader implications of the study’s findings.

Response to Q2: Thank you very much for your comments. This paper focuses on the relationship between job crafting and other job indicators for hotel employees in China, and such findings may not be applicable to hotel employees in other countries. The relevant research results of hotels in other countries need further study and comparison. In the follow-up research, we will strengthen the comparative study and analysis of hotels in China and other countries.

3.The research methodology is sound, and the data analysis is appropriate. Addressing potential issues of common method bias, since all variables were measured using self-report questionnaires.

 Response to Q3: Many thanks to the reviewers for yours recognition and comments on our article.

4.Discussing the potential implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the results and how the pandemic might have influenced hotel employees’ job crafting, career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention. The article could benefit from further discussion on the limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and practical implications for hotel managers.

Response to Q4: This paper was conducted in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic and the findings may have some limitations. Further research will follow comparing hotel employees in the normal context with the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is further elaborated in the limitations of the study. We’ve already added that in Part 6 (L568-L576).

Third, because the data was gathered after the COVID-19 pandemic, the results may be skewed and do not accurately reflect shifts in the hotel industry’s demographics. In view of the worldwide labor shortage created by the COVID-19 epidemic, the findings of this study will aid hospitality industry managers in their attempts to retain talent. In the follow-up study, we can further study the impact of hotel staff job crafting on other job indicators under the background of COVID-19, and compare and analyze the job crafting of hotel employees under normal circumstances. To see if there is a difference in the impact of hotel employees on other job indicators in the two different situations.

Reviewer 3 Report

Thank you for the opportunity to give any possible contribution to the manuscript titled How job crafting affects hotel employees’ turnover intention during COVID-19: An empirical study from China, with the aim of examining the relationship between job crafting, career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention of hotel staff in China amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract - Objective stated, method presented, results informed.

1. Introduction - line 28, please start the paragraph with capital letter.

In the paragraph of line 54, it would be interesting to provide some references for these research. Gap established, objetive stated and structure of the study informed.

2. Literature review - Weel done. Relevant studies were reported. Hypotheses formulated under the theory.

3. Methodology - Please reconstruct the paragraph of line 214- 215. It is confusing. Method used explained, demographic analysis of the sample presented. Statistics used informed.

4. Results - Statistics presented. Well conducted. Congratulations.

5. Discussion and conclusion - Line 381, please separate the words. 

Lines 411-412, it would be good if some reference could be included.

The discussion addresses the theory correctly, congratulations for the contributions.

6. Limitations and directions of future studies - Well stated.

Good work.

Author Response

Dear editors and reviewers,

Thanks to the reviewers for the “How job crafting affects hotel employees’ turnover intention during COVID-19: An empirical study from China ”(ID: 2400198). According to the reviewers’ comments, questions and suggestions, we have marked "Track Changes" in the revised manuscript.

We have made modifications according to the reviewer’s comments. The reviewers’ comments are laid out below in bold italicized font and specific concerns have been numbered. Our response is given in normal font and changes/additions to the manuscript are given in blue text. Thanks again to all reviewers and editors for yours recognition and comments on our article.

Reviewer 3

1.Thank you for the opportunity to give any possible contribution to the manuscript titled How job crafting affects hotel employees’turnover intention during COVID-19: An empirical study from China, with the aim of examining the relationship between job crafting, career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention of hotel staff in China amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Abstract - Objective stated, method presented, results informed.

Response to Q1: Many thanks to the reviewers for yours recognition and comments on our article.

2.Introduction - line 28, please start the paragraph with capital letter.

Response to Q2: I have made changes in the article (L28).

3.In the paragraph of line 54, it would be interesting to provide some references for these research. Gap established, objective stated and structure of the study informed.

 Response to Q3: We have added and modified the first part according to the reviewer’s comments (L56-L83).

Despite earlier research showing that job crafting is linked to other employee metrics, the vast majority of empirical investigations have been done in the health care, financial, and retail industries. Roczniewska et al. evaluated 81 nurses in Poland and discovered a positive association between their job crafting and self-regulation level and a negative correlation with burnout. A study of surgeons by Domnguez and Dolmans also found that job crafting positively affected work performance. Despite the fact that it has been acknowledged as an essential aspect in the success and long-term viability of hotels. For the purpose of filling a research need, this study investigates the impact of job crafting on job performance measures such as career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention for hotel employees in China.

