Constructing the hospitality superstar in restaurant dining rooms

ABSTRACT The need for competent hospitality workers is significant for the sustainable development of the restaurant industry. However, with the recurring challenges of recruiting and retaining a competent workforce, there is a need to understand how employers portray and communicate hospitality work in the recruitment process. Therefore, this study examines how employers construct the image of the hospitality worker, by analyzing what job advertisements signal and communicate to the applicants. Through thematic analysis of 100 job advertisements in Sweden, we found that the ideal hospitality worker is an individualized team player with occupational passion. This means that social capacities and commitment to hospitality and gastronomy, factors that are difficult to measure, are of relevance to gaining employment. Additionally, by asking for social capacities, the distance between work and leisure is diminished and the employee is constructed as a commodity for the purpose of improving service. In contrast to the common image that hospitality work is work that anyone could do, we conclude that the qualifications for becoming a hospitality worker in the restaurant industry are fairly complex.


Introduction
Before the Covid pandemic, the restaurant industry in Sweden as well as globally was struggling with recruiting and maintaining a competent and long-lasting workforce (Baum, 2015;Cassel et al., 2018;King et al., 2021;Lundmark, 2020;Wellton et al., 2017;Wellton & Lainpelto, 2021).On a general note, one might argue that the commercial restaurant industry can be viewed in two ways: on one hand, the industry is filled with companies that strive for business success, but on the other hand, it is also an industry that is poorly regarded in a larger societal context.Dining room work especially has a history of low status, in particular since the profession has been transformed from a masculine craft with a relatively high status to a feminized, low-status profession (Jonsson et al., 2008).Instead of the dining room workers, it is commonly the restaurant chefs who now possess credibility and have become a symbol of the business operation (Jönsson, 2013;Neuman, 2018).
Yet, it is the employees working in the dining room, who embody and perform hospitality in front of the guests, who arguably have become the visible symbols of the company.For instance, how dining room workers actually perform hospitality is crucial to maintaining the restaurant's reputation (Lashley, 2008).Thus, the tasks must be performed in line with the restaurant company's competitive strategies.However, as already indicated above, dining room positions are often portrayed as low-skilled employment opportunities (Durrani & Rajagopal, 2016;Erickson, 2004), which in turn can be mirrored in the traditional issue of staff turnover.The restaurant industry's staff turnover between 2019 and 2020 was 42 per cent, which is the highest of all industries in Sweden (Svenskt Näringsliv/The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, 2021).Structural challenges with low-paying jobs, uncomfortable working hours and stressful, unsafe workplaces with bad caring climates have been argued to be reasons why restaurant work is often seen as a temporary solution for employees while looking for better employment opportunities (Baum, 2019;Brown et al., 2015;Gjerald et al., 2021;Namin et al., 2022;Ram, 2018;Richardson, 2009).Because of the challenge of retaining a workforce, the application requirements are generally minimal and almost no formal qualifications are required to work in the restaurant industry (Baum, 2015;Richardson, 2009).This gives support to the argument that restaurant work is defined by a hospitable context, which suggests that it is work that anyone can do.Contrary to this, the increased demand for dining out has also increased the competition between businesses and made the differentiation of restaurants, and employees' knowledge of hospitality, more important (BFUF, 2018(BFUF, , 2021;;Styvén et al., 2022).Therefore, it can be argued that employees' knowledge of the products served and hospitality performed must be prioritized in the recruiting process.

