Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is the role of the Industrial Psychologist and the Human Resources function within a company to contribute positively to an organisation’s competitive advantage. Human capital should be viewed and managed as a critical success factor within this context. The probability of attaining success over competitors could be addressed through focussing on the impact of employee performance on competitive advantage. With reference to the organisational life cycle, the e-commerce industry in South Africa seems to be in its infancy. It is in this stage when attaining high levels of performance from employees is of critical importance. In this lies the key for building and growing a competitive advantage that would set one organisation apart from the other – where one organisation would survive the infancy stage and another would drown in the quest to match the demands posed by the relevant industry and its customers. There is minimal Industrial or Organisational Psychology research that has tested hypotheses in the e-commerce industry. This contributed to the decision to implement this research in the e-commerce industry. The e-commerce industry is growing rapidly, and performance therefore is a key factor for success in any e-commerce company in South Africa. The focus of this study was to review the Job Demands Resources model (JD-R model) within the e-commerce retail industry in South Africa in order to add to the knowledge base regarding human behaviour at work, with specific reference to engagement, burnout and performance. The research question of the study was formulated regarding which “state of wellbeing” would increase performance. The JD-R model makes provision for evaluating this question in a structured manner. The JD-R model indicates that performance is influenced by work engagement/burnout (wellbeing). It also indicates that there are certain job demands, job resources and personal resources that will influence wellbeing. The study was facilitated through the use of an ex post facto correlational research design. A sample of 117 workers was chosen from the e-commerce retail industry to participate in the study. Participation was voluntary, the data was collected specifically for the purpose of this study, and all responses were treated confidentially. The measurements that were used included key performance indicators (KPIs), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS), the Job Characteristics Scale, and the HEXACO model. The literature review formed a logical argument that culminated in a theoretical Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za iii model as well as a set of hypotheses with reference to the various dimensions in the JD-R model. The results showed that: a) Engagement has a significant positive influence on performance. b) Job resources (advancement, personal growth and organisational support) have a significant positive influence on engagement. c) Job resources (advancement, personal growth and organisational support) have a significant negative influence on burnout. d) Personal resources (extraversion) have a significant negative influence on burnout. e) Personal resources (conscientiousness) have a significant positive influence on engagement. f) Personal resources (agreeableness) have a significant negative influence on burnout. The following hypotheses were not supported: a) Burnout has a significant negative influence on performance. b) Personal resources (extraversion) have a significant positive influence on engagement. c) Personal resources (emotionality) have a significant positive influence on engagement. d) Personal resources (emotionality) have a significant negative influence on burnout. e) Personal resources (conscientiousness) have a significant negative influence on burnout. f) Personal resources (agreeableness) have a significant positive influence on engagement. g) Job demands (job overload) have a significant negative influence on engagement. h) Job demands (job overload) have a significant positive influence on burnout. i) Job demands (job insecurity) have a significant negative influence on engagement. j) Job demands (job insecurity) have a significant positive influence on burnout. Attention was also paid to future research considerations, recommendations to the managers of employees and to the limitations of the study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Dit is die rol van die Bedryfsielkundige en die Menslike Hulpbronne funksie in maatskappye om 'n positiewe bydrae tot 'n organisasie se mededingende voordeel te maak. Menslike kapitaal moet beskou en bestuur word as ‘n kritiese sukses faktor in hierdie konteks. Die waarskynlikheid om sukses bo die