A study of age discrimination at hotel and tourism workplaces in greater Cairo, Egypt

Abstract EN

Age discrimination seems to be more common than any other form of discrimination.

Given that older workers are increasingly participating in the labor market in developed countries, it is important to understand the views of employers and employees on working age.

However, the perception of older workers has changed dramatically in the past decade.

In recent years, although the literature on age discrimination in employment has increased, there is a lack of research exploring age discrimination in hotels and tourism sectors.

Objective : The aim of this study is to identify the most important factors that help hotels and tourism companies to create an age-friendly working environment.

Method : This study was carried out by a quantitative method across ten hotels and ten tourism companies in Greater Cairo, Egypt.

This study used self-administered and web-based questionnaires, developed based on previous research, resulting in 112 usable responses.

Six factors emerged from the survey data after exploratory factor analysis, representing a shared view of an age-friendly workplace.

Employees chose ‘Fairness and equality’ as the most significant factor to establish a working environment free from age discrimination.

Results : The study examined the differences in perceptions of these six factors.

Finally, quantitative data have been organized into an age-friendly workplace factors that supports tourism and hospitality companies to establish working environment free from age-related discrimination between their employees.

Discussion and Implications : This study's scale may be useful to the researchers in the field of ageism at work.

Moreover, the implications of using this concept in future empirical research on age-friendliness at work are considered.