Review of job advertisement studies in the context of hospitality
One way to attract applicants to a position in the dining room is by announcing job vacancies through advertising (Dermody, 2002;Ladkin & Buhalis, 2016).Well-written job advertisements can lead to the hiring of adequate employees (Keung & Pine, 2000), while badly written advertisements can result in ill-suited candidates applying, or even no applicants at all (Durrani & Rajagopal, 2016).Strategies for attracting ideal employees could be carried out through the use of key phrases, images, slogans and taglines to signal desirable characteristics in future recruits (Keung & Pine, 2000;Warhurst et al., 2000).Previous research on job advertisements in hospitality contexts has shown that employers in the event industry are looking for employees who fit the company's vision and working culture, thus judging not only the applicants' skills and professional experiences (Dashper, 2013).Furthermore, in the hotel sector, the occupational requirements show that jobseekers should be self-motivated, independent and in a few cases creative and market oriented (Keung & Pine, 2000).While most of the research related to hospitality work has pointed out that flexibility and social qualifications play roles in employability (Leidner, 1999;Lundmark, 2020;Nickson et al., 2005;Seymour, 2000;Valkonen et al., 2013;Warhurst et al., 2000;Williams & Connell, 2010), little research in the context of hospitality work has focused on what job descriptions in job advertisements actually symbolize and, furthermore, on what the hiring organizations communicate to potential employees through job advertisements.While the number of studies of job advertisements is limited in the hospitality industry, these studies provide insights not only into organizations and the labor market (Arcodia et al., 2020;Robinson et al., 2010), but also, through the use of signaling theory, into what these organizations signal to potential employees (Spence, 1973).
The aim of this study is thus to understand how hospitality workers are portrayed in job advertisements, by using the Swedish government's official recruitment website.As a result, the dining room staff in restaurants will henceforth be defined as hospitality workers, creating consistency with both the occupational categorization in the employment service's database of job advertisements and previous literature on the subject.By using job advertisements on this platform, this study seeks to understand how the archetype of the ideal hospitality worker is constructed.
This paper initially examines the literature on concepts such as hospitableness, emotional labor and aesthetic labor, as seen in the context of hospitality work in restaurants and its employment process.Signaling theory (Spence, 1973) is subsequently used in relation to job advertisements in order to frame the characteristics of the employees.Findings of the study are structured using thematic analysis and show that the ideal hospitality worker is constructed to be an individualized team player with occupational passion.In the discussion, the required characteristics of the applicants are examined as commodities, in that they frame the hospitality worker as a commercialized object.

The construction of hospitality work and hospitableness
Hospitality work, performed by dining room workers at restaurants, refers to hospitality workers' commitment to their guests' well-being (Lashley, 2008).This work involves meeting and serving guests in the dining room, including entertaining and providing food and/or beverages (Hemmington, 2007;Lashley, 2008;Lugosi, 2008).In other words, such a work description is based on the idea of the simultaneous production and consumption of services based on face-to-face interactions (Lugosi, 2008).A hospitality worker who displays skillfulness and makes the guests feel satisfied could be seen as a good host.However, it does not necessarily signify that the hospitality is genuinely acted (Brotherton, 1999).According to Telfer (2017), genuinely acted hospitality arises only when the performance is done through acts of hospitableness, that is, with an altruistic motive to please, meet needs and entertain.Hospitableness is therefore a trait that comes naturally to some people, regardless of whether it is in a situation where hosting is expected or not (Telfer, 2017).The quality of being hospitable is thus a desirable trait in terms of recruiting suitable employees, since authentic and pure hospitality by definition improves the guests' quality of stay, and consequently benefits the organization (Blain & Lashley, 2014;O'Connor, 2005).Yet, as it is an inherent trait, hospitableness might be easier to identify in practice rather than to observe in recruitment processes (Blain & Lashley, 2014;Tasci & Semrad, 2016).
The concept of hospitableness in a commercial context has raised discussions in the hospitality literature because of the money transactions involved in the performance, where profit has been argued to be the only motive for interacting with guests (Lashley, 2008;Ritzer, 2007).For Telfer (2017), genuinely acted hospitality is given without any expectation of getting anything in return, and it is more likely to occur in non-commercial contexts.As such, drawing inspiration from private experiences has been argued to be a successful strategy for improving the delivery of good experiences of hospitality to restaurant guests (Lashley, 2008).The strategy of hiring hospitable employees can be seen in the light of improving the profit of an organization through the creation of both satisfied guests and return business (Lashley, 2015).Therefore, the interest in hiring employees who are genuinely hospitable should be of significance to a restaurant organization (Blain & Lashley, 2014;Telfer, 2017).

