A review of the literature on meaningful work in the tourism sector

Meaningful work has been identified as an important, interdisciplinary research topic. There is little consensus over what constitutes meaningful work and why to pursue it. Organizational scholars describe it as something good, associated with desirable outcomes for both employee and employer. Business ethics scholars view the topic as an issue related to the subjective experience, including various points at which ethical consideration and decision-making should be considered.
As an industry vulnerable to changes, tourism has been influenced by recent global changes in consumer behavior and digitalization, among others. The industry was hit severely by the pandemic, deepening existing shortage of skillful human capital. As the demand for the meaningful work has increased, tourism organizations will need to pay more attention on employee’s possibility to experience the sense of meaningfulness at work, yet with consideration of ethical structures and practices of the working community.
The purpose of this research is to summarize and weigh the existing discussion on meaningful work in tourism studies. The aim is to gain a proper view on the phenomenon based on existing literature. The results will help identify areas of prior scholarship and recognize aspects of meaningful work that received little attention or remained unexplored.