Record Number of Workers Leave Hotel Industry Citing Mental Health Reasons

A record number of workers have departed their employment in the hotel industry, with experts citing mental health as a prevalent factor

According to recent research, more people quit their jobs in September than ever before. Per the U.S Labor Department, almost 4.4 million people voluntarily resigned from their employment in September. This is an increase from the 4.3 million persons that left their employment in August 2021.

In the leisure and hospitality business alone, about one million people have left their jobs. In an interview with a restaurant recruiter in the St. Louis region and a former restaurant employee, a discussion took place regarding the top reasons why individuals are abandoning their hospitality employment during the epidemic. They both claim that workers are yearning for more secure employment and that many employees are making the transfer to safeguard their mental health.

“What has generally lacked in our sector is the consistency surrounding work-life balance, family responsibilities, mental health, which is a significant shortfall in our industry,” says Andrew Viragh, the owner of Sonder Hospitality and a restaurant recruiter and advisor. In the end, the folks who were departing were simply attempting to fill the gaps that our industry had.

Jessica Silas, a former restaurant worker, was laid off for nearly five months during the epidemic. Jessica returned to the industry later in the pandemic and felt it no longer suited her. After two weeks back at work, she decided to leave the industry permanently.

“There was no security, there was no respect, there was no medical attention, there was no medical coverage, there was no paid time off available. There was nothing except arduous labour”, adds Silas

People working in hospitality and culinary services had the greatest prevalence of drug abuse problems, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Almost 20% of full-time industry employees take illegal drugs, while approximately 12% of workers report excessive alcohol usage.