Sustainability of the Mind: Mental Health and the Sustainability of Restaurants
Sustainability is a movement, an aspiration, a buzzword, a trend but also a necessity. Global leaders are all thinking of sustainability, even if it is just to satisfy the bare minimum requirements to greenwash their brand to increase revenues. These values are often related to the environment, food production, energy production and single use plastics but rarely do we look at sustainability from a perspective of mental health.
Unsustainable business practices have mired the hospitality industry since the conception of restaurants as we know them today. But in recent years, there has been a shift in mindset to encapsulate, or at the very least consider, the impact of operating in an unsustainable manner.
Food costs have soared due to a broken food system that continues to fail everyone except the large corporations who profit continuously. But food cost has always been a factor in any restaurant or food business, just as Apple considers the cost of a Macbook before it hits the market. Restaurants have always had to navigate these waters. What hasn’t been largely considered is the psychological toll that restaurant work often has on those who work in the industry. Only now, post pandemic, are we seeing a greater number of restaurants considering the mental health needs of their workers. Things that are commonplace across other industries such as health benefits, flexible work weeks, mental health support and paid sick days are nearly non-existent in hospitality. For decades those who have worked in restaurants have had to deal with a tremendous amount of physical and emotional abuse with no safety nets or support. This practice, by definition, is completely unsustainable. But it has taken this long to get to a point where restaurant workers have had enough.
There have been major red flags on this road to our current struggle. The labour shortage for the past decade has been one of them. Aspiring cooks are directed to college to attain qualifications in culinary arts only to realize that upon graduation they have $20k of debt and will be working for $15 per hour in much the same position as they would be if they had moved directly into restaurants without any qualifications. This alone is a barrier in itself, but considering the turnover rate of restaurant staff is 1.5 times that of all private sector workers, the prospects are not rosy. The numbers speak for themselves and clearly outline what is an entirely unsustainable model of entry and longevity in the industry.
The upshot of all this is a shrinking labour pool and employment opportunities that have been decimated by the pandemic. But with the greatest hardship sometimes comes the greatest opportunities. The opportunity to rebuild, strengthen and uplift. The value of the employee is suddenly being considered, as it always should, as the restaurant’s most valuable asset. The sincerity of these pivots into a more stable and supportive work environment is hopefully a long lasting philosophy into a model of placing the lion’s share of value on the employee. People have always been central to the hospitality industry, as the name suggests. The lack of recognition of such has been the product of an exploitation of labour and absence of professionalism
The word sustainability at its most basic concept means to be able to last or continue for a long time. Just like natural resources, there is only so much we can take from our minds, before we are depleted and need to be replenished or seek other sources of energy. We are constantly bombarded by a swathe of stressors, compounded with a pandemic and an inescapable climate crisis. Our phones poison our thoughts and drain our capacity for emotion, leaving the mind an overly burdened entity. Sustainability of our mental health is often overlooked while more responsibility is piled on us to make positive change in the world towards a sustainable food system. The question is; how long can we sustain this level of psychological onslaught? Restaurants have the opportunity, and duty, to be a part of reform in the food system.The opportunity is here and the time for action is now. Equitable pay structure, investment in training, paid sick days and mental health support are all areas in which we need improvements. Some are easier implemented than others but all are possible. Change starts with intention.
