Accounting for changing times: Aligning human resource practices to employees' nonwork lives

Many societal and demographic changes are occurring in the current workforce. These changes include a shortage of work age employees, changes in family structure, increased women in the labor pool, changes in societal values, and so on. As a result, hospitality organizations are faced with new challenges and can respond to these changes through effective human resource management. This article discusses the current trend toward increasing human resource management practices (benefits and services) that affect employees' nonwork lives. Specifically, this article provides some of the historical context of organizations that have influenced employees' off-the-job lives. It explores why employer involvement in employee nonwork lives has become an important issue, and presents current research on the study of employer influence through human resource management practices, in employee nonwork lives. It addresses the importance of this issue for hospitality, and recommends future research.