Emotional and aesthetic labor in the context of hospitality work
The question of what abilities employers are looking for when hiring hospitality workers has primarily been assessed based on the notion of employees' emotional adaptability to service encounter requirements.A frequent way to assess requirements for this adaptability is tied to the framework of Hochschild's (1983Hochschild's ( /2012) theory of emotional labor (e.g.Humphrey et al., 2015;Mooney et al., 2016;Sandiford & Seymour, 2007;Seymour, 2000).This theory has been defined as the management of emotional expression, which employers require to be acted out as friendly and welcoming during service interactions, for the purpose of improving the guests' perceptions of hospitality (Leidner, 1999).It builds upon employees' required investment in emotions during service meetings, including the capacity to express feelings and use a certain mindset at the workplace, regardless of whether the emotions are genuine or not (Hochschild, 1983(Hochschild, /2012)).In other words, it is essential to the employers' requirements that the employees should demonstrate feelings they necessarily do not feel and, if needed, hide their actual feelings (Lainpelto & Lainpelto, 2012).The nature of emotional labor is therefore that the manipulation of emotions, as defined by Hochschild (1983Hochschild ( /2012)), becomes part of the business idea to increase corporate profit.Therefore, the kinds of emotions required by the employer depend upon the kind of service style the company wants to offer.According to Hochschild (1983Hochschild ( /2012)), the concept can be captured in two ways: surface acting and deep acting.An example of performing emotional labor through surface acting in the profession of hospitality work could be that the employee is smiling and pleasant to guests, despite feeling upset.On the other hand, deep acting means deeper engagement, where genuine emotions regarding the profession are of value to the interactions with guests.
A second way to assess requirements for employees' emotional adaptability to service encounters is linked to the concept of aesthetic labor (e.g.Genc & Akoglan Kozak, 2020;Nickson et al., 2005;Petersson Mcintyre, 2014;Wilson, 2019).The nature of aesthetic labor goes beyond the idea of only using emotions to make service meetings profitable to the company.The concept of aesthetic labor can be further expanded to include not only the embodiment of certain required emotions, but also the employee's recognition of the organization's philosophy, which in turn shapes how the service is defined (Witz et al., 2003).Contrary to emotional labor, i.e. performance through the management of feelings, the expression of aesthetic labor is deeper rooted and takes shape through a genuine interest in a phenomenon.In practice, this means that employers search for professionals who express dispositions that match the conceptualization of the organization (Williams & Connell, 2010).As the hospitality worker is expected to embody requested attributes to match the organization's interests in order to get hired (Zampoukos, 2021), the workers' characteristics, attributes and interests can be considered commodities.Therefore, the concepts of both emotional and aesthetic labor shed light on a commodification where feelings, passion and aesthetics are used as goods and thus as means of profit for the organization (Humphrey et al., 2015;Petersson Mcintyre, 2014;Warhurst et al., 2000).

Using signaling theory to understand job advertisements
Being hospitable and conducting emotional and/or aesthetic labor are often required qualifications in hospitality work, and an additional way to understand this is arguably by studying job advertisements through the lens of signaling theory.Signaling theory can be helpful in analyzing communication between the potential employee and the hiring organization (Connelly et al., 2011;Spence, 1973), which this study approaches through job advertisements.Signaling theory focuses on the importance of signals sent by the jobseeker or employer in order to communicate an image of who the applicant might be or how the organization is represented (Spence, 1973).This includes awareness of how to represent, for example, an organization, and furthermore, of how the job applicant should interpret the information given by an organization (Connelly et al., 2011).The information published, in this case through job advertisements, is a key factor in signaling theory, since it enables the potential applicant to interpret and understand the organization (restaurant) and the associated duties regarding the profession (Connelly et al., 2011).The signals could, for instance, be specific characteristics needed for being employed.Characteristics describing an occupation or an organization give signals to the potential employee, in addition to how the organization is represented by the recruiter (Karasek & Bryant, 2012).For example, specific requested skills might signal certain competences needed or, as Karasek and Bryant (2012) suggested, independence in the job could signal opportunities to explore a position through one's own initiative and interests.This theory implies that these signals enable the employee, as well as the employer, to set themselves apart from other employees or employers (Spence, 1973).Furthermore, the signals are part of constructing the image the employer and employee themselves want to advertise.In attracting suitable applicants to a certain workplace, the signals could be communicated through the staff recruiter, the personality requested or the location of the organization (Karasek & Bryant, 2012).Therefore, the communication through job advertisements signals how an organization is portrayed and also how the ideal employee is represented in advertisements to fit into the organization.

