Despite the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing challenges facing the sector, those working in hospitality are still the happiest at work according to new data from work platform, Deputy.
Between January and June this year, workers from four key industries – hospitality, retail, healthcare, and services – shared how they felt at the end of their shift. The resulting findings were taken from a total of more than 170,000 UK responses at the end of a shift.
In the UK, hospitality workers came out top, with 50% recording feeling ‘amazing’ and 30% ‘good’. A further 14% said they felt ‘ok’ and only 7% were ‘frustrated’ or ‘stressed’. Healthcare and services had the highest percentage of workers who were just ‘ok’ (24% and 22% respectively). In particular, workers in pharmacies had the highest percentage of ‘ok’ shifts (40%) and the highest amount of ‘frustrated’ workers out of all industries at 18%. Postal and delivery workers recorded 28% of shifts as ‘ok’.
According to the Deputy data on the hospitality industry, workers in bars had the highest percentage of ‘amazing’ shifts, whilst those working in hotels were the most ‘stressed’:
Jon Wilson, SVP at Deputy, said: “Our Shift Worker Happiness Index highlights the resilience of workers in the hospitality industry. We know just how tough the market has been for some time now and we’re really impressed by the improvements our customers have been making to look after their staff and to make sure they feel valued.”
Deputy’s data highlighted a significant improvement in the advanced planning of shifts in the hospitality industry over the past 12 months. Between January and June 2022 and the same period this year, the average number of days’ notice workers were given of their shifts moved from 10.5 days to 12.8 days. At the same time, last minute changes to rosters and cancellations of shifts reduced from 7% to 4%.
Jon Wilson said: “We know that a lack of forward planning and last-minute changes can be incredibly stressful for hourly workers. Especially for those who need to plan childcare for their shifts or people who work multiple jobs. These are really good indicators that positive changes are being made in the UK hospitality industry to prioritise the welfare of team members. Leading with compassion and embracing a culture of well-being is absolutely vital to creating thriving workplaces.”
