A Marcusean philosophy for restoring workplace dignity, and curbing the excesses of capitalism and the dehumanisation of labour: lessons for the hospitality Industry

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe the importance of intermingling and ultimately establishing organizational development initiatives based on a Marcusean humanistic paradigm. The interminable pursuit of the bottom-line is promoting a highly curtailed understanding of what it means to be a human being. A humanistic approach has been replaced by undeliverable employer expectations in a labouroriented architype, which has led to de-humanising and ultimately enslaving of employees and nonsustainable organizations. Things which employees assume to be reasonable, are essentially far more unreasonable than they like to acknowledge. The dialectical nature of contemporary socio-economic developments in workplaces, including inter alia, the interminable pursuit of the maximization of value and profits, invariably leads to a curtailed understanding of employees as human beings. In this ethos there is an irrational nature in many of the things employers and employees take for granted. Capitalist societies in particular, oppress employees and reason and justice are subverted by the apparent attraction of materialism and accessible technological advances in a consumerist society. Employers need to promote humanistic organizational change initiatives in which they are generally more satisfied with their jobs at the start of their careers, and this is despite high levels of apparent stress. Unfortunately, the trend is for them to eventually develop a strong dislike for their chosen career. Hotel managers are urged to seek-out the reasons for negative perceptions and encouraged to develop strategies to mitigate employee attrition. The plethora of reasons for employee burnout require urgent attention if the industry is to remain sustainable. While human resources in hospitality are developing rapidly, the industry is still faced with the problem of a shortage of qualified personnel as there is a perception that the industry is far too stressful to work in. Service quality, management skills and the quality of employees are not enough, employees are simply unable to meet the needs of the industry due to stress and burnout. Recommendations are made based on a Marcusean philosophy, to promote a constructive and mutually optimistic work environment in which organizational leadership seeks to humanise the workplace, build capacity in employees, and foster integrity, innovation, empathy, trust and true empowerment. The need to create a more inclusive and human workplace that truly values individuals, and which does not steal their private time, is great, and this is significant when it comes to the ultimate desired growth and sustainability of an organization.