Building Self and Community: The Career Experiences of a Hotel Executive Housekeeper

Whilst psychological contracts have received significant attention, how they work across a career, in particular how they work in labour intense low-paid industries, has been less explicitly considered. This paper explores the intersection of psychological contract theory and emotional labour with gender, race and ethnicity in the context of hotel housekeeping. It draws from the career history of an Executive Housekeeper who has been employed at one hotel for 35 years. Findings elucidate the considerable investment she makes into building a sense of community amongst her staff, and how this has contributed to her own positive psychological contract over the last 35 years during her career at the hotel. What emerges is evidence of several context-specific events that have shaped her psychological contract, namely labour market trends, the development of a workplace culture influenced strongly by Samoan culture, and the concept of family.