The inverted U-shaped relationship between employment quality and subjective well-being among tourism workers: Evidence from China

Although prior tourism research has extensively examined tourist well-being, the well-being of tourism workers, who constitute the backbone of the industry, has received comparatively limited attention. Using microdata from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS), this empirical study examines the effect of employment quality on the subjective well-being of tourism workers and further explores the underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal a notable departure from the linear relationship commonly assumed in the existing literature: rather than increasing linearly, workers’ well-being exhibits a pronounced inverted U-shaped association with employment quality. Further analysis grounded in Social Cognitive Theory suggests that improvements in well-being depend not only on objective enhancements in employment quality but also on workers’ subjective cognitive processes, in which perceived social fairness, perceived socioeconomic status, and emotional states play pivotal roles. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis indicates that this relationship varies across employment types: the well-being of self-employed tourism workers increases linearly with employment quality, whereas that of salaried tourism workers follows the classic inverted U-shaped pattern. This study extends the scope of well-being research within the tourism labor market and offers important policy implications for improving worker welfare in a differentiated manner and promoting the sustainable development of the industry.