Work motivation, job burnout, and employment aspiration in hospitality and tourism students—An exploration using the self-determination theory

This study aims to examine a proposed structural equation model (SEM) using three constructs—work motivation, job burnout, and employment aspiration among hospitality and tourism (H&T) students. Participants comprised 927 students enroled in hospitality and tourism study programmes who had completed the relevant internships. They were asked to complete a questionnaire, which included the Work Motivation Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and one dichotomous question regarding their willingness to return to the H&T industry. Goodness-of-fit indices verified that the proposed SEM was appropriate for interpreting the relationships between the variables. This study revealed that, in general, the higher an individual's intrinsic motivation, the lower his/her job burnout will be. However, amotivation and introjected regulation did not have significant effects on job burnout. Instead, integrated regulation proved to be the strongest predictor of job burnout, and the reason for this was possibly linked to diminished personal accomplishment. Finally, job burnout did not correlate with H&T students' willingness to pursue careers in the H&T industry.