Breaking Under Pressure: How Toxic Work Environments Trigger Musculoskeletal Discomfort Through Stress and Dissatisfaction

Although toxic work environments are acknowledged as harmful, hospitality research rarely explains how toxic work environments translate into musculoskeletal discomfort through psychosocial mechanisms. Therefore, our study addresses that gap by integrating the stimulus–organism–response framework and the conservation of resources theory to examine the impact of a toxic work environment on employees’ perceptions of musculoskeletal discomfort mediated by perceived work stress and job dissatisfaction. Data were collected from hotel employees working in Johannesburg, South Africa. The study’s interrelationships were analyzed utilizing structural equation modeling. The results showed that a toxic work environment significantly increases work stress and job dissatisfaction, and that both mechanisms are associated with musculoskeletal discomfort. Moreover, the findings indicated that the indirect effect through job dissatisfaction is stronger than the indirect effect through work stress, suggesting that attitudinal erosion is a key channel linking toxic climate to physical discomfort. Our study is the first to combine the stimulus–organism–response framework and the conservation of resources theory to explain how sensory processes and resource allocation mechanisms would operate in the presence of a toxic environment, influencing employees’ psychological and health-related outcomes. Practically, managers should prioritize anti-toxicity policies, supervisor coaching, confidential reporting channels, and psychosocial support to reduce employee strain.