Nonfinancial employment commitment among Muslims and Jews in Israel: examination of the core–periphery model on majority and minority groups

PurposeThe Nonfinancial employment commitment (NFEC) of Muslims in general, and of Arab Muslims in particular, has not yet been studied. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to fill this gap by exploring the NFEC among Arab Muslims in Israel and comparing it to that of Jews in Israel.Design/methodology/approachThe most common indicator of NFEC is the classic “Lottery Question,” which asked whether an individual would continue or stop working if they won a lottery or inherited a large sum of money. The sample included 215 Muslims and 898 Jews representing the Israeli labor force.FindingsThe findings reveal higher NFEC among Arab Muslims, particularly among women, compared to Jews. Muslims and Jews in urban areas have a lower NFEC then those who live in smaller localities. Among both Jews and Muslims, NFEC significantly increases with education level and income.Social implicationsNFEC is an important measure of the work ethic. A high NFEC of Arab Muslims, especially among women, reflects a high nonactualized potential for Western societies integrating Arab Muslim immigrants and refugees into the labor market.Originality/valueThe authors adapted the core–periphery model and found that it could explain the authors’ findings regarding NFEC differences among ethnoreligious groups in different residential areas. As the authors indicated before, it is the first time that NFEC of Arab Muslims has been studied.

Omani tourism and hospitality students’ employment intentions and job preferences

Purpose This paper aims to assess receptiveness for Tourism and Hospitality as a career path among students in the Tourism Department of Sultan Qaboos University (College of Arts and Social Sciences), located in the Sultanate of Oman. The following objectives were identified to achieve this aim: assess respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality employment; respondents’ tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors; and respondents’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather data and measure respondents’ perceptions of the subject under investigation. Survey questions were developed from the literature reviewed which provided the framework for the questionnaire. The questionnaire comprises four different question categories: general information; students’ general perception of tourism and hospitality employment; and tourism and hospitality employment commitment factors; students’ perceptions of tourism and hospitality jobs. Data were tested for normality of distribution; then, means were used for data description and ranking; thereafter, the independent-samples t-test and analysis of variance were conducted to test for significance between groups of respondents; the level of significance used was p ≤ 0.05. Findings The paper revealed that nearly 41 per cent of the students will continue working in tourism and hospitality for some time. For them, working in the industry is a step on the way, but is not a career path. Only 21.6 per cent are willing to consider tourism and hospitality as their long-term chosen career path. Tourism and hospitality students’ perceptions of the industry tend to be negatively affected as they progress in their study plan. Commitment to employment in Tourism and Hospitality is shaped by four major interrelated factor categories: industry, personality, education and society. The Omani tourism and hospitality industry was not able to project an image that could generate interest among Omanis. Consequently, very few graduates join the Tourism and Hospitality job market, leading to shortages in Omani workers in the industry. The major drawback of such trend is the inability to achieve the Omanization planned figures. Originality/value The findings are intended to assist tourism and hospitality educators, employers and policymakers better understand students’ future employment intentions.

Individual Orientations and Career Satisfaction

This study examines the relationships between two different types of individual orientation (i.e., protean career orientation and employment commitment) and career satisfaction. Drawing on self-determination theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that work engagement and self-efficacy act as mediators in the above relationships. Several hypotheses are developed and tested with a sample of 222 employees in Hong Kong. The results of path analysis and bootstrapping indicated that both protean career orientation and employment commitment are positively related to career satisfaction, and these relationships are fully mediated by work engagement and self-efficacy.