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Overview
Diversity scholars have moved from looking at differences in race and ethnicity to now including a host of demographic variables that accentuate employees' differences and similarities, like gender, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnic origins, and cultural backgrounds. As such, the definition of diversity has moved from racial differences to including an array of variables that represent the characteristics that makes differences and similarities salient.
For hospitality employers, this means that diversity management is about recognizing that people have identities that can enhance or conflict with their experiences and responsibilities at work. Indeed, understanding and improving the interface between diversity and work is an important focus of scholarship and human resource management. This themed issue focused on an important, but often overlooked challenge of diversity in the workplace – namely, communication barriers. In this issue, the authors provide insight into how hospitality employers can improve their communication practices with their employees to create a more inclusive and harmonious workplace environment.
In summary
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The workplace consists of four generations. Challenges include differences in work styles, expectations about work, acceptance of authority, and communication barriers. Although there is no one method for successfully managing a multigenerational workforce, employers should be aware of these differences in order to be able to change them into opportunities. Recruiting methods that are specific to multigenerational individuals, providing role models and mentoring programs, matching rewards to expectations, and integrating individuals from different generations into work groups are a few methods that can be used to effectively manage a multigenerational workforce.
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Immigrant employees represent a large portion of the hospitality workforce. However, little research examines the experiences of immigrant employees at the workplace. Managers often rely on bilingual employees, but do not compensate them for their translating skills. The research in this themed issue suggests that language classes paid for by the employer would improve employee satisfaction and performance. The research...