Decent Work or Decent Enough? Blue-Collar Employees' Experiences in the Swedish Hospitality Sector

Sammanfattning

Purpose This study examines how blue-collar employees in hotels and restaurants in Sweden experience decent work and how these working conditions shape their in-role and extra-role behaviours.The study focuses on physically demanding operational roles that are often grouped under broader categories of frontline or operational employees. Method The study adopts a qualitative approach based on 20 semi-structured interviews. The decent work in hospitality (DWH) framework, employee behavioural typology, and social exchange theory guided the analysis. The interview data were analysed using primarily deductive thematic analysis. Results The findings show that decent work was experienced unevenly across the eight DWH dimensions. Employees valued respect, teamwork, flexibility, safety routines, and informal learning, but also described physical and emotional pressure, low pay, limited development,job insecurity, weak voice, and migrant-related vulnerability. In-role behaviours were generally maintained as required duties, although weak work conditions increased strain and reduced sustainability. Extra-role behaviours were more conditional and sensitive to fairness, support,recognition, workload, belonging, and workplace relationships. Theoretical implications/contributions The study contributes by applying a blue-collar lens to physically demanding hospitality work.It also shows that Social Exchange Theory only partly explains employee behaviour, as behavioural responses were also shaped by role obligation, professional responsibility, power imbalance, work-group reciprocity, and personal service values. Practical implications Hospitality managers should not treat continued performance as proof that working conditions are decent. Managers should reduce avoidable strain through realistic staffing, fair workload distribution, usable breaks, safe equipment, and careful shift planning. They should also strengthen employee voice, development opportunities, respectful communication, and recognition of extra-role behaviours.