The hospitality industry can be a fast-paced, stressful industry which often includes working very long days.
It has been revealed that hospitality is the industry least likely to offer measures to help staff deal with their workplace stress levels, with 64% saying that hospitality businesses are not doing anything to help workers with stress which is 42% above other industries.
Mental Health
Not only does this cause significant ramifications for the workers themselves, with one in three reporting that they are losing sleep and 39% of hospitality workers surveyed said that they suffer from anxiety. Depression is another common condition within the industry: 51% said they suffered from depression due to overwork.
Sleep
Not only can stress cause significant issues with overall wellbeing, it can also affect workers physical condition as well. Workers who have constantly changing shifts or who work irregular or long work hours can suffer from disrupted sleep patterns which may eventually lead to chronic fatigue issues. This, in turn, can impair people’s judgement and can reduce their ability to function normally in daily life, both in and outside of work.
Coping Mechanisms
With one in five hospitality workers (21%) of hospitality admitting that they are looking for a new job in a bid to alleviate stress, there is clearly more than needs to be done to combat workplace stress in the kitchen and beyond. 18% of workers surveyed reported that they ‘don’t do anything at all ‘to help de-stress.
Some hospitality workers are using alcohol and drugs to allow them to ‘wind down’, often indulging at higher levels than is recommended.
Conclusion
Workplace stress also has a direct impact on the restaurants and companies that they are working for. The survey also shows that one in four workers in the hospitality sector (27%) have said that they struggle to be as productive at work when stressed, and 30% said that they find it difficult to concentrate as a result. Almost one in ten workers (9%) saying that they would consider calling in sick due to suffering from workplace stress.
If you find yourself in this boat, get help....you don't have to sink. I offer my own personal testament to this, being sober for almost two years, my life in foodservice is far better than it was. Cheers!
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