The following features can explain the study’s importance. First, this study is a beginning investigation into the understudied topic of job crafting for front-line hotel employees in China. Second, this research produced a scale for measuring the quality of hotel employees’ job crafting and tested the scale’s accuracy using 1453 actual hotel employees as test subjects, providing more empirical evidence and helping to prepare the scale for future research. Third, this research examines the impact of job crafting on employees’ turnover intention and how it is influenced by factors such as career identity and job engagement. Thus, this research provides valuable theoretical implications for investigating key job indicators, i.e., career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention.  

 To achieve the study objectives, the structure of the paper is as follows. First, a critical literature review on job crafting, career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention was provided. Based on the literature review, the hypotheses and research model were proposed. Second, the methodology was introduced, followed by an analysis of the results. Third, the conclusions and the theoretical and practical implications were discussed based on the findings. Finally, the study limitations and future research directions were presented.

4.Literature review- Well done. Relevant studies were reported. Hypotheses formulated under the theory.

 Response to Q4: Thank you very much for the reviewer’s recognition of our article.

5.Methodology - Please reconstruct the paragraph of line 214- 215. It is confusing. Method used explained, demographic analysis of the sample presented. Statistics used informed.

 Response to Q5: I have also refined and revised the methodology section. Section 3.1 describes the sources of the scales for our questionnaire and section 3.2 describes the process of collecting the data for our questionnaire and the relevant demographics.

6.Results - Statistics presented. Well conducted. Congratulations.

 Response to Q6: Many thanks to the reviewer for your recognition and comments on our paper.

7.Discussion and conclusion - Line 381, please separate the words. Lines 411-412, it would be good if some reference could be included.The discussion addresses the theory correctly, congratulations for the contributions.

 Response to Q7: The author has modified and added to the text (L469-L479).

It redefines four dimensions of job crafting for hotel employees: increasing structural work resources, increasing social work resources, increasing challenging work demands, and reducing obstructive work demands. In the past, researchers focused more on things like society and the workplace. Tims and Twemlow et al. studied the influence of factors such as social environment, wages and benefits of enterprises on employee job crafting. Tian and Bai et al. took the teacher group as the research object and investigated the influence of multiple factors such as organizational support, social environment and managers on the job crafting of teachers’ work. This paper examines the job-crafting process from the perspective of hotel employees and managers. In developing countries, the formation of employee job crafting is of great theoretical importance.

8.Limitations and directions of future studies - Well stated.

 Response to Q8: Many thanks to the reviewer for your support and approval.

Reviewer 4 Report

The research gap indicated is not convincing, and the arguments need to be concrete and rational out the importance of the study within the study's context or in a similar socio-economic setting.

A literature review is shallow and the study needs to be triangulated with the basic theories and empirical findings. 

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear editors and reviewers,

Thanks to the reviewers for the “How job crafting affects hotel employees’ turnover intention during COVID-19: An empirical study from China ”(ID: 2400198). According to the reviewers’ comments, questions and suggestions, we have marked "Track Changes" in the revised manuscript.

We have made modifications according to the reviewer’s comments. The reviewers’ comments are laid out below in bold italicized font and specific concerns have been numbered. Our response is given in normal font and changes/additions to the manuscript are given in blue text. Thanks again to all reviewers and editors for yours recognition and comments on our article.

Reviewer 4

1.The title is a very exciting, original and relevant topic for study. However, the authors should provide sufficient literature contextualizing their study on the Covid 19 period. I recommend the rewriting of the literature to capture this.

 Response to Q1: The COVID-19 is the background to our study, and there is currently relatively limited research on the COVID-19. Also, the COVID-19 has only been going on for a short period of time, so we have tried to add some of the relevant studies on the New COVID-19 to the literature review section (L85-L103).

2.1. Background of the development of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced almost all employees around the world to work in a completely different environment than before. COVID-19 has triggered interventions such as social distancing and travel restrictions that have changed the way employees work by limiting their mobility. This change is transitioning from temporary to long-term with multiple blockades. Managers, team leaders, and human resource professionals are very concerned about these behavioral changes because they can affect employees’ emotional, cognitive, and physical health, and ultimately their results and performance. A survey of Chinese companies conducted by Deloitte showed that 68 percent of them suffered a decline in their performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, underlining the negative impact of COVID-19 related policies. Pressure increase, inadequate infrastructure, lack of work environment/colleagues, unrealistic expectations  performance, the manager of the damaged - employee relations and difficult to build trust with colleagues is the shortcoming of the virtual work and the outbreak of the new champions league, this negative impact on employee performance. Similarly, the novel coronavirus epidemic is bound to have some impact on the hotel industry, so it is very meaningful to study the relationship between the job remodeling behavior of hotel employees and their professional identity, job engagement and turnover intention during the novel coronavirus epidemic.

