Burnout.
Burnout is the most common reason for leaving the industry, but what does it actually mean?
We regularly hear people say they are on the brink of burnout, have burnout, or fear burnout in our conversations with those looking to change roles. It may feel like a relatively new phrase, but it certainly isn’t a new problem, in fact our industry is suffering the effects of it from the decades of burnout before us. It is vital that we modernise our expectation on our teams to ensure they don’t feel like there is any way forward for them within hospitality.
What actually is burnout? It is defined as ‘Experiencing chronic exhaustion, cynicism, detachment from your job or personal life, a sense of ineffectiveness, and a decline in performance’.
Our industry is undoubtedly taxing on its employees, with demanding guests, lack of labour budget & untrained/inexperienced colleagues being the top 3 issues we note in our day to day discussions. But how can you recognise potential burnout in your team? And crucially… how can you prevent it?
REASONS:
1. Disengagement
2. Lack of passion
3. Lateness/regular illness
4. ‘What’s the point’ approach
5. Lack of desire to engage with guests or train new team members
6. Recent change in behaviour
But what can you do to save them reaching that stage?
1. Speak to them, tell them you recognise it and ask them what they would need from you
2. Offer them a temporary reduction in hours
3. Offer them a temporary adjustment of responsibilities if able to
4. Offer them some additional unpaid leave (most people are leaving without another job so money isn’t always an issue)
5. Offer them the chance to buy additional holiday
6. Offer them a job swap with someone another restaurant for a while, can often help them clear their foggy brain and come back with more clarity. If you don’t have a ‘buddy’ restaurant to do this with, you should get one, helps a lot with lots of things.
7. Offer them a sabbatical if you can
8. Offer them a different role if the responsibilities are different enough to benefit them at that time
9. Let them go, explore other things and tell them how welcome they will be to return so the move is less scary to them.
We won’t always be able to capture everyone and stop people from feeling overwhelmed by the challenges faced in the day to day. But so much can be prevented and treated with better communication, acknowledgement validation.