Burnout is a Concern in the Hospitality Industry But How Does Your Team Address It?

Healthy Pour is a consultancy whose mission is to improve the mental health and well-being of individuals, communities, and organizations within the hospitality and adjacent sectors through education, coaching, intervention development, and research. Laura Louise Green, Founder of Healthy Pour, joined Barbara Castiglia to talk about this critical concern in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

Green, a licensed professional counselor and organizational consultant from Chicago, IL, spent nearly 20 years in the hospitality industry and understood the challenges, pressures, and needs. Those pressures led to her switching careers and becoming a licensed therapist. And now, with those skills in hand, Green realized she possessed the tools to address those needs and help others in the industry.

“I decided to start focusing my career on mental health in the hospitality industry to see if I could do something to address these issues,” Green said. And the deeper she went into her research, the more she realized that the stresses and problems are more significant than an individual experiencing burnout; the entire surrounding environment needs help. Healthy Pour, as a company, evolved over the past few years to consult with companies to turn stressful environments into positive ones.

“We work with bars and restaurants, and sometimes brands and communities, in general, to assess what’s going on in the space, and help bars and restaurants be healthier, so that their workplace is healthier,” Green said.

Burnout is a genuine issue and concern in the hospitality industry, and most may recognize it as tired. But Green said that is merely the first step. Quickly, that exhaustion can turn into apathy and an eventual lack of productivity. It’s essential to recognize signs of burnout and develop intervention plans before it becomes widespread, and a toxic environment ensues. “Social support and organizational support are both ways to mitigate burnout in the workplace.”

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