Method
This study is a document analysis of job advertisements regarding hospitality work for the purpose of gaining insights into how the ideal hospitality worker is portrayed.The study of job advertisements can be helpful when it comes to analyzing organizations' ideas of occupations, including required personal traits and characteristics associated with a certain profession (Harper, 2012;Rafaeli & Oliver, 1998;Robinson et al., 2010).In this study, we understand job advertisements as portrayals of the ideal hospitality worker, as seen from the employer's perspective.The procedure in this study involved selecting, organizing and interpreting data contained in the job advertisements.The data can be seen as naturally occurring data, which means that the data exist independently of the study's intervention (Silverman, 2015).To arrange the material, thematic analysis has been used, drawing inspiration from the framework presented by Braun and Clarke (2006).

Data collection
The analysis includes 100 job advertisements collected from the Swedish government's official recruitment website, Platsbanken (https://arbetsformedlingen.se/platsbanken).To examine the job advertisements in-depth, the number of advertisements was limited to 100 (Harper, 2012).The advertisements were published during a six-month period from 31 July 2019 to 7 January 2020.In cases where the advertisements were not descriptive enough, or duplicated others, they were excluded from the analysis.On this basis, fifteen advertisements were excluded.The sample selection followed purposive sampling with the following criteria: . The search phrase was "Hospitality worker" .The profession was located at restaurants in Sweden .The restaurants had table service (to focus the data on service interactions with guests) .The restaurants had either lunch and dinner or dinner only .The employment included seasonal employment or full-time employment In practice, the job advertisements were downloaded from the Internet and fed into the MAXQDA qualitative data analysis software as text documents.The software supported the organizing of the data.

Thematic analysis
The coding process was conducted in several steps, in line with Braun and Clarke (2006), and followed a data-driven process, searching for patterns in the material related to the research question (Bowen, 2009;Braun & Clarke, 2006).The first step in the coding process was becoming familiar with the material through reading the advertisements several times from beginning to end.In the second step, extracts were highlighted and potentially coded.These codes might consist of only a few words or of several sentences.In this step, as many codes as possible were searched for, and sometimes several codes were extracted from one individual passage.When the entire body of data had been coded, the result was a long list of a total of 277 codes, which initiated the next step, i.e. searching for themes.The codes were organized into potential themes and were systematically compared with each other to ensure their relevance (Braun & Clarke, 2006).For example, we initially had a subtheme with codes describing interests in food, beverages and service and codes describing knowing how to create meal experiences.However, in the subsequent step, this theme was split into two subthemes, as some of the codes described some kind of mindset while the others were about abstract skills.When the potential themes had been organized and we had several potential themes and subthemes, the fourth phase started.Here, the themes, codes and extracts were reviewed in collaboration with the co-authors and checked against the entire dataset (Braun & Clarke, 2006).This included collapsing themes into each other and revising the names of the themes.For instance, in the case of the subtheme team player, we first had three subthemes with codes involving descriptions of being a joy spreader, a role model and availability.As all these subthemes involved aspects of being a team player, we collapsed them into the subtheme team player.In some situations, the codes were not considered to be sufficient to represent a single theme.These codes were reorganized into other themes where they found better fits (Braun & Clarke, 2006).When the themes had been revised (see Table 1 for an example of how extracts became codes, subthemes and themes), the process of organizing a thematic map started, which included drawing lines and studying relationships between the themes.
In the fifth and final step, the thematic map of the analysis was fine-tuned and the final names of the themes and subthemes were identified (see Figure 1).
The analytical process was primarily carried out by this study's first author, who has an insider perspective as a hospitality worker.However, as noted by Braun and Clarke (2006), researchers can never fully exclude their own interests during the coding process; consequently, several researchers with different academic backgrounds took part in the analysis.The co-authors contributed perspectives from culinary arts/gastronomy, service science and service management, and subsequently took part in discussing the overall analysis.This aided in, at least partially, fostering academic diversity during the analysis.Ethical issues have been considered throughout this study.This follows a universal goal of qualitative research, which to a large extent is to reflect upon potential consequences the research may have for the participants involved in it (Tracy, 2010).However, in this study, no participants were exposed, and therefore no harm occurred.Furthermore, with regard to the purpose of this study, the names of the restaurants had no relevance to the analysis and have therefore not been included.In cases where the name of the restaurant appeared in the descriptions, pseudonyms were used to preserve confidentiality.

Results
The restaurants advertising for employees comprised both large restaurant business groups, such as hotels or pub chains, as well as independent restaurants offering casual dining.The analysis of the advertisements shows the complexity of the ideal hospitality worker, which is demonstrated by the diverse demands of the employers.This was, through the analysis, split into two themes (see Figure 1): on one hand, the individualized team player, with the subthemes the result-oriented self and the co-operator, and on the other hand, occupational passion, with the subthemes altruistic mindset, devotion to gastronomy and interpersonal service skill.Each theme and subtheme will be further examined in the coming sections.

