Abstract:
Abstract
Background: Globally, work-related stress is a significant public and occupational health
problem. As a result of globalization and modifications in working conditions, work-related
stress is rising in low-income countries. Unmanaged stress usually leads to psychological and
even physical diseases, which harm individual career advancement and hotel operations, as well
as the country as a whole. In Ethiopia, little attention is dedicated to this problem in the hotel
industry, and studies among hotel employees are scarce.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of work-related stress and its
associated factors among employees working at Hotel industries in Gondar City, Ethiopia.
Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from June 9 to July 11,
2022 among employees working at Hotel industries in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia. A twostep multi-stage and cluster sampling technique was used to select 41 hotels with 729 study
participants. Face-to-face interview with structured questionnaire was employed. The main
findings were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression
analyses were computed to measure the association between work-related stress and independent
variables. AOR with 95% CI or P value of < 0.05 was used to declare a statistically significant
association.
Results: The overall prevalence of work-related stress was 43.3% with 95% CI (39.6, 47.04%).
Factors such as non-star hotels [AOR: 2.19, 95%CI (1.48, 3.24)], two star hotels [AOR: 3.10,
95%CI (1.23, 7.81)], work experience < 2.5 years [AOR: 1.62, 95%CI (1.11, 2.37)], low job
control [AOR: 5.17, 95%CI (3.32, 8.07)], high role conflict [AOR: 3.33, 95%CI (2.22, 5.00)],
high job ambiguity [AOR: 1.77, 95%CI (1.20, 2.63)] and lack of social support [AOR: 1.54,
95%CI (1.04, 2.29)] were significantly associated with work-related stress.
Conclusion: The prevalence of work-related stress was substantially high among hotel
employees. The burden of work-related stress is exacerbated by hotel level/category, inadequate
work experience, low job control, high role conflict, high role ambiguity, and lack of social
support. The hotel owners and trade unions should jointly design a stress coping mechanism and
provide clearly stated job descriptions with responsibility to minimize the identified problems.
Keywords: Ethiopia, employee, hotel industry, prevalence, work-related stress
