10 Things I Regret

As a 20-something Manager in Hospitality...

I made a post like this a few years back and I have since added a few more. As with every year you grow in life you seem to have more ‘f*ck, I can’t believe I did that’ moments when you reflect. Your 20’s are all about making mistakes you learn from, at work and at home but the reason I have written these down is to show how much the industry and the people in it have changed in 10 (or more :) years and therefore how much it will continue to change.

So here are the top things 10 years later me regrets…

1. Not having a single sick day in 10 years in management.

2. Working almost 80 hour weeks every week, and without saying it, expecting my team to follow my lead.

3. Checking my GM’s rotas to make sure they were doing their 48 hours each week, and no less.

4. Never calling out the sexist bias in senior meetings - which meant I was never taken as seriously as any of my male peers.

5. Not being flexible for and grateful of parents who worked for me. I used to think that they were annoying for having childcare commitments and not being flexible enough.

6. Giving my word to my future employer in an interview that I wouldn’t have kids for at least 5 years, and even more sadly, sticking to it. (And then they made me redundant at the 5 year point anyway).

7. Taking my engagement ring off for interviews, just in case I looked like a risky option.

8. Being on call at all times. Never switching off, not even on holiday, and thinking I was inspiring my team by doing so.

9. Having no clue about our company maternity and paternity pay packages. But knowing holidays, bonus schemes and overtime like the back of my hand.

10. Saying ‘time to lean, time to clean’ :(