You only need to spend one shift in a busy restaurant to know that the work is demanding. Whether it’s a server attending to customers without stopping or a line cook keeping up with custom orders, the restaurant business is hard work. It’s no wonder most restaurant employees experience burnout. According to a 2019 study by Paychex, over 80% of restaurant and hospitality workers are burned out by their jobs.
Read on to learn how you can create a healthy work environment for your employees to cut down on burnout.
Identifying Burnout in Your Employees
Everyone has bad days now and again. Even your most cheerful employee might show up for a shift a little tired and irritable. Burnout, however, is a deeper problem than a bad day. It’s usually a sign of a stressful working environment and can cause your best employees to seek employment elsewhere.
As a restaurant owner, it’s important to recognize the signs of employee burnout, including:
How to Prevent Employee Burnout
Knowing what to look for is only part of the battle against employee burnout. If possible, you should try to prevent employee burnout before it becomes a problem in your restaurant. Hospitality staff are often a close-knit group, so if one person becomes burnt out, there’s a good chance others will feel the same.
Try these tips for preventing employee burnout in your restaurant:
- Create a Positive Work Environment: Your employees put in a lot of time and effort for you. You owe it to them to provide a safe, healthy, and positive work environment. This can start from day one — by making it clear what is and isn’t acceptable in the workplace while also offering opportunities for employees to air their grievances constructively.
- Hire Leaders with Empathy: Restaurant management is key to helping prevent burnout. A poor-quality manager can increase the stress of an already stressful job. Look for good management skills — like empathy, tactful approach to discipline, and a positive outlook — as well as restaurant-specific skills. A good manager can help recognize employee burnout early and address the problem before it causes issues in the workplace.
- Automate Repetitive Tasks: Staffing shortages have led many restaurant owners to look for additional help outside of employees. While your customers probably go to your restaurant for good service and human contact, you can look for areas to automate repetitive tasks that can cause burnout. For example, you could invest in an online ordering platform to reduce the number of time employees have to spend answering phone calls. This lets customers pick exactly what they want from your restaurant while giving employees more time to care for in-person diners.
- Strategize Your Staff Scheduling: You — or your managers — probably have a good idea of which employees work best together. Keep this in mind when you make schedules for the week or month. Creating predictable schedules can also help prevent burnout. While this won’t always be possible, a regular schedule often helps employees plan ahead and lowers the stress of an unexpected shift. Finally, try to schedule employees on consecutive days, giving them multiple days off at a time. Working a few days in a row and then having a few days off gives employees the chance to get into a routine and then decompress after their work week.
- Encourage Work-Life Balance: It’s no secret that many restaurant workers are hardworking — bordering on workaholics. Spending too much time at work and ignoring other aspects of their life can quickly cause an employee to burn out. You can encourage a good work-life balance by providing tools, resources, and benefits that improve their ability to get away from work.
For example, many restaurant employees get little to no paid time off. If they’re struggling to make ends meet, they have to take on more shifts. Add a PTO policy for your employees that lets them take time off of work without adding to their financial stress.
It’s impossible to completely eradicate employee burnout in the restaurant industry. However, you can implement these tips today to reduce burnout and improve the employee experience.
If you need financial help to apply some of the solutions given above, consider getting a business loan or a merchant cash advance through Zinch. Contact us at (714) 500-6622 to learn more about your options. You could qualify for up to $250,000 in just 24 hours.