2.There is a missing link between the research gap and Covid-19 mentioned in the Title. It brings in new knowledge on employee turnover intention in the hotel industry.

 Response to Q2: Thanks for the reviewer’s comments. We've added the coronavirus link to the research gap.We have added the link between research gap and the COVID-19 pandemic in the introduction and in the directions of future studies section (L66-L83) (L568-L576).

The following features can explain the study’s importance. First, this study is a beginning investigation into the understudied topic of job crafting for front-line hotel employees in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, this research produced a scale for measuring the quality of hotel employees’ job crafting and tested the scale’s accuracy using 1453 actual hotel employees as test subjects, providing more empirical evidence and helping to prepare the scale for future research. Third, this research examines the impact of job crafting on employees’ turnover intention and how it is influenced by factors such as career identity and job engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this research provides valuable theoretical implications for investigating key job indicators, i.e., career identity, job engagement, and turnover intention.

 Third, because the data was gathered after the COVID-19 pandemic, the results may be skewed and do not accurately reflect shifts in the hotel industry’s demographics. In view of the worldwide labor shortage created by the COVID-19 epidemic, the findings of this study will aid hospitality industry managers in their attempts to retain talent. In the follow-up study, we can further study the impact of hotel staff job crafting on other job indicators under the background of COVID-19, and compare and analyze the job crafting of hotel employees under normal circumstances. To see if there is a difference in the impact of hotel employees on other job indicators in the two different situations.

3.Abstract: Job crafting influence on job performance is not captured anywhere in the hypotheses. Authors to consider including this in the hypotheses. All the hypotheses mentioned are related to Job crafting and turnover intention of employees.

 Response to Q3: Job crafting, job engagement and career identity are important factors affecting turnover intention. So far, we have studied the interaction between these four indicators. In future studies, we will strengthen the link between job crafting and other job performance goals.

4.Literature review: Literature on Covid -19 is missing.

 Response to Q4: In the literature review section, we have added studies on COVID-19 (L85-L103).

2.1. Background of the development of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced almost all employees around the world to work in a completely different environment than before. COVID-19 has triggered interventions such as social distancing and travel restrictions that have changed the way employees work by limiting their mobility. This change is transitioning from temporary to long-term with multiple blockades. Managers, team leaders, and human resource professionals are very concerned about these behavioral changes because they can affect employees' emotional, cognitive, and physical health, and ultimately their results and performance. A survey of Chinese companies conducted by Deloitte showed that 68 percent of them suffered a decline in their performance during the COVID-19 pandemic, underlining the negative impact of COVID-19 related policies. Pressure increase, inadequate infrastructure, lack of work environment/colleagues, unrealistic expectations  performance, the manager of the damaged - employee relations and difficult to build trust with colleagues is the shortcoming of the virtual work and the outbreak of the new champions league, this negative impact on employee performance. Similarly, the novel coronavirus epidemic is bound to have some impact on the hotel industry, so it is very meaningful to study the relationship between the job remodeling behavior of hotel employees and their professional identity, job engagement and turnover intention during the novel coronavirus epidemic.

5.Grammar: Authors to consider changing “hypothesis” to “ Hypotheses” because they are many.

Response to Q5: “Hypotheses” is the plural form of “hypotheses”, so I can’t change all of them to “hypotheses”. Part of the article has been revised.

6.Not consistent because Covid 19 which was missing earlier is discussed in the conclusion.

 Response to Q6: We have revised and improved as much as possible to keep the background of the COVID-19 outbreak consistent with the conclusions reached.

7.Relevant and up to date except the marked few. Replace the highlighted with recent references.

 Response to Q7: We have added some recent and new relevant literature.

8.Methodology: Table 1: Researchers to draw clear table indicating distinct columns and rows for construct, items and group them clearly in their source catego

 Response to Q8: We have checked and adjusted the relevant forms accordingly. The four factors of job crafting, job engagement, career identity and turnover intention are selected from relatively mature scales, which are also listed by corresponding research authors.

9.Conclusions: Authors should present their findings and conclusion in a sequence as per the research hypotheses.

 Response to Q9: Thanks for the reviewer’s comments. The order of the hypothesis is not entirely related to the conclusion of the research. We basically rank the conclusions according to how important they are. We mainly elaborate from four aspects: the relationship between job crafting of hotel staff and other job indicators, the situation of job remodeling of hotel staff under the background of China, the direct and indirect influences of job crafting on other job indicators during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how job crafting affects turnover intention through intermediaries. There is a connection to both our title and our introduction.