kompetisie te behaal kan aangespreek word deur om fokus te plaas op die impak wat werknemersprestasie het op mededingings voordeel. Met verwysing na die organisatoriese lewenssiklus blyk die e-handelbedryf in Suid-Afrika om in sy beginstadium te wees. Dit is in hierdie stadium waar die bereiking van hoë vlakke van prestasie van werknemers van kritieke belang is. Hierin lê die sleutel vir die vordering en groei van 'n mededingende voordeel van een maatskappy bo ‘n ander - waar die een organisasie die beginstadium sou oorleef en die ander onder die druk van die versoeke/eise van die betrokke bedryf en sy kliënte sou swyk. Daar is ‘n beperkte hoeveelheid navorsing wat gevind kon word in die veld van Bedryfsielkunde wat hipoteses in die e-handelbedryf toets. Hierdie bevinding het bygedra tot die besluit om hierdie navorsingstudie oor die e-handelbedryf voort te sit. Die e-handelbedryf toon vinnige groei, en prestasie is dus tans 'n belangrike faktor vir sukses in enige e-handelmaatskappy in Suid-Afrika. Die fokus van hierdie navorsingstudie was om die “Job Demands Resources model (JD-R model)” in die e-kleinhandelbedryf in Suid-Afrika toe te pas om sodoende by te dra tot die huidige kennis beskikbaar ten opsigte van menslike gedrag by die werk, met spesifieke verwysing na werksbegeestering, uitbranding en prestasie. Die navorsingsvraag van die navorsingstudie is geformuleer rondom die aanname dat die "toestand van welsyn" prestasievlakke sal verhoog. Die primêre doel van die navorsingstudie was om deur middel van die toepassing van die JD-R model in die e-kleinhandelbedryf, by te dra tot die beskikbare kennis ten opsigte van menslike gedrag by die werk, met spesifieke verwysing na werksbetrokkenheid, uitbranding en prestasie. Die JD-R model maak op 'n gestruktureerde wyse voorsiening vir die evaluering van hierdie verhoudings. Die JD-R model dui aan dat prestasie beïnvloed word deur werksbetrokkenheid/uitbranding (welsyn). Dit dui ook dat daar sekere werksvereistes, werkshulpbronne en persoonlike hulpbronne is wat welstand beïnvloed. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za v Die navorsingstudie is gefasiliteer deur die gebruik van 'n ex post facto korrelasie-ontwerp. 'n Steekproef van 117 werkers is uit die e-kleinhandelbedryf gekies om aan die studie deel te neem. Deelname was vrywillig, die data is spesifiek ingesamel vir die doel van hierdie navorsingstudie en alle data is as vertroulik hanteer. Die volgende metingsinstrumente is gebruik: kern prestasie aanwysers (KPA’s), die Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), die Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS), die Job Characteristics Scale, en die HEXACO model. Die literatuuroorsig vorm 'n logiese argument wat lei tot 'n teoretiese model, sowel as 'n stel hipoteses met verwysing na die verskillende dimensies soos gevind in die JD-R model. Die resultate toon: a) Werksbetrokkenheid het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op prestasie. b) Werkshulpbronne (bevordering, persoonlike groei en organisatoriese ondersteuning) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. c) Werkshulpbronne (bevordering, persoonlike groei en organisatoriese ondersteuning) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op uitbranding. d) Persoonlike hulpbronne (ekstroversie) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op uitbranding. e) Persoonlike hulpbronne (pligsgetrouheid) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. f) Persoonlike hulpbronne (eenstemmigheid) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op uitbranding. Die volgende hipoteses was nie aanvaar nie: a) Uitbranding het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op prestasie. b) Persoonlike hulpbronne (ekstroversie) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. c) Persoonlike hulpbronne (emosionaliteit) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. d) Persoonlike hulpbronne (emosionaliteit) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op uitbranding. e) Persoonlike hulpbronne (pligsgetrouheid) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op uitbranding. f) Persoonlike hulpbronne (eenstemmigheid) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za vi g) Werksvereistes (oorlading) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. h) Werksvereistes (oorlading) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op uitbranding. i) Werksvereistes (werkonsekerheid) het ‘n beduidende negatiewe invloed op werksbetrokkenheid. j) Werksvereistes (werkonsekerheid) het ‘n beduidende positiewe invloed op uitbranding. Aandag is ook geskenk aan toekomstige navorsings oorwegings, aanbevelings aan die bestuurders van werknemers asook aan die beperkinge van die navorsinstudie.