The individualized team player
Contradictory by nature, this theme examines the duality of the collegial approach in the daily operations at the restaurant.The hospitality worker acts as an independent actor with individual agency, yet is able to function cooperatively with the restaurant team at large, which is why this theme came to be divided into two subthemes: the result-oriented self and the co-operator.These two seemingly conflicting employment requirements were found in a large number of the advertisements and illustrate the need to have strength and engagement as a professional in a working environment.This theme underlines the complexity of the ideal hospitality worker, that is, the ability to be both distanced and close to feelings and both supportive and independent in relation to others.

The result-oriented self
The subtheme the result-oriented self was expressed through a series of character traits that could contribute to the business's financial profitability.Examples of such traits include the need to be stress resilient, reliable and routinized.In the advertisements, the concept of being stress resilient was frequently described as confidence in making quick decisions when exposed to hectic situations and, moreover, as staying positive in these situations, which the following extract illustrates: We value a positive, ambitious and responsible attitude coupled with a strong stress resistance during hectic hours … .In other respects, it should be clarified that we occasionally have a very high pace in our restaurant, so it is important to be stress-resistant and willing to work hard and fast when needed.(Ad.29) The employee is also asked to be well-structured and organizedpreventive strategies that pay off in stressful situations, and in the long run aid the hospitality worker in achieving better results, which translates into a profit for the business.This monetary aspect was also expressed through wanting the employees to engage in up-selling and meeting set financial goals, which the following extract further illustrates: Contribute to the business by meeting targets and actively strive for up-selling.(Ad. 53) To succeed in fulfilling these ambitions, the employee has to be driven and confident in their role as a hospitality worker.Thus, being a result-oriented person, independently pushing harder and faster, is portrayed as a preferable trait in the job advertisements.

The co-operator
In the co-operator subtheme, the hospitality worker is described in terms of their relations with colleagues.The co-operator, in contrast to the result-oriented self, is characteristically a person who takes care of and spreads joy to the restaurant's guests and employees: You are easy-going in that you have always got laughter close at hand and in that you perhaps don't take yourself too seriously.In combination with your cool vibe, these qualities create a sense of calm and security.To you, service isn't an effort, it's just something you do without thinking twice in order to enhance others' experience, be they guests or colleagues.Having a lot of tasks at work motivates you, and you don't shy away from supporting your peers where and when needed.(Ad.2) It was exemplary to appreciate cooperating with others and feeling a connection with the others in the organization, to create an enjoyable work environment.The hospitality worker should act as a role model by supporting, coaching and generating security in the team.Being positive in relation to other team members was also desirable in order to create an appreciative working climate, which in the advertisements was described as "always keeping a smiling face", akin to the description in the previous subtheme.This subtheme also included the hospitality worker's availability to work.Availability was emphasized several times in the job advertisements by using the words "flexible" and "adaptable", which aimed both at flexibility in being prepared to work when needed and at being adaptable and capable in handling unexpected situations that might arise at work.Always being there to offer a helping hand to one's colleagues, the available hospitality worker is constantly on call and ready to assist when asked.

Occupational passion
The other major theme represented in the analysis contained descriptions of inherent characteristics corresponding to the occupation.These were experience and knowledge associated with service and gastronomy, as well interest in the restaurant field in general.These characteristics were directly linked to the employee's passion for the job, including, for example, passions for food, beverages and service delivery.This theme had three subthemes, i.e. interpersonal service skill, devotion to gastronomy and altruistic mindset, which had a common denominator in the subject of passion for the occupation, but differed in terms of practical and theoretical perspectives.

