Research on the mechanism of linking time pressure to career growth among hotel employees

Research overlooks how and why identical cognitive appraisals of time pressure translate into divergent coping behaviors. Drawing upon the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this study investigates the mechanisms linking time pressure to the career growth of frontline hotel employees. Utilizing a three-wave time-lagged design, we collected survey data from 323 frontline hotel employees in China and analyzed it using PLS-SEM via SmartPLS 4.0. The results reveal that challenge appraisal and hindrance appraisal play differentiated mediating roles between time pressure and career growth, with job crafting serving as a crucial behavioral bridge in the transformation from stress appraisal to career growth. Furthermore, achievement motivation significantly moderates this transformation from stress appraisal to job crafting behavior. This study provides empirical evidence for the hospitality industry to implement differentiated stress management and employee development interventions.