Sur leur lieu de travail, les individus sont confrontés à de nombreuses difficultés. Souvent, ces difficultés sont engendrées par de mauvaises conditions de travail qui génèrent des phénomènes de risques psychosociaux (RPS), susceptibles de nuire à la santé des salariés. En Sciences de la Gestion, les RPS sont l’objet d’un intérêt croissant, car ils ont aussi un impact sur la performance et sur la pérennité de l’entreprise. Alors qu’il existe des politiques et des pratiques de gestion des ressource humaines (GRH) mises en place par les entreprises pour faire face à ces risques, une démarche efficace n’est pas encore aboutie. Or, selon le modèle exigences/ressources (Demerouti et al., 2001), il existe des conditions de travail favorables (ressources) qui ont le potentiel de réduire ces risques, et qui font l’objet de ces travaux de recherche. Plus précisément, cette thèse s’interroge sur les représentations des salarié/es quant aux ressources qui ont le plus de potentiel pour réduire les effets des conditions de travail nocives. En même temps, nous faisons l’hypothèse que ces ressources sont aussi capables d’influencer la pérennité de l’entreprise, via la fidélisation des salarié/es. Nous avons mené une étude de cas au sein d’un groupe de l’agro-alimentaire, qui contrôle deux implantations industrielles qui ont conservé leur culture d’entreprise d’avant la fusion dans ce groupe. Nos résultats montrent que les salariés identifient quatre ressources (autonomie au travail, variété des tâches, bon climat social et soutien des supérieurs) qui ont plus de potentiel que d’autres pour compenser les conditions de travail contraignantes, et que ces ressources sont largement citées quel que soit le genre, le poste occupé, et le site. Il apparaît que ces mêmes ressources sont aussi capables d’influencer l’intention de rester des salarié/es dans l’entreprise. Cependant, ce ne sont pas toujours les pratiques de GRH qui créent ces ressources, mais –d’après les représentations des salariés- plutôt des valeurs liées à la culture d’entreprise précédant la fusion. Au-delà de la contribution à la théorie Exigences/Ressources, nos travaux souhaitent aussi contribuer à la prise de conscience, par les managers, de l’intérêt de certaines ressources pour la mise en place de meilleures conditions de travail et l’amélioration des stratégies de pilotage de la pérennité. / At the workplace, individuals face many challenges. Usually these difficulties are caused by poor working conditions that generate the phenomena of psychosocial risks factors (PRF), which can harm the health of employees. In management sciences, an increasing interest has set to PRF, particularly because they also have an impact on the performance and on the longevity of the company. The human resource management (HRM) policies and practices are made by companies to deal with these risks, but an effective approach is not yet achieved. According to the job demands / resources model (Demerouti et al., 2001), there are better working conditions (resources) that have the potential to buffer demands which causes PRF. Resources are the subject of this thesis.Precisely, this thesis questions the employees’ representations resources that have the greatest potential to buffer harmful working conditions. At the same time, we make the assumption that these resources are also able to influence the longevity of the firm, through employee loyalty. We conducted a case study within an agri-food group, which controls two industrial establishments which inherited their organizational culture before joining this group. Our results show that employees identify four resources (autonomy at work, task variety, good social climate and superiors support) that have more potential than others to buffer dangerous working conditions. Moreover, these resources are equally quoted in relation to gender, occupation, and industrial site. Furthermore, it appears that the same resources are also able to influence employees intention to remain in the group. However, it is not always the HRM practices that create these resources, but rather the values that are linked to the firm culture, before the merger.Beyond the contribution to the job demands / resources model, our research also aims to contribute to the managers' awareness of the value of certain resources to implement better working conditions and management strategies of longevity.

In recent years, the area of e-sports has been growing rapidly and has consequentially drawn attention from the general public as well as researchers. However, research in this area still remains sparse, especially concerning the psycho-social work environment of e-sports professionals. This is even more true when referring to research that includes the individual perspective of pro-players. To provide more knowledge in this area, this study aims to explore what psychosocial aspects are mentioned by pro-players in documentary interviews and investigate if the experiences portrayed could be understood using a theoretical perspective by applying the JD-R theory. This study is based on 12 docu-series episodes featuring two League of Legends teams where 10 different pro-players participated. The research sample could both be considered availability sampling, since the data was already available, and purposeful sampling, choosing a sample consisting of pro-players. The episodes were transcribed and then analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Many psycho-social aspects emerged from the analysis, resulting in two higher themes where the first theme “Working as a pro-player” portrays what the profession entails and the second, “The interdependent work”, depicts the experience of being a pro, a teammate and an individual at the same time. By applying the JD-R theory on the aspects mentioned, it was concluded that these experiences indeed could be understood using a theoretical approach, providing incentives to conduct future research in the area. Possible areas of research interest were also presented in relation to this. / E-sport är att område som snabbt har vuxit under senare år,vilket har attraherat uppmärksamhetfrån allmänhetenoch forskare. Forskning på området bedrivs dockfortfarande relativt infrekvent, speciellt när det gäller de professionella e-sportspelarnas psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Detta är speciellt framträdande närdet kommer till att inkludera individuella perspektiv från spelarna. För att bidra till mer kunskap inom området syftar denna studie till att undersöka vilka psykosociala aspekter som omnämns av spelare i dokumentära intervjuer samt undersöka om dessa upplevelser kan förstås utifrån ett teoretiskt perspektiv genom att tillämpa JD-R-teorin. Denna studie baseras på 12 avsnitt från två League och Legends-lagdär 10 olika spelare deltar.Urvalet kan både anses som bekvämlighetsurval, eftersom datan redan fannstillgänglig, och strategiskt urval, då urvalet inkluderade professionella spelare.Avsnitten transkriberades och analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys.Många psykososociala aspekter framträddefrån analysen vilket resulterade i två högre teman där det första temat ”Att arbeta som en pro player” porträtterarvad professionen innebär och den andra, ”Det avhängiga arbetet”, beskriver upplevelsen av att vara en professionell spelare, en lagkamrat och en individ samtidigt. Genom att applicera JD-R-teorin på de omnämnda aspekterna fastslogs det att dessa upplevelser kan bli förstådda genom en teoretisk ansats, vilket ger incitamentatt bedriva framtid forskning inom området. Möjliga forskningsområden av intressepresenterades även i relation till detta.