Interpersonal service skill
The desired psychological characteristics were expressed in terms of tacit knowledge of hospitality and meeting guests.Throughout the advertisements, the interpersonal skills of knowing how to create a good ambiance in order to improve guest experiences was underlined as important.This is illustrated in the following extract, where a particular charisma is suggested to be a key factor in improving hospitality: With your good mood and unique personality, you are able to create a warm and pleasant atmosphere for both employees and your guests.(Ad.45) These personality traits were often described on a more abstract level, such as possessing the sense of "good" or "natural" service.Without manifest explanations of what these words mean, the applicant should be aware of what defines good service.This desire for tacit knowledge in the service context does, though not explicitly, indicate a desire for previous service experience, as that is how the wanted characteristics grow and develop in an individual.The phenomenon of knowing how to deliver high-quality service was also understood by the use of the world "superstar", illustrated in the extract below: We appreciate that you are a hospitality superstar who understands the value and meaning of every individual guest's overall experience.(Ad. 22) Interpersonal service skills were also described as delivering high quality or having extraordinary competence during interactions with guests.Thus, the hospitality worker was suggested to have that "little extra" to create the best service atmosphere possible.

Devotion to gastronomy
Close to the interpersonal skill of delivering service was the devotion to gastronomy, which encompassed practical experience of restaurant employment and knowledge of food, beverages or service.Having previous working experience of the occupation as a hospitality worker was expressed in nearly all the advertisements.On occasion, the desire for experience could be specific with regards to, for example, having worked with table service, while sometimes having general experience of working in the industry was preferable.In one advertisement, specific skills in flambéing and meat carving were requested, while another advertisement highlighted distinct expertise in food: A good prerequisite is having knowledge of food, in particular with regards to allergies and other special dietary needs.If you also happen to be an ace at wine and beer, you will fit in perfectly here.(Ad. 43) Furthermore, this extract says that competence is an important factor in fitting in with the restaurant establishment.The fitting in argument was also expressed through a required interest in food and beverages, which is needed to inform guests about the meals available to be served: Since it is your responsibility to give information about the food and wine, both separately and in combination, you need to have an interest in the topic.(Ad. 44) Being dedicated to gastronomy, whether about the food or wine itself or about restaurant service or hospitality, was thus demanded of the potential hospitality worker, which further translates to a desire for the employee to have a passion for the occupation.

Altruistic mindset
Contrary to the previous two subthemes, this one illustrates a genuine curiosity about hospitality work, where practical experience was not primarily required.Instead, having an altruistic mindset involved a commitment to the idea of the occupation, where the attitude was in focus.A general interest in food, beverages and service or in meeting guests was promoted as an important starting point for entering and excelling at the job: If you have the enthusiasm, the will and are the right person, we will teach you the rest!(Ad.17) Related to occupational passion, this shows how the organization does not necessarily ask for educated or skilled employees, but instead prefers positive mindsets and considers hospitality part of a personality.Throughout the analysis of the advertisements, this was expressed in words such as "pride", "interest", "engagement" or "passion".However, learning to improve service during time spent on the job was sometimes underlined along with a general interest in hospitality.Hence, passion for and dedication to the idea of the hospitality work were not necessarily suggested to be defined by previous working life skills.

Discussion
This study has examined characteristics needed in order to become a hospitality worker, from the employer's perspective.From the viewpoint of signaling theory (Spence, 1973), these characteristics are important as they convey an image of how the employers see the hospitality worker.In addition, communication through job advertisements also gives an idea of how the restaurant organizations can be understood (Connelly et al., 2011;Karasek & Bryant, 2012).In this study, the results have shown that the archetypal hospitality worker should be an individualized team player and both possess and express occupational passion.As the employers require these characteristics, social qualifications have grown in importance relative to practical experience or education-related merits for the occupation.Yet, the descriptions of the characteristics needed are multifaceted and complex, as emotions play the most important role.

