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In a culturally diverse environment, such as that found in South Africa it is imperative that one understands the dynamic elements that make us all different. As these differences influence the way individuals behave, it will influence their interaction in the workplace. The aim of this article is to reflect on the diversity issues as captured in a study conducted on operational level work teams in the security industry. One should expect to find substantial diversity problems where individuals, who traditionally do not have a history of mixing, are now working together to achieve organizational goals.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of organisational culture on job stress and burnout in graded accommodation establishments. The demanding nature of work in the hospitality industry (e.g. long hours and shift work) renders job stress and burnout, a persisting challenge for the industry. Employees that are constantly subjected to a challenging work environment may experience increased levels of job stress and burnout or even leave the industry entirely. The Free State province of South Africa has a well-established hospitality sector, and this investigation shows the extent to which job stress and burnout are mitigated by a favourable organisational culture.

A structured questionnaire was administered to 46 graded accommodation establishments in the two main economic clusters (Bloemfontein and Clarens) of the Free State province of South Africa. The investigation was quantitative in nature and the robust competing values framework (CVF) was used as conceptual guide.

The findings indicate that graded accommodation establishments had a predominantly Rational Culture, which points to strong external positioning and competitiveness. Correlation and regression analyses further confirmed that although the Rational Culture does have a mitigating effect on job stress and burnout, the values associated with the Group Culture and Developmental Culture exert an even stronger mitigating effect.

Managers need to establish a flexible, employee-oriented work environment where employees are allowed to be innovative and entrepreneurial.

The main causes of job stress and burnout in accommodation establishments revolve around the intense customer focus of the industry and the subsequent performance expected from employees.