Facilitating Work Engagement Through Perceived Organisational Support: The Mediating Role of Servant Leadership in Hotels

The hotel sector is characterized by an array of issues conducive to employee disengagement. These include problems of low wages, unstable shift working hours, unclear career structures, autocratic leadership style, long working hours, gender discrimination, tribal discrimination, stress, and burnout, among others. In a quest to explore and alleviate the above predicaments, the current study assessed the influence of perceived organisational support on work engagement, mediated by servant leadership. The interrelationships among servant leadership, perceived organisational support, and work engagement remain unexplored especially in Zimbabwe’s hospitality sector, limiting the development of contextually grounded models for improving employee performance and retention. Using a quantitative research approach, the study’s research objectives were to: (1) assess the effect of perceived organisational support on servant leadership, (2) determine the effect of servant leadership on work engagement, (3) examine the effect of perceived organisational support on work engagement, and (4) establish the mediating role of servant leadership on the relationship between perceived organisational support and work engagement. The study used a closed-ended questionnaire to collect data from 218 participants working in the hotel sector. Clustered sampling technique was applied. Findings revealed that perceived organisational support has a positive influence on work engagement. It was established that perceived organisational support necessitates work engagement. It was also confirmed that servant leadership enhances work engagement. Furthermore, it was attested that servant leadership positively mediates the relationship between perceived organisational support and work engagement. The study recommends that human resources managers implement policies and initiatives that demonstrate care for employee well-being and value their contributions.