Work-Related Depression in Frontline Service Jobs in the Hospitality Industry: Evidence from Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop and test a research model that investigates work-related depression in frontline employees in the hospitality industry. Specifically, the model examines exhaustion and disengagement as full mediators of the effects of customer verbal aggression and perceptions of organizational politics on work-related depression. Data pertaining to the predictor and criterion variables were obtained from frontline hotel employees in two waves in Iran where the two waves were separated by a time lag of one week. The aforementioned relationships were tested using LISREL 8.30 through path analysis. The results revealed that disengagement functioned as a full mediator of the effects of customer verbal aggression and perceptions of organizational politics on work-related depression. On the contrary, there was no empirical support for the mediating role of exhaustion. Management implications of the findings, limitations of the study, and avenues for future research are discussed. © 2012 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.