Occupational meaning, well-being and coping: A study of culturally and linguistically diverse hotel workers during COVID-19

Given COVID-19’s disproportionate adverse impact on hospitality employees, we explore the proposition that COVID-19-related career challenges prompt CALD hospitality workers to rethink the meaning and purpose of work to explore ways to cope and restore occupational well-being, thus triggering occupational change. Thematic analysis of qualitative data from interviews with 25 CALD hotel workers reveal different sub-groups of CALD hotel workers differentially cognitively frame pandemic-induced employment changes to cope and restore occupational well-being: 1. as an opportunity for behavioral (occupational) change by CALD workers in refugee jobs; 2. as a temporary phenomenon, with CALD workers who were temporary migrants foreseeing positive career outcomes; and 3. as an opportunity for behavioral (occupational) advancement in hotels by CALD workers who were permanent residents with hospitality qualifications. We contribute to literature at the intersection of coping and occupational well-being research in hospitality, providing a fine-grained understanding of how CALD hotel workers coped and restored occupational well-being, by differentially reconstruing the meaning of work and undertaking occupational change, be it cognitive or behavioral.