The Effects of Employee Engagement and Morale on Workforce Retention

The intent of this research article is to determine the effects of employee engagement and morale on workforce retention in the hospitality industry specifically. To that end, an investigation was conducted into the role that engagement, motivation (both extrinsic and intrinsic), professional development, work related stress, talent management, organizational culture, and leadership satisfaction play, or could play, in employee retention in this industry, which historically has experienced high turnover rates. Potential revenue is lost due to disengaged employees and reduced productivity (Attridge, 2009; Saks, 2006). In the supporting studies, questionnaire-based surveys were used to gather and subsequently analyze the assessments and/or opinions of a range of individuals employed by the hospitality industry regarding practices meant to promote positive engagement and high morale. The results of these studies indicate that employees are motivated and engaged when their work environment provides incentives beyond the norm of acceptable wages and insurance benefits (Lee & Ok, 2015). Moreover, the collected data demonstrate that employee morale is higher when opportunities for career growth and reduced work-related stress and an environment conducive to positive, relatable employee-leadership relationships are present (Li, Zhang & Yang, 2017). Ultimately, as this research article also reveals many of the key issues associated with low employee retention rates in the hospitality industry, it will be beneficial to future research that is geared toward retaining high (or higher) quality employees