Effects of Work-Family Conflict and Work-Family Facilitation on Employee Burnout during COVID-19 in the Thai Hotel Industry

An aspect neglected in the hotel industry is the work-family connection of the staff members, which has been depleted especially after the 'Phuket Sandbox' model in Phuket, Thailand was implemented, many hotels started to operate with a limited number of staff to provide high-quality service. This caused hotel employees to be under high pressure, and is a prime factor in leading to burnout. This research investigates the effects of work -family conflict (WFC) and work-family facilitation (WFF) on employee burnout and examines the effects of marital status and job function on WFC and employee burnout. This research used survey questionnaires to collect data from 420 hotel employees working at safety and health administration plus (SHA) certified hotels in Phuket. The results showed by the structural equation model indicate that WFC is positively related (beta = .53, p < .001) while WFF is negatively related (beta = -.16, p < .001) with employee burnout. Furthermore, job function was found to have a significant effect on WFC (beta = .11, p = .02), as was marital status on burnout (beta = .12, p < .001). However, both job function and burnout (beta = .06, p = .11) and marital status and WFC (beta = -.05, p = .27) were found not to be significant. In terms of behavioral science, these findings would benefit hotels and employees as the hotels could help minimize employee burnout by helping to maintain the balance between the employee's work and family life to remain productive and efficient during a crisis.