If you have kids, then you probably have some idea of what is like to work in the hospitality industry. There is no real “me” time. It’s all about keeping someone else happy, managing their moods and the inevitable conflict that arises, bringing them food, fixing their food when they don’t like it, wiping up their spills as well as other unsavory body fluids. You work weird hours, splitting shifts, definitely weekends and Public Holidays become some of the busiest and most demanding in the year.
When you can’t play sport on the weekend, celebrate Australia Day, your dad’s birthday or go to a festival with your friends, your relationships suffer. You might come home to a sleeping house after a stressful shift with no-one awake to talk to, or be juggling another job or study you need to wake up to. Other industry people become like a family, but it is also a transient industry with a high turnover rate, often we can begin to feel alone.
With Covid came the reality that health workers weren’t the only ones on the front line. Hospitality workers have close personal contact with people. Like health workers, hospitality workers must deal with people at their best and their worst. It is a fast paced, exciting and often rewarding industry as well as being frustrating, exhausting and at times downright terrifying.
It takes a special kind of person to work in this industry. The ones that are here for the long haul find antidotes to the particular stressors faced in their work. Some of these are healthy outlets and some, not so much. There are higher levels of substance misuse amongst hospitality workers than other industries with the exception of construction.
So, the question is While meeting the needs of others, how do you meet your own?”
If you are not sure how to answer that question, then a chat with one of the Gambling Help Service staff is a good place to start. Apart from listening to you when you are so used to being the person who is listening to others, they can help you figure out what you want and how to ask for it. There are tools for managing difficult people within your venue/restaurant/bar as well as support as you negotiate your personal relationships. Most importantly, it can help you understand you. They can be a little dose of that antidote to help you be your best self.
Simply call 1800 858 858 at any time, day or night, to talk to someone. If you need ongoing support, an appointment can be booked for you to speak with a counsellor in your Queensland region by phone or videoconference. When you call, please let our staff know that you are someone from the Hotel industry who has been affected by the COVID-19 event.
