Is a disability a hindrance of employment in tourism industry?

Abstract

Study objective: The purpose of the study conducted in this context is to identify the problems arising from the employment of disabled individuals employed in the hotel industry and to reveal the problems arising from the disability situations in the business areas from the perspective of the manager. Methodology/approach: The sampling of this research is a group of fourteen different human resources managers of four- and fivestar hotels in Turkey. During the interviews with the sample group between January 5 and March 10, 2021, a semi-structured question form created by the researchers was used and various data were obtained. To make the obtained data meaningful and to reach the research findings, phenomenology and descriptive analyzes were made and results were obtained. Originality/Value: Disabled people have some handicaps in working life as well as in all areas of individual life. States enact a number of laws for the employment of people with disabilities. But these laws are not sufficient in terms of quality and quantity. In this case, disabled individuals and businesses employing these individuals encounter problems. Studies describing the problems faced by managers regarding the employment of disabled people in hotels are quite limited in the national and international literature. Main results: It was determined that the participant human resources managers faced problems such as slowdown work, low motivation and adaptation, lack of discipline, low service quality, employee conflict and inefficiency. These problems constitute a major obstacle to the employment of people with disabilities in the tourism sector. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The study contributes to revealing the deficiencies in current laws and practices in the employment of disabled people.