The commodification of dining room capital
Having characteristics corresponding to the occupation is related to the concepts of emotional and aesthetic labor, where the individual's social capacities are used as goods to improve business performance (Hochschild, 1983(Hochschild, /2012;;Warhurst et al., 2000;Witz et al., 2003).In the case of the individualized team player, the employee should be able to spread joy, no matter how hectic the situation is.Here, an ideal employee is constructed who consequently acts in accordance with "deep acting" and where credibility is created through notions of genuine behavior (Hochschild, 1983(Hochschild, /2012)).This so-called genuine behavior can be seen as important for building and maintaining three specific relationships, all of which are defined by individualized requirements to meet the needs of others.These relationships are with the restaurant guests, work colleagues and the restaurant company.Moreover, in the theme of occupational passion, the meaning of genuine behavior becomes even more apparent.When the dining room worker is devoted to work tasks in ways that also express genuine passion for hospitality (Telfer, 2017), this becomes more beneficial to the organization as well.Thus, the management of feelings becomes incorporated as an important work aspect, where the genuine expression is a recurring object for a capacity that both is a requirement and also can be calibrated according to the needs of the restaurant company (Hochschild, 1983(Hochschild, /2012)).
This theme also frames the nature of aesthetic labor, primarily in the sense of having an intangible capacity to create a good ambiance, which in this study can be linked to a demand for applicants who respond to the calling to be a "hospitality superstar".To follow the theory of aesthetic labor (Witz et al., 2003), the implicit way of acting as a "hospitality superstar" is when employees understand the premises of the work, for instance, when the applicant also is devoted to gastronomy.From this stance, the ideal hospitality worker can be characterized, on one hand, as a commodity loaded with feelings and passion (Petersson Mcintyre, 2014), but on the other hand, as an individual with an inherent capacity to assess and nurture different needs in order to strengthen the relationships mentioned above.In this way, the image is created of values that, from the restaurant companies' perspective, can be summarized as dining room capital.This capital harbours both commodified emotional expressions and individualized capacities to maintain relations that sometimes are characterized by submission and sometimes by self-determination.

Altruism and the joy of work
To be hospitable requires deep commitment to aspects that frame the hospitality moment (Telfer, 2017).The nature of this commitment appears to be an important asset for companies, to the extent that the dividing line between work and leisure becomes difficult to perceive.This observation is in line with observations made by Lashley (2008) that when there is passion and interest in the practice of work duties, the hospitality performed appears more authentic.Thus, the job advertisements pursue a search for employees who already are deeply engaged in the content of hospitality work.The ambiguous distinction between work and non-work, the requirement for enthusiasm in culinary-related aspects outside of the workplace, is motivated by a common belief that the private sphere of interest influences how hospitality work is performed (Hochschild, 1983(Hochschild, /2012;;Lashley, 2015).This belief is especially expressed in the job advertisements where interests outside of the workplace are explicitly related to the duties involved in the hospitality work.To be genuinely welcoming to guests relates to the concept of hospitableness, where the way of acting comes naturally, regardless of whether the motives are to host or not (O'Connor, 2005;Telfer, 2017).In this sense, the will to please others occurs as a genuine mission, which could be to see others' enjoyment when being served.In the job advertisements, the need to be altruistic was described as being able to share one's personality with both colleagues and guests, to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the restaurant environment at large.This shows how the organizations actively seek applicants who will carry out their work in a way that deemphasizes the line between work and private life, but where the dispositions are rooted in private settings (Williams & Connell, 2010).This sheds light on a common, but not unproblematic, tension between work and leisure (Guerrier & Adib, 2003).While research has pointed out that recovery from work is an important aspect of being able to handle relatively exhausting work duties (Deery & Jago, 2015), the job advertisements in this study instead suggest that the employee should "be" the work rather than "do" the work.Thus, the recovery from work seems to be less prioritized, and instead, the entire being of a hospitality worker is part of a certain lifestyle that reduces the distance between work and non-work.

The invisible threshold to the dining room
With the statement that commitment seems to be emphasized as valuable, regardless of whether it is about commitment to the occupation, to supporting co-workers or to creating ambiance for guests, this signals that the employee's personal investment is more important than measurable assets.Instead of requesting technical or practical skills linked to the hospitality work, soft skills rise in importance, which maintains a previously described image of the hospitality worker (Nickson et al., 2005).The demand for these traits can be understood from the perspective of fitting into an organization or into teamwork (Seymour, 2000).Yet, the trait of hospitableness is difficult to frame during recruitment processes, since it seems difficult to measure (Blain & Lashley, 2014).Thus, when communicating the need for compassion in hospitality, the questions that arise are how these people can be identified and, conversely, how the applicants can demonstrate their suitability.Based on signaling theory (Spence, 1973), the apparent lack of concrete task skills risks portraying the restaurant organizations as considering practical work to be insignificant, which signals that practical knowledge regarding skillfulness has less value.As a consequence, this maintains the prevailing notion of hospitality work as a low-status profession with a lack of opportunity for advancement.Moreover, the required threshold for gaining access to a position appears to be invisible, which reproduces the issue of attracting and retaining a competent workforce (Lundmark, 2020).In addition, the absence of measurable merits appears contradictory to reports of demand for the educated and knowledge-driven hospitality professionals required to create sustainable industry development (BFUF, 2018).Yet, as the social interactions between hosts and guests are arguably important for the restaurant experience (Walter et al., 2010), they therefore could be among the reasons why employers focus on these intangible characteristics.It can be concluded that the service worker is expected to adopt a role that is created according to the company's profile, the facility's decor and the guest's expectations, a role that unfolds in front of the guests' eyes.Thus, it is indicated that service workers, through their actions, move from a calculable artisanal profession to more intangible artistic expressions of skill.As such, restaurants compete in the game of finding the most socially skilled employees, as they benefit the organizations by constituting hospitable professionals (Blain & Lashley, 2014).This could answer the question of why all hospitality-sector advertisements more or less ask for the same thing.

