TOURISM MANAGEMENT

Balancing the clock: How predictive scheduling laws influence employee satisfaction in the U.S. tourism and hospitality industry

Yang, Yang; Tan, Karen Pei-Sze; Liu, Yi Vanessa

Abstract

As more U.S. jurisdictions implement predictive scheduling (PS) laws for selected industries, more employers are required to provide employees with advance notice of work schedules. We evaluate the impact of these laws on employee satisfaction in tourism and hospitality by building on the job demands-resources theory. Using U.S. Glassdoor reviews from current employees at 173 tourism and hospitality firms, we exploit the staggered adoption of PS laws and implement a difference-in-differences research design with high-dimensional fixed effects. Results indicate that exposure to PS laws is associated with a statistically significant increase in employee satisfaction. This is most pronounced among employees with less than 3 years at the company, particularly those in the restaurant (vs. hotel vs. foodservice contract companies vs. others) sector working in low to mid-level skills positions and engaging in back-of-house (vs. front-of-house vs. mixed) roles. Findings are robust across various checks, confirming PS laws as a job resource.

Keywords

Predictive scheduling; Tourism and hospitality employees; Employee satisfaction; Business types; Customer orientation; Job tenure; Skill level

Research topic

AI and Big Data, Digital Platform and Pricing

Research method

Econometrics, Big Data

Geographic area

US

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Extra Information

Data Tool on Predictive Scheduling and Employee Satisfaction  [link]

Additional links for this paper

ResearchGate

Publisher Website

Web of Science

HOW TO CITE

Yang, Y., Tan, K., and Liu, Y. (2026). Balancing the clock: How predictive scheduling laws influence employee satisfaction in the U.S. tourism and hospitality industry. Tourism Management, 116, 105419

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