The effect of the perceptions of corporate social responsibility of employees in food and beverage departments in five star hotels on their work engagement levels: A study in UNESCO gastronomy city Afyonkarahisar

Businesses operating in the tourism industry, especially hotel businesses, are businesses that human labor is at the forefront, in other words, the workforce is at least as important as capital. Because the basic principle in tourism management is to meet the needs of the guests and to provide services that will provide satisfaction. Achieving guest satisfaction is mostly related to the attitudes and behaviors of the employees. However, due to different reasons, many businesses and employees are faced with the problem of work engagement. Therefore, this situation leads to negative results for businesses and employees. For this reason, researchers have examined different factors that may affect the level of work engagement. In this study, it is aimed to determine the effect of employees' perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on their work engagement, based on the importance of determining the factors that affect the level of work engagement. In addition, it is aimed to determine the differentiation status of the employees' perception of CSR and the level of work engagement according to personal characteristics. The theoretical framework was established first, in accordance with these objectives. Application phase, data were collected using the survey technique. The population of the research was formed by employees of the food and beverage department of the five-star hotel businesses in UNESCO Gastronomy City Afyonkarahisar. It was determined that there were a total of 241 employees in the population of study and the data were collected with the full count method. The obtained data were analyzed by factor analysis, reliability analysis, percentage, frequency and arithmetic mean values, t test, analysis of variance, correlation analysis and regression analysis methods. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was determined that the CSR perception of the employees had a significant effect on their level of work engagement. Additionally, it was found that CSR perception and level of work engagement of the employees differed in terms of their personal characteristics. As a result, this research shows the relationship between employees' perception of CSR and their level of work engagement, and contributes to the literature in this respect. Keywords: Corporate social responsibilty, work engagement, food and beverage department, Afyonkarahisar, UNESCO gastronomy city