職場二春：中高齡者轉任英語導遊之歷程探討
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2016
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旅遊業是一個高度依賴「人」的行業，人員的素質決定了絕大的成敗。年長者通常有較豐富的人生歷練，優秀的退休專業人才有其在社會上值得開發及應用的寶貴資源，這群中高齡者的勞動力是否可以成為旅遊業的新動力？在解決旅遊業的人力短缺之時，亦可滿足中高齡就業者的工作需求。目前我國已進入高齡化社會 (內政部，2018)，探討中高齡的健康、照護、及休閒類的文獻甚多；然而對於中高齡轉業者的討論則較少；更遑論探討中高齡轉業單一職場 (例如：旅遊業) 的現況。至於導遊的相關文獻亦著重於華語導遊的實務及旅遊環境的研究為多。本研究透過質性取徑希望補足中高齡轉業英語導遊的實際狀況這一塊缺口，其主要目的為： 一、探討中高齡者轉任英語導遊之動機， 二、中高齡導遊所面對之挑戰、以及成功要素，三、中高齡英語導遊對工作與生活的滿意感。本研究基於活動理論 (activity theory) 為基礎,並採立意抽樣法，以焦點團體訪談中高齡轉業英語導遊爲主，輔以半結構式深度專家訪談，訪談結果透過編碼整理以內容分析法剖析。研究發現中高齡者轉任英語導遊的動機主要可分為以下四類：年齡的瓶頸、職場環境的改變、身體健康考量、及經濟需要。縱使在工作中遇到各式不同的困難與挑戰，所有訪談對象對於目前的工作與生活感到滿意，其主要原因如下：工作成就感、新的學習經驗、時間自由、維持良好的健康及人際關係。本研究為前導性研究，缺乏量化評估，建議日後可延續本研究中之發現進行量化探討。再則本研究專注於中高齡轉任英語導遊的探討，日後亦可擴展至其他語種的導遊現況探討。
The sustained success of the tourism industry highly depends on skilled human resources. The middle-aged individuals generally possess abundant experience, valuable resources and social capital. In this light, whether the middle-aged retirees can become a new driving force for the tourism industry has become a direction worthy of investigation. Knowledge in this regard can contribute to mitigating the shortage of human resource in the tourism industry, and satisfying the work needs for the middle-aged. Taiwan is now an aging country (Department of Statistic, 2019), numerous studies were published in physical health, mental wellness and caregiving related fields about the middle-aged. In comparison, the work need of the middle-aged is less discussed, with even less focus on middle-aged individuals participated in the tourism industry. At the same time, existing tour guide related studies are mostly focused on Chinese tour guides and the general tourism environment. The purpose of this research is to bridge the gap of middle-age’s work need in relation to whether English-speaking tour guide is the solution for some individuals. The objectives of this research is to explore: 1. the motivations of becoming an English-speaking tour guide at middle-aged, 2. the challenges faced and the success factors at the workplace, 3、the success factors at work, and the satisfaction of work and life balance. Focus group interview with middle-aged English-speaking tour guides was employed and participants were recruited through a purposive sampling method, while a semi-structured in-depth interview with an industry expert was adopted as a second source of data. The findings revealed four key motivations of the middle-aged retiree to become an English-speaking tour guide: getting old, health concerns, industry change, and financial need. Despite encountering various difficulties and challenges at work, all participants expressed a high level of satisfaction with the balance of their current work and life. The main reasons identified were as follows: sense of accomplishment, new learning experience, self in charge of time allocation, good health and interpersonal relationship. This study is exploratory in nature and future quantitative investigations are required to further validate the findings. Furthermore, this study focuses on the transition of middle-aged English-speaking tour guides, future research can also be extended to other languages-speaking tour guides in the future.
The sustained success of the tourism industry highly depends on skilled human resources. The middle-aged individuals generally possess abundant experience, valuable resources and social capital. In this light, whether the middle-aged retirees can become a new driving force for the tourism industry has become a direction worthy of investigation. Knowledge in this regard can contribute to mitigating the shortage of human resource in the tourism industry, and satisfying the work needs for the middle-aged. Taiwan is now an aging country (Department of Statistic, 2019), numerous studies were published in physical health, mental wellness and caregiving related fields about the middle-aged. In comparison, the work need of the middle-aged is less discussed, with even less focus on middle-aged individuals participated in the tourism industry. At the same time, existing tour guide related studies are mostly focused on Chinese tour guides and the general tourism environment. The purpose of this research is to bridge the gap of middle-age’s work need in relation to whether English-speaking tour guide is the solution for some individuals. The objectives of this research is to explore: 1. the motivations of becoming an English-speaking tour guide at middle-aged, 2. the challenges faced and the success factors at the workplace, 3、the success factors at work, and the satisfaction of work and life balance. Focus group interview with middle-aged English-speaking tour guides was employed and participants were recruited through a purposive sampling method, while a semi-structured in-depth interview with an industry expert was adopted as a second source of data. The findings revealed four key motivations of the middle-aged retiree to become an English-speaking tour guide: getting old, health concerns, industry change, and financial need. Despite encountering various difficulties and challenges at work, all participants expressed a high level of satisfaction with the balance of their current work and life. The main reasons identified were as follows: sense of accomplishment, new learning experience, self in charge of time allocation, good health and interpersonal relationship. This study is exploratory in nature and future quantitative investigations are required to further validate the findings. Furthermore, this study focuses on the transition of middle-aged English-speaking tour guides, future research can also be extended to other languages-speaking tour guides in the future.
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導遊, 英語導遊, 中高齡工作者, 動機, 工作挑戰, 生活滿意感, 轉業, tour guide, English tour guide, middle-aged and elderly workers, motivation, work challenges, life satisfaction, career change