Assessment of ergonomic problems and prevalence of pain among low wage hotel housekeepers in Orlando

Abstract

All companies in the lodging industry require hotel housekeeper cleaning services, which vary depending on the type of business. Overall, hotel cleaners are predominantly women, immigrants, and minorities working under difficult conditions, including long hours, ergonomic strain, chemical exposure, poor pay, low job control, job insecurity, and a wide array of other physical and mental health risks. Hotel employees have higher rates of occupational injuries and sustain more severe injuries than most other service workers. The current research on occupational injuries and illness suggests that very little scholarly work has been published in the domain of hotel housekeepers’ health and safety to date. Firstly, the study examined the relationship between the time taken to clean rooms and ergonomic problems, and it was found that ergonomic problems cause maximum time taken by housekeepers to clean rooms. Secondly, the study finds a relationship between the prevalence of pain and race. The applied implications of the research findings are provided.

Keywords:

• hotel housekeepers
• ergonomic problems
• pain
• low wages
• lodging industry