Christmas in Hospitality : Holly-Jolly or Festive Burnout?
51% of industry workers are burnt out from the holidays, so is it a holly-jolly Christmas after all? Hospitality during the festive season can be exhausting! Overworked, understaffed, and high expectations. What’s going to give?
All extra opinions have been gathered through the industry.
Christmas for hospitality workers. Is it as dreamy as those posters in Hotel du Vin make out, or is it really as exhausting as the working community says? I felt like I needed more information.
Through scouring the internet and looking at Christmas ‘dos and ‘don’ts’ from LinkedIn to Harri’s best ways to prevent festive burnout in the industry, I found relief in actual, factual statistics. A recently published Forbes article about prioritising the mental health of hospitality workers during the festive period states that “51% of hospitality workers find their job ‘stress-inducing’ most or all of the time”. Although this statistic might seem low to some…over half of workers feel this way, which is a huge chunk when thinking about the industry on an international scale.
So when thinking of the festive season, I can only assume many of us think about mulled wine, pigs in blankets, crackers, party hats, charades, too much trifle, cocktails, party outfits, too many glasses of merlot, and one too many Brussel-sprouts. These elements of the yule-tide festivities sound great, but is that only when you’re experiencing them on the other side of the bar? Most hospitality workers will burn out during December because the pressure takes a toll in many different ways, and it mostly boils down to how it affects one mentally, physically, and emotionally. It all sounds phenomenal on paper, but when you pack all of the essence of Christmas and market that in hospitality, the idea suddenly feels daunting. The minute Halloween is over, the big bosses and brains behind the hospitality scene have already got the fairy lights up and Mariah Carey is defrosting in the cold room out back.
Do not get it twisted; I find Christmas to be the best time of the year. I love the excitement surrounding the holiday season. It reminds me of rich spices mulling in my grandma’s kitchen, the anticipation of my parents opening their presents on Christmas morning, and drinking plenty of Bucks Fizz to get me through until Boxing Day. However, as a fairly seasoned hospitality worker, treatment towards those who work during the run-up to Christmas can be only seen, in my opinion, as a stretch of expectations. The expectations in hospitality, no matter where you work, are always demanding; the hours, the lack of regular socialisation, outrageously corrupted sleep patterns, bad eating habits, that dirty smoking you said you’d quit six months ago and, of course, a taste for finer food and wine all add up to what can be considered an unhealthy lifestyle.
Despite there being little wrong here if you close your eyes and blur the words I have written, one hospitality worker to another will do what they can to get the job done right and this only soars during the festive season. This is because a big part of the job is making sure that you look after those you are serving; to be hospitable. The scene during December becomes even busier and better because people are merrier, hungrier, and thirstier. A cheerful disposition is what you are asked to display, but sometimesust, j sometimes, it feels like one is going above and beyond every day. And hey, that’s alright, isn’t it? Sure! But are the benefits outweighing the negatives?
You break your back on Christmas morning, miss your family opening their stockings because you have to go to your waitressing job and serve Richard and Co their seven-course meal. Are we being fairly treated? One industry worker I spoke to, J, gave this opinion “Working over Christmas in hospo is a mixed bag…customers and staff usually have high spirits, but, that being said, I’m normally jealous when customers tell me about their Christmas plans.” He continues by saying ,“I’m lucky, my bosses are accommodating with holiday, but there’s only so much they can do…also, the music drives me mad!” J makes some valid points here and this feeling is echoed by others in hospitality over Christmas. Another hospitality opinion from B states that “People were always always thankful we were open and grateful for us to be working and polite - just wish I was paid extra for holiday shifts!” Although a differing opinion to J’s, the notion still stands: customers are grateful for hospitality workers during the festive period, but would everyone benefit from extra financial support to make it seem worth it?
With that being said, the fundamentally great thing about hospitality is that it is good fun. When you are working with the right team and in the right environment, anything is possible. It is a hard graft that will burn you out, but if you make that one regular’s day better, then who cares? If I can make Susanne’s day twelve times better by making sure she has a mince pie saved when she isn’t feeling great, then that makes my day too. Sometimes it is in fact not about the fact that you are exhausted. Sometimes a small gesture for another can make everything bad go away, and that’s great. So when I think about all of the time I have given to hospitality over the years, I usually remember the worst of it: the late nights, atrocious pay, poor management, and, dare I say, dastardly behaved colleagues… but if you asked me what I really think of when asked about hospitality, I remember how much we endure; that sometimes the burn-out is worth it, so much laughter, great wine, gorgeous food, and those in charge leading by a grand example; it can just change the entire way a stressful Christmas service can go. It really is that simple. F makes a good point: “There is a difference between what kind of establishment you work in. The chip shop people differ from those who visit the cafe - the cafe always has seriously good vibes at Christmas time.” So, that hits the nail on the head. Depending on the environment, staffing, and the right guidance, Christmas can be great for hospitality workers if the right energy is provided, but that is not always the case.
As previously stated, I believe hospitality workers are stretched in their expectations, but there should be standard forms of service behind the scenes that would actively make the work-life balance easier during December. This should include consistently better well-being checks throughout the festive season to prevent burnout, to not understaff nor ignore those who don’t enjoy the festive period. As we know, not everyone likes the holiday season which can always be a major factor as to why so many hospitality workers do dedicate their time to meeting these high expectations during Christmas.
Individuals can enjoy Christmas, they could loathe it. For me, it’s all about the environment created by the establishment and how they choose to deal with the festive season. Without proper guidance and freedom, guests can take advantage. So, if you see a frazzled hospitality worker going the extra, extra mile, give them a big smile and, even better, make sure you tip them (if you can)! But also, check on your hospitality friends, ask your hospitality owners to ensure service charge at a decent percentage and, most importantly, don’t be an Ebenezer Scrooge when you can be a Bob Cratchit!
Written by Charlotte Fairbairn
