People Don’t Grow on Trees: The Hospitality Industry’s Battle to Retain Its Workforce
Words by Caitlin Allwood
When discussing sustainability in hospitality, our minds often go straight to food—where it’s sourced, how it’s grown, its delivery method and the environmental impact. While these concerns are significant, another critical aspect of sustainability is often overlooked: the sustainability of people. If you care about where your food comes from, shouldn’t you care even more about the well-being of the people who cook and serve it?
The hospitality sector has always been demanding, but post-COVID, cracks in the system have widened significantly. The pandemic forced a reckoning with working conditions, bringing conversations about work-life balance to the forefront. However, here we are, years later, and many of the same issues persist. We continue to watch talented, passionate individuals leave the industry in droves.
The work-life balance that people were hopeful for during the pandemic seems to have been a temporary dream. Long hours, lack of breaks, and low wages make it nearly impossible to maintain any appearance of balance in this industry. These challenges have been a constant, but their impact has been exacerbated by economic pressures on businesses, such as rising energy prices, VAT, and rent hikes. Budget supermarkets have skewed our perceptions of food costs, making it difficult for restaurants to price their offerings appropriately without turning guests off. The result is a perfect storm: businesses struggling to stay profitable and workers bearing the brunt of this financial strain.
The costliest element of all is the turnover of people. Making someone work unsustainable hours isn’t just unfair; it’s bad business. Chewing up and spitting out employees, many of whom leave the industry after only a decade, wastes talent and contributes to the ever-widening skills gap. Compare this to other sectors where professionals continue to grow and thrive well into their 40s and 50s. In hospitality, we lose a shocking amount of talent by that age.
Isn’t it time we approached human sustainability with the same seriousness as food? How can we expect a sector to thrive when it’s built on people who are burning out before they reach their prime?
In the UK, different sectors show distinct patterns when it comes to the age of their workforce. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that sectors like banking, finance, and health services see significant participation from older age groups. At the same time, hospitality tends to have a younger demographic.
In hospitality, the proportion of older workers decreases compared to other fields. The distribution of workers aged 50-64 in hospitality is notably lower, particularly among women, who often transition into more flexible or part-time roles as they age.
Only about 21% of hospitality workers are over 40 years old. This age gap highlights hospitality’s challenges in retaining older workers, especially compared to industries like finance or healthcare, which maintain a higher proportion of employees over 40.
Interestingly, in other labour-intensive sectors like construction and care work, the percentage of workers over 40 is significant although variable. For example, the construction sector has about 45% of workers aged over 40, and in the care sector, the workforce is ageing, with around 40-50% of care workers over 40 years old. These sectors face similar challenges to hospitality, such as high physical demands, long hours, and relatively low wages. So, why is the % so low in hospitality – it can’t be just because of long hours or because of the physicality of it because in other labour-intensive sectors, the percentage is much higher.
These fields, like hospitality, face pressures such as rising costs and the difficulty of maintaining a sustainable workforce, making it essential to create more supportive working conditions for the long-term retention of experienced staff. So what are they doing that hospitality isn’t? The answer lies in the way the industry has historically approached its workforce.
Addressing the sustainability of people in the hospitality sector is a complex issue, particularly with the multiple barriers it faces, including rising VAT, energy prices, and rent hikes. However, several solutions can be explored that address both the well-being of workers and the financial pressures on businesses:
Government Support and Policy Changes
VAT Reductions: A targeted reduction in VAT for hospitality could alleviate some financial burden on businesses, allowing them to invest more in staff wages and working conditions. During the pandemic, a temporary VAT reduction was implemented, and reintroducing such measures could offer immediate relief.
Energy Price Caps and Subsidies: Government intervention could help ease the strain of energy prices rising. There could be subsidies for hospitality businesses or a cap on energy prices for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the sector. This would allow businesses to redirect funds to improve staff welfare.
