Research Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management (RJHTM)

COVID-19 Exposure & Reporting for Work: The Case of Central Florida’s Theme Park Operations Employees

Abstract

This exploratory study describes circumstances during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic where theme park operation employees had to make the difficult decision to stay home to quarantine or go to work sick. Using 35 semi structured interviews with Central Florida theme park operations employees, the research results reveal emerging qualitative themes regarding the employees' ability to chose between staying home to quarantine or going to work sick. The themes include challenging financial situations, fear of layoffs/furloughs, and lack of sick time being major obstacles for theme park employees to stay home from work during the COVID-19 pandemic.