The present study tested a nomological net of work engagement that was derived from its extant research. Two of the main work engagement models that have been presented and empirically tested in the literature, the JD-R model and Kahn’s model, were integrated to test the effects that job features and personal characteristics can have on work engagement through the psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety, and availability. In this study, safety refers to psychological perceptions of safety and not workplace safety behaviors. The job features that were tested in this model included person-job fit, autonomy, co-worker relations, supervisor support, procedural justice, and interactional justice, while the personal characteristics consisted of self-consciousness, self-efficacy, extraversion, and neuroticism. Thirty-four hypotheses and a conceptual model were tested in order to establish the viability of this nomological net of work engagement in which it was expected that meaningfulness would mediate the relationships between job features and work engagement, safety would mediate the relationships that job features and personal characteristics have with work engagement, and availability (physical, emotional, and cognitive resources) would mediate the relationships that personal characteristics have with work engagement. Furthermore, analyses were run in order to determine the factor structure of work engagement, assess whether or not it exhibits differential validity from organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and confirm that it is positively related to the outcome variable of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). The final sample consisted of 500 workers from an online labor market who responded to a questionnaire composed of measures of all constructs included in this study. Findings show that work engagement is best represented as a three-factor construct, composed of vigor, dedication and absorption. Furthermore, support was found for the distinction of work engagement from the related constructs of organizational commitment and job satisfaction. With regard to the proposed model, meaningfulness proved to be the strongest predictor of work engagement. Results show that it partially mediates the relationships that all job features have with work engagement. Safety proved to be a partial mediator of the relationships that autonomy, co-worker relations, supervisor support, procedural justice, interactional justice, and self-efficacy have with work engagement, and fully mediate the relationship between neuroticism and work engagement. Findings also show that availability partially mediates the positive relationships that extraversion and self-efficacy have with work engagement, and fully mediates the negative relationship that neuroticism has with work engagement. Finally, a positive relationship was found between work engagement and OCB. Research and organizational implications are discussed.

En tredjedel av världens kvinnor har blivit våldsutsatta och år 2022 blev tio personer mördade av sin partner i Sverige. Personal på kvinnojourer och skyddade boenden har en viktig roll att erbjuda skydd och stöd. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka personalens upplevelser av krav, resurser och utomorganisatorisk samverkan i arbetet med de skyddsplacerade med Jobb-Krav-Resursmodellen som teoretiskt perspektiv. Elva semistrukturerade intervjuer tematiserades med personal från tre olika kvinnojourer och ett privatägt skyddat boende. Ur analysen framkom tio teman som besvarade frågeställningarna. Resultatet visade att personalen upplevde en tung arbetsbelastning med en mängd ovissa arbetsinsatser, ambivalenta skyddsplacerade och snäva tidsramar vilket gav känslor av frustration samt stress. Betydelsefulla arbetsresurser var kollegialt stöd, möjligheter till kompetensutveckling och god påverkan på arbetsplatsen. Samverkan var bristfällig med andra organisationer vilket upplevdes vara relaterat till bristande helhetssyn och okunskaper om våldets konsekvenser, vilket försvårade möjligheterna att hjälpa de skyddsplacerade att återuppbygga sina liv. / One-third of the world´s women have experienced violence, and in 2022, ten people were murdered by their partners in Sweden. Staff at women´s shelters and safe houses play a crucial role in providing protection and support. The purpose of this study is to examine the staff´s experiences of work demands, work resources and interorganizational collaboration in their work with the victims of intimate partner violence using Job-Demand-Resource Model as a theoretical perspective. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff from three different women´s shelters and one privately owned safe house. From the analysis, ten themes emerged that addressed the two research questions. The resultats showed that the staff experienced a heavy workload with a multitude of uncertain tasks, ambivalent victims and tight time frames, leading to feelings of frustration and stress. Significant work resources included collegial support, opportunities for competence development, and positive workplace influence. Collaboration with other organizations was insufficient which was perceived to be related to a lack of holistic perspective and ignorance about the consequences of violence, making it difficult to assist the victims in rebuildning their lives.

