An Opportunity to Reimagine the Restaurant Workplace

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

“The word of a snail on the plate of a leaf...”  

Have you read Sylvia Plath’s poetry?

This first line of her poem ‘Couriers,’ reminds us of her creative mind and her delightful use of words. But those who follow her work, also know that she suffered from depression.  

It’s not only the creative minds in the literary world, who suffer forms of mental health issues though. Others do too.After Anthony Bourdain’s death, it became known that the beloved chef suffered from depression. One article cited data saying that 63% of chef’s report feeling depressed.

This is a challenge for the industry as it can be difficult for restaurants to offer even basic health care, let alone mental health support for their teams. 

That isn’t the only challenge related to workers though. 

Another recent article points out that while there is much discussion about the post-pandemic labor shortage in restaurants, mostly employees really just want ‘wages that make the risk worth it.’

During Mental Health Awareness month, we might take a moment to remember that Restaurant workers are human like the rest of us, including the poets. This means that they can suffer things, like mental health issues. 

And, by the way, they also think of things, like their safety at work.  

And about earning wages that allow them to support their families; or themselves as they pursue their own literary degrees. Maybe their summer waitressing is as much about paying college tuition (or their child’s tuition) as it is about serving customers flawlessly.

What does this mean for restaurant leadership?

Well, mostly it's an opportunity.

It's an opportunity to reimagine the restaurant workplace.  Specifically now, when everything else (most everything anyway) seems like it has changed.

Here are some ways leaders might think differently as they consider how to build teams that are excited to come back to the workplace.

Challenge: Everyone seems to be talking about long-term remote work strategies, but restaurants typically require everyone to be in-person.  

Reimagine like this: If you lead a restaurant that is about the in-person dining experience, remote work isn’t much of an option. But you can think about ways in which you can help your staffing strategies to accommodate servers so they can work (or not work) around their lives. For example, posting schedules in advance (2 weeks) can help them to plan for other things in their life, child care needs or school related assignments. Also, providing a stable schedule, allows them to plan consistent schedules in other areas of their lives. If, ‘on-call,’ assignments are difficult for some, perhaps make this an ‘opt-in,’ opportunity for those who are adaptable and want to do that kind of work. Make sure that you have this clear conversation up front so that everyone is on the same page right from the beginning and you are clear about who can (and who can’t manage the on-call type of work.) Yours might not be a ‘work from home everyday,’ strategy, but it can be a ‘regular and dependable work schedule strategy,’ so that each person can know when they can be at home (and when they need to be at work.)

Challenge: Are servers and bartenders more interested in cashing unemployment checks than going back to work?

Reimagine like this: Servers and bartenders want to ensure that if they’re risking their health by interacting with diners, that the pay is worth the risk. You might have to dig pretty deep on this one. It might mean revisiting your cultural values. You might establish values that put a stake in the ground about providing a living wage to your employees. One restaurant does it like this: Zazie in San Francisco puts an explanation for higher prices at the forefront. ‘“All of our menu prices include a living wage, fully funded health and dental insurance, paid time off, and a 401(k) with employer match for all of our hard working employees.”’ That is right on the menu.  In this way leaders are clear with customers and employees about what they value. They offer what employees need to take care of themselves, and expect that the employees will also take care of their customers. 

Challenge: Servers and bartenders are concerned about their safety.

Reimagine like this: Consider clarifying what your workplace safety protocols are. Are the cleaning protocols that help keep staff safe, clearly articulated, activated and communicated to everyone? Are you helping employees to find and access vaccines? One study found that vaccinated people may be more comfortable taking jobs.  And lastly, consider stepping into the future with a contactless dining experience. What does this mean? Companies like Eate Digital, have developed ways in which employees and customers can interact (with less contact). 

When leaders take opportunities  to think differently, they open the door to creating opportunities for themselves, their customers, and their employees.

While these are some ideas to start, we’d love to know what you think too.

If you are in the food service industry and know about things that restaurateurs and their teams are doing to make work a safe and comfortable place to be, let us know!

What’s working well in your workplace?

What are you doing differently to make a positive difference for your teams?

We’d love to spread the word.

We all have an opportunity to do our best to make a difference in our workplaces today. 

Even if it takes a little poetic creativity on behalf of the leaders to do.

Photo by Metin Ozer on Unsplash

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Shannon Mullen O’Keefe and Mark A. Irwin contributed to this article.