7 Steps to Improve Work-Life Balance in Your Restaurant Team

No matter how much we value our work, we must not forget that the ability to recharge and regenerate is crucial for remaining productive.

Work-life balance is about wisely allocating time for both professional and personal pursuits so that we can maintain good health and happiness. If a manager (even unintentionally) disrupts an employee's personal life with excessive overtime or an unnatural amount of pressure, it can lead to dissatisfaction, stress, and eventually health problems and decreased productivity.

Below, we have prepared a guide on how you as a manager can help your team achieve a healthy work-life balance. All you need is the right attitude and some planning.

1) Rotate Schedules And Set The Right Expectations

Working in a restaurant is not a typical 9-to-5 job and often requires availability even on holidays. As a result, it can be challenging to find time to spend with family and friends. It is extremely important to establish clear rules for splitting weekends and holidays among staff. Try to adjust scheduling wisely and distribute working hours evenly, so that employees have more flexibility and can plan their days off in advance. It is also crucial to set the right expectations for employees about shift schedules to be transparent from the start if you plan to assign someone to more difficult shifts.

2) Encourage Time Off

Restaurant jobs can be exhausting especially because of the consistent interaction with guests and prolonged focused work periods without breaks. Some employees might be very hardworking and motivated because they need money and decline vacations or even come to work while sick. But this doesn’t bring anything good in the long run. Encouraging your employee to take vacation days would not only prevent burnout in your team but also build up trust and respect in your working relationship. 

3) Hire Part-Times

Hiring part-time workers can also help managers to provide more flexibility and time off for full-time employees. This is especially useful for covering shifts on weekends and holidays, when many team members may want to spend time with their families or pursue other interests.

4) Distribute Responsibility

Distributing responsibilities among team members can help to reduce stress and prevent mistakes. By assigning specific tasks and duties to different employees, managers can ensure that everyone knows what they are responsible for and can seek help when needed. This can also help to foster a sense of collaboration and teamwork among the team.

5) Introduce Technology To The Operation

Introducing restaurant process improvements through technology can reduce the workload for team members. For example, using a screen to track orders can help to avoid misunderstandings between the front and back-of-house staff, while providing new employees with restaurant staff training (Like spoon.tech) which can help minimize the amount of time other team members need to spend training them.

6) Build A Fun Culture

Creating a fun and engaging culture can also help to improve morale