I denna studie undersöks enskilda individers upplevelser av work-life balance somverkar inom en högpresterande organisation. Studien bygger på en kvalitativ metod därdatan analyseras genom en induktiv tematisk analys. Efter genomförandet avintervjuerna kunde man sammanställa fyra teman; prestationsbaserad lön, kontroll,ledarskap och arbetskultur. Resultatet visade att samtliga respondenter haft utmaningaratt balansera privat- och arbetslivet och att karaktärsdragen bakom en högpresterandeorganisation upplevs ligga bakom detta. Psykologiska teorier som sedan gick attapplicera på resultatet var Karaseks och Theorells krav, kontroll- och stödmodell samtBakker och Demeroutis jobbkrav- och resursmodell. / This study examines the work-life balance experiences of individuals working in a high-performance organization. The study is based on a qualitative method where the data isanalyzed through an inductive thematic analysis. After conducting the interviews, fourthemes could be summarized: performance-based pay, control, leadership, and workculture. The results showed that all respondents had challenges in balancing theirprivate and work life and that the characteristics of a high-performance organization areperceived to be behind this. Psychological theories that could then be applied to theresults were Karasek and Theorell's demand, control and support model and Bakker andDemerouti's job requirement and resource model.

The present study examines how the relationship between workplace bullying and mental health can be influenced by emotional exhaustion, and how the intensity in this relationship can be affected by the individual’s psychological capital, and access to social support from colleagues and supervisors. The studys theoretical framework is based on the Job Demand-Control-Support model, the Job Demands-Resources model and the Conservation of Resources theory. Data were collected at Indian workplaces and included 139 participants. The study used a self-report questionnaire and was analyzed with mediation and moderation as main analysis methods. In line with previous research, results showed that psychological capital as a whole moderated the negative effects on mental health that follow from being exposed to workplace bullying. Emotional exhaustion was found to be a mediator in the association between workplace bullying and mental health problems. Psycological capital resilience fully moderated the mediating association between workplace bullying and mental health problems via emotional exhaustion. Psychological capital optimism moderated the association between bullying and emotional exhaustion, but not the full mediation. Social support was shown not to moderate the negative effects of workplace bullying on mental health, which does not support previous findings.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered job demands and resources for international sales professionals, who faced unprecedented challenges such as the inability to travel and increased isolation due to remote work. According to the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, changes in job demands and resources significantly impact well-being, often leading to burnout. Given that international sales are already considered a highly stressful occupation understanding these changes is not only crucial for academic research but also for providing practical support to these professionals. Despite the critical importance of this issue, previous studies have yet to extensively explore the post-pandemic shifts in job demands and resources for international salespeople. This thesis presents qualitative research investigating these changes and their impact on the well-being of international sales professionals during the pandemic. Using semi-structured interviews with six international sales professionals in Japan and Sweden, the study uncovered a surprisingly positive impact of the pandemic on their overall well-being, challenging the traditional JD-R theory. This paradox has brought attention to the oversimplification of the JD-R theory.

