Hotel general managers’ quality of life and its impact on organisational sustainability and corporate social responsibility initiatives

Purpose The objectives of the study are to assess the application of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in three hotel companies of similar standing by interviewing the unit general managers and to analyse the well-being of the three general managers and explore if their CSR initiatives align with the dimensions of quality of life and well-being. The article concludes with a review of the likely impact of employee well-being on the concept of the circular economy and overall sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Explores the potential relationship between the well-being of hotel general managers and its impact on the CSR initiatives of their hotels, three luxury hotels located in Dubai, Portugal and India provide case study examples. The hotels are similar in size and scale of operations and are positioned as leisure hotels. All three hotels have a workforce of 300–400 employees on permanent contracts with an additional 150–200 on temporary contracts. This is indicative of the significant responsibilities of general managers in fostering well-being in the workplace. Findings Findings suggest that a hotel general manager’s own well-being does not necessarily translate into high levels of CSR activity at the unit level. However, case study analysis of the three hotels seems to indicate a correlation between enhanced sustainable initiatives and competitive advantage that is advantageous for the businesses. Originality/value Using a combination of the positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, achievement (PERMA) well-being profiler and three in-depth interviews, this study examines the relationship between well-being, as measured by PERMA, CSR practices, and awareness of CSR implementation. In addition, the potential role of the circular economy is considered in fostering hospitality for employee well-being.