Effects of attitudes vs experience of workplace fun on employee behaviors : Focused on Generation Y in the hospitality industry

Purpose – The aim of this study is to reveal how Generation Y employees' attitude toward workplace fun affects their experienced workplace fun, job satisfaction, task performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors toward individuals (OCBI) in the hospitality business context. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual model of this study was tested based on responses from 234 hospitality students in the USA who are Generation Yers and had worked in the hospitality industry for more than three months. Findings – This study revealed that Generation Y employees' attitude toward workplace fun positively affects their experienced workplace fun. In turn, Generation Yers' experienced workplace fun showed positive direct effects on their job satisfaction, task performance, and OCBI. Research limitations/implications – First, the older Gen. Yers who are 26 or older were underrepresented in this study. Also, Gen. Yers who are less than college educated are not included in this study. Second, a nation‐wide economic crisis in the USA may affect college students' attitude toward workplace fun, making them more serious about work. Practical implications – The management in hospitality businesses needs to foster fun‐loving cultures to get rid of any unnecessary guilt feeling of having fun at work among employees, and thus fully enjoy the positive effects of workplace fun in the organization. Originality/value – This study is the first to empirically test how hospitality employees' attitude toward workplace fun affects their job performance.