The development of a calling by hospitality employees during an extreme event

This study explores the development of a calling by hospitality employees during extreme events. Despite the importance of a calling in the hospitality industry, the process of its cultivation has not been explored. Using event system theory and research on sensegiving and sensemaking, we explore the evolution of employee perceptions of an extreme event and the impact of this evolution on the development of a calling. Our interviews with hotel employees who worked during a lockdown due to COVID-19 demonstrate that extreme events can stimulate and develop a calling among employees, particularly when their perceptions of the event converge. This study contributes to the literature on hospitality and organizational behavior by revealing that an extreme event can shape, transmit, and communalize a calling among employees. • Pivotal moments in an event can strengthen and spread calling among employees. • Event system theory was used to examine the emergence of employee calling. • Managers’ sensegiving of a calling can influence employees. • Employees’ sensemaking of a calling can lead to congruence in event perceptions. • Congruence in employees’ event perception is linked with their enactment of calling.