Conclusion
How the ideal hospitality worker is constructed in job advertisements shows several requirements that sometimes appear to be contradictory.The set of intangible skills, capacities and personality traits, which are fundamental work requirements, implies that high levels of professionalism are needed.However, the same advertisements also signal a content defined by a significant amount of uncertainty, which requires that potential applicants should be able to adapt to anything.
Although hospitality in its essence refers to the idea of welcoming strangers, the restaurant organizations in this study turn out to illustrate the opposite.Namely, the most appreciated strangers (applicants) welcomed to apply for positions are those with the inherent social ability of hospitableness, no matter their capacity to perform the skilled work required.Thus, the construction of the ideal hospitality worker turns out to be anyone, but at the same time, someone special.To be that "special" person is to signal being hospitable, that is, showcasing the unmeasurable trait of being present in the performance with grace, possessing a will to please others and having total genuine devotion to being the profession of hospitality work.Wanting this person shifts the responsibility from the restaurant organization to the employee, where it becomes the employee's obligation to deliver high performance at work.
It appears that the most important cornerstone to becoming the ideal hospitality worker is the ability to sell oneself to others.No matter how much passion, joy and flexibility the applicant might possess, this does not exclude the fact that the company benefits from these characteristics.The construction of the ideal hospitality worker thus sees the employee, from the employer's point of view, as a commodity, intended to subdue their innermost feelings in order to create a good work environment, satisfied guests and a successful restaurant business.This view of the hospitality worker maintains structural inequalities between employers and employees where the latter continues to have low status in the labor market.

Limitations of the study and further research
The idea behind this study was to advance our understanding of how the restaurant industry, from the employer's point of view, constructs the ideal hospitality worker.However, this does not automatically imply that the identified characteristics correspond to the employers' own beliefs regarding their employees.However, from the perspective of signaling theory (Spence, 1973), and by using natural occurring data (Silverman, 2015), this is this picture communicated.Yet, this phenomenoni.e. the ideal hospitality worker is studied from only one perspective, leaning on the study's authors' own interpretations (Coffey, 2014).Therefore, adding other research methods such as interviews with restaurant employers could deepen our understanding of the issue and improve the credibility of the findings (Tracy, 2010).It would also have been interesting to extend the sample to include other countries, to see whether this ideal picture represents the entire restaurant industry internationally.Studying other recruitment channels could also strengthen the trustworthiness of the identified ideal, for example, by analyzing recruitment through social media where many hospitality workers have their social networks (Ladkin & Buhalis, 2016).
The decision to analyze the material using thematic analysis was made because this approach is not inherently locked to any particular theoretical outcome and is therefore flexible (Braun & Clarke, 2006).In comparison with discourse analysis, which would have risked shifting the study's focus, for example, to discourses of power (Fairclough, 1993), thematic analysis invited flexibility in searching for patterns without being locked to a particular theoretical framework.
To continue to gain insight into and knowledge of the ideal hospitality worker, we suggest that future studies should examine the workers' own experiences of restaurant work, how they relate to conflicting demands and how they themselves construct their identities.Moreover, investigating ideas and practices of hospitality, as well as thoughts about restaurant work, could holistically create a deeper understanding of how identities and hospitality interact.This could lead to further insights into how to meet employees' needs and also provide a researchable sample of specific segments of the contemporary restaurant industry.Finally, as the material studied here was gathered before the Covid pandemic hit the restaurant industry, it would be of interest to continue to study whether and how the pandemic has changed the way employers communicate their requirements when hiring workers.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Map of the thematic analysis, from sub-themes to overall themes.

Table 1 .
Examples of the coding process from data extraction to theme formulation.