The Cost of an Extra Day!

An intense hospitality sector has made 6 days a working week for a long time. Managers, chefs, housekeepers, front desk personnel, and kitchen staff are made to toil long hours, with hardly any time to rest, relax, or unwind with family. It's an anecdote of an inevitable necessity to be met to satisfy guest expectations and revenue targets... But it is now increasingly recognised as one of the fiercest in vitro causes behind the industry-wide skyrocketing attrition of staff.

The global discussion on employee wellness has been louder of late. But in Indian hospitality, the 6-day work week, coupled with worsening situations, continues to breed burnout, disenchantment, and mass resignations. This blog goes on to consider how the 6-day work culture impacts employee retention and why it is so much more intense in India, and what progressive hospitality entities are starting to do to address it.

6-Day Work-Week Burnout: The Reality

The hospitality sector differs from others. It has a customer-first approach, demanding a smile, precision, and the energy to work around the clock-24/7. But humans are not machines. When six-day working weeks of 10–12-hour shifts become the norm, one begins to wonder where commitment ends and exploitation begins. Over a period, this nothing-but-unrelenting schedule takes away from the physical health, emotional well-being, and motivation of people. 

Signs and Symptoms of Burnout in a 6-day Work Week Are:

• Greater absenteeism, long sick leaves
• Decline in service quality
• Increasing levels of attrition
• Anxiety, fatigue, and depression in mental health

Hospitality personnel are leaving not because they do not love what they do, but because the job doesn't love them back.

Retention Crisis in Hospitality in India

Hospitality is one of the fastest-growing and most volatile employment sectors in India. However, it suffers from an abnormally low retention rate. Higher education reports 35-45% yearly turnover among junior-level staff in Indian hotels, much higher than the world average of 25%.

What exactly stands behind such high attrition?

- Win-Work Imbalance: With only one day off per week, employees struggle to fulfil personal and family commitments, creating stress and resentment.

- Little or No Career Growth: Long hours and limited mentoring due to understaffed teams create a sense of stagnation.

- Lack of Appreciation: Continuous effort with hardly any value given chases away young recruits as well as experienced stars.

- Low Pay: Hospitality jobs, especially the entry-level ones, hardly provide monetary justification for the personal sacrifices involved.

A deeper analysis of retention in hospitality India brings to light the very connection between working overtime and resigning: Even passionate professionals will burn out when there is no sustainability in their planning.

Domino Effect: From Burnout to Business Loss

Each employee departure instigates a chain of events that diminishes a hotel's brand and income:

• Rising recruitment costs due to frequent re-hire
• Repeated training of the new staff consumes resources and time
• Erratic quality of service gives a bad experience to the guests
• The morale of the new employees only goes down, oh-so-funnily!

In an industry where relationships form the very core of operations-between employees and guests, employees and this constant churning leads to dilution of the very human heart of hospitality. That's not just sad; that's bad for business.

Generational Shift: Gen Z and Millennials Demand Change

The younger workforce of today, especially Millennials and Gen Z, refuses to glorify overwork. Their priorities range from:

Accommodating mental health

• Work-life integration
• Meaningful work
• Flexibility in schedules

This generation doesn't think twice before quitting when disrespected, especially when overburdened. Hence, rates of hospitality staff quitting are now strongly attributed to work culture that works against them, such as the 6-day model. Availability-related issues were the sole concern before; adaptability now takes centre stage. Any Hotel or restaurant unwilling to evolve its employee experience is risking losing the talent race.

The Global Benchmark: The 5-Day New Norm

Across much of Europe and North America, the 5-day work week is considered a basic standard of employment-even in hospitality. Many international luxury hotel chains have made investments in employee well-being programs, rotational shifts, flex rosters, and incentives to enable sane scheduling.

In Asia, some early groups are attempting to promote the 4.5-day or 5-day format to retain and attract top talent. What happens? There is less burnout, more reviews, employee referrals, and loyalty. Hence, the real question for the Indian hospitality leaders comes down to: Why not here?

The Future Looks Medley: Pragmatic Responses to the 6-Day Work Week

Solving the 6-day work week burnout crisis cannot be an overnight decision. It has to place leadership with human sustainability at its core. Practical steps are:

1. Create the Rotation of 5-Day Work Week Orders: Instead of suspending work, encourage job rotation with the proviso that each staff member earns two days off in a week.
2. Staff Scheduling Setup: Digital scheduling helps balance the shifts, prevents labour overbooking, and offers transparency, thereby alleviating conflicts and overtime abuse.
3. Cross-Training: It equips employees to fill in for one another if circumstances arise in which people may be short-staffed.
4. Communications and Recognition: Just some minor measures: daily briefings, staff appreciation boards, and recognition programs-all go a long way in restoring performance.
5. Wellness Benefits: Could power the wonders. All right, mental health counsellors might be fruitfully partnered with; gym membership is great; organising Recharge Days once a month is wonderful.
6. Rethink Career Paths: Communicate growth opportunities, mentorship programs, and upskilling for employees to feel valued.

A Call to Indian Hospitality Leaders

Reduction in attrition in Indian hospitality will not be possible unless employee well-being is incorporated into the business strategy. The six-day work culture belongs to older times and thus should be aligned with today's labour realities and expectations.

Inspiration, commitment, and service-driven teams must be given something more than just a pay cheque; respect for their time, energy, and humanity must also be accorded. Because that is the secret behind five-star service; not-so-glamorous happy people deliver it!

Change is not risky; staying the same is.

In providing hospitality for the guests, the hotels and restaurants of India should now extend hospitality to those working behind the scenes. We need to ponder:

What really do we gain through a sixth day of work?

Can an exhausted worker really please a guest?

The most important one is—what is the cost of ignoring this silent epidemic of 6-day work week burnout? The answers are clear, and the way going forward is even clearer. Let us create a future where hospitality does not just serve guests but also serves those who make hospitality possible.

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