The Sabotage Tendency Induced By Anger in Tourism Employees: The Role of Moral Ownership

The tourism sector is arguably one of the industries where the socioeconomic differences between service providers and recipients are particularly visible. This research takes a phenomenological perspective to delve into the feelings of "class-based anger" and "relative deprivation" spawned by the inequalities that tourism personnel endure within luxury hotel settings. The study intends to scrutinize how this accumulation of negative emotions morphs into "service sabotage" and the regulatory function of "moral ownership" in this process. In-depth interviews were carried out with 45 participants employed at 5-star hotels across Antalya, Muğla, Cappadocia, and Istanbul. Furthermore, the analysis underscores that 'perceived overqualification' among university-educated staff in operational roles severely exacerbates their sense of relative deprivation. The findings reveal that the economic comparisons and the sense of invisibility experienced by the staff translate into a silent resistance, manifested through passive and active sabotage acts. Nevertheless, it has been evidenced that for employees possessing a high level of moral ownership, this sentiment acts as buffering influence, preventing their anger from deteriorating into destructive sabotage actions. Overall, the study reconceptualizes service production in tourism as a setting where economic inequality and ethical tensions become visible.