På grund av uppmaning från EU-kommissionen tillfördes nya bestämmelser i Arbetstidslagen (1982:673) för att anpassas de skyddsregler som finns om minsta dygnsvila i EU:s arbetstidsdirektiv är att en fastställd viloperiod kan påverka sjukvårdspersonalens stress inför att nå sömn efter ett kvällspass positivt. Däremot visar det sig att bestämmelsen om elva timmars dygnsvila inte är en garanti för att sjukvårdspersonalens återhämtning ökar. Sjukvårdspersonalen upplever att bestämmelsen om elva timmars dygnsvila har skapat förändringar som orsakat ökad stress, ökad arbetsbelastning, brist på återhämtning och sämre balans mellan deras arbets- och privatliv. Det är därav möjligt att se lagen kunna ge upphov till likvärdiga hälsorisker som den syftar att förebygga. Reglerna av bestämmelsen påverkar sjukvårdspersonalen möjlighet att fylla deras privatliv med meningsfulla saker samt nå återhämtning. Till förs resonemang om att det inte är få timmar mellan arbetspassen som upplevs vara den största påverkan för deras återhämtning, utan att det är bristande flexibilitet och fler antal arbetspass i följd. Avslutningsvis framförs en sammanfattande diskussion av studiens resultat följt av förslag på framtida forskning

Denna studie syftar till att dels utifrån ett personalperspektiv undersöka och förstå huruvida arbetsgivarattraktivitet och arbetsmotivation bidrar till personalbristproblematiken inom den svenska hotellbranschen, för att sedan utforska vilka aspekter som påverkar personalens återkomst till branschen. För att besvara syftet har studien utgått ifrån frågeställningarna ”Vilka faktorer ligger bakom att tidigare personal inom hotellbranschen inte återvänder efter COVID-19 pandemin?” samt ”Vilka arbetsrelaterade justeringar kan genomföras för att locka tillbaka kvalificerad personal till branschen?”. För att besvara studiens frågeställningar ställdes även två hypoteser, där hypotes 1 testades för att besvara frågeställning 1, och hypotes 2 för att besvara frågeställning 2. Studien grundas i tre huvudteman, vilka är arbetsgivarattraktivitet, arbetsmotivation samt kompetens och personalutveckling. Dessa teman utgör också grunden för studiens teoretiska ramverk, som kompletterats med relevanta modeller och strategier. Studien har använt sig av en kvantitativ metod där en enkätstudie har använts för insamlingen av data. Studiens vetenskapliga förhållningssätt utgörs av det kritisk realism. Utifrån hypoteserna har enkäten strukturerats med hjälp av verktyget Survey & Report. Den insamlade data har sedan förts över till SPSS, där den har genomgått en djupare analys för att komma fram till ett resultat. Resultatet visar på att det går att utläsa flera potentiella faktorer som lett till att tidigare personal inte återvänder till sektorn efter pandemin, men att de två allra tydligaste aspekterna relaterar till bristande lön och förmåner liksom bristande karriärutvecklingsmöjligheter. För att locka tillbaka kvalificerad personal till branschen krävs en kombination av åtgärder, där studien föreslår justeringar som relaterar till studiens huvudteman. Detta diskuteras närmare i studiens analys och konkluderas sedan i slutsatsen, där det avslutningsvis också ges förslag till framtida forskning. / This study aims to examine and understand, from a staff perspective, whether employer attractiveness and work motivation contribute to the staff shortage problem in the Swedish hotel industry, thereby exploring which aspects affect the staff's return to the industry. In order to answer the purpose, the study has been based on the questions "What factors are behind the non-return of former staff in the hotel industry after the COVID-19 pandemic?". and "What changes can be implemented to attract qualified staff back to the industry?". To answer the study's questions, two hypotheses were also proposed, where hypothesis 1 was tested to answer question 1, and hypothesis 2 to answer question 2. The study is based on three main themes, which are employer attractiveness, work motivation and competence and personnel development. These themes also form the basis of the study's theoretical framework, which is complemented by relevant models and strategies. The study has used a quantitative method where a questionnaire study has been the chosen approach for data collection and critical realism as its epistemological approach. Based on the hypotheses, the questionnaire was structured using the Survey & Report tool. The collected data has then been extracted to SPSS, where it has undergone a deeper analysis to arrive at a result. The results show that several potential factors can be identified that have prevented former staff from returning to the sector after the pandemic, but that the two most obvious aspects relate to a lack of pay and benefits and a lack of career development opportunities. Attracting qualified staff back to the industry requires a combination of measures, with the study suggesting adjustments related to the main themes of the study. This is further discussed in the study's analysis and then concluded in the conclusion, which also concludes with suggestions for future research.