Rent Controls: Similar to energy support, rent caps or schemes offering relief on commercial property rents could help ensure businesses aren’t forced to shut down or compromise on wages to keep up with high overheads.
Flexible Work Models
Job Sharing and Part-Time Opportunities: To address burnout, hospitality businesses can embrace job-sharing models or offer more flexible, part-time contracts. This can reduce the strain on workers and prevent long-term burnout while ensuring that the business can stay operational with a rotating workforce.
Four-Day Workweek Trials: Some businesses in other sectors have trialled the four-day workweek with positive productivity and employee satisfaction results. Implementing this in hospitality could reduce burnout and retain experienced staff longer.
Workforce Training and Development
Upskilling and Retraining: Offering training programs to develop skills beyond day-to-day roles can keep workers engaged and provide them with opportunities for career advancement within the industry. Government-supported apprenticeship schemes, which have been effective in some regions, could help bridge the gap and keep people in the industry for longer.
Leadership Development: Managers and owners should be trained in sustainable work practices, such as scheduling, fair compensation, and mental health awareness, so they can create environments that retain talent rather than push them out.
Increased Use of Technology
Operational Efficiency: Implementing technology to streamline processes, like using automation for inventory management, reservations, and order-taking, can help reduce the workload for staff. This would reduce the number of manual tasks workers must juggle, allowing for better work-life balance and lower stress levels.
Digital Workforce Management: Digital platforms can help manage shifts, allowing staff more control over their schedules. This flexibility can reduce burnout and encourage longer retention in the industry.
Industry Collaboration
Collective Bargaining and Lobbying: The industry must unite to lobby the government for systemic changes. Organisations like UKHospitality have been advocating for VAT reductions, business rate reforms, and more. A stronger, united voice may push for longer-term legislative changes that will support the sustainability of businesses and their workers.
Partnerships with Educational Institutions: Building stronger links with colleges and universities to provide a clear pathway for young people to enter hospitality as a viable, long-term career could help address skills shortages and retain more workers.
Mental Health and Wellbeing Initiatives
Mental Health Support: Offering resources such as counselling services, mental health days, and partnerships with organisations that provide mental health support (such as Hospitality Action) can help reduce burnout and keep people in the industry for longer.
Health and Wellness Benefits: Providing benefits focusing on physical and mental well-being, such as gym memberships, flexible health benefits, or wellness programs, could also improve job satisfaction and worker retention.
Revisiting Guest Expectations
Transparent Pricing: Educating guests on the cost of delivering high-quality hospitality experiences can shift customer expectations. If businesses communicate the value behind their pricing—particularly regarding staff wages and sustainable practices—some customers may be willing to pay more for a better experience that supports a fair and sustainable workplace.
The sustainability of people in hospitality cannot be addressed by the industry alone. Government intervention, systemic changes, and industry-wide collaboration are crucial for navigating the rising operational costs and pressures from guests. At the same time, businesses can implement internal changes—like flexible working models and workforce development programs—to create a more sustainable environment for their workers. Ultimately, ensuring the well-being of hospitality workers will lead to a more resilient and sustainable industry.
In addition to these strategies, initiatives such as the Institute of Hospitality (IoH) and NCASS (National Caterers Association) are stepping up to address the importance of looking after people in our industry. Earlier this week, we were part of discussions with both organisations, which focused on promoting a healthier work environment and the long-term sustainability of the workforce. These initiatives emphasise skills and education and the emotional and mental well-being of hospitality professionals—an aspect that has long been neglected.
On a similar note, events like the Walk for Wellbeing, which we were proud to support, also focus on the mental health of hospitality workers. The walk, held to raise awareness and funds for Hospitality Action, highlighted the physical and emotional strain often faced by people in the industry. Through these movements, we can start changing the narrative, creating a more sustainable future for the workers who keep the industry alive.
Through these movements, we can start changing the narrative, creating a more sustainable future for the workers who keep the industry alive. The hospitality industry can move towards a truly more sustainable future—the sustainability of people.
