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.”