Resumen de Identifying Factors That Influence Hospitality Students' Willingness to Work With Older Employees

Yun Ying Zhong, Jean L. Hertzman

• Ageism and age diversity are emerging challenges for the hospitality and tourism industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate hospitality students� willingness to work with older employees. The research results showed that students� willingness to work with older workers was significantly correlated with contact frequency and quality, and aging anxiety. Surprisingly, Asian students are less willing to work with older employees than American students. These findings indicate that hospitality students can have intergenerational issues at their workplace, regardless of their cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it highlights the need for hospitality and tourism programs to adopt pedagogical methods, including intergenerational service learning, to address the issue.