This study aims to examine how Asian hospitality organizations can strategically enhance employee well-being, particularly among Gen Z, by leveraging both contextual and individual resources through the lens of job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. It highlights the culturally and regionally distinctive, people-centered nature of the industry as a critical basis for sustaining competitive advantage and preserving the essence of Asian hospitality.
This study uses a multi-stage, evidence-informed approach that integrates published research, industry reports, field observations and theory-driven synthesis. The four stages guiding the analysis include evidence scoping, screening and quality evaluation, experiential field engagement and thematic synthesis through JD-R mapping.
The analysis shows that persistent job demands, including low pay and seasonality, undermine Gen Z well-being unless offset by strong, culturally relevant resources. Three interconnected domains shaping these demands are identified as socio-cultural work design, resilient revenue architecture and technology-enabled flexicurity. For each domain within this framework, two strategic resource-based resolutions are proposed to strengthen employee well-being in practice.
The findings provide actionable guidance for designing strategic responses that enhance the well-being of a new generation of employees and support retention in an increasingly digital work environment.
This study extends the JD-R framework beyond its usual focus on immediate job-level conditions by showing how broader organizational, cultural and technological arrangements shape employee well-being in people-centered service work. It also demonstrates that JD-R can be used not only to explain strain and motivation, but also to inform strategic workforce design in collectivist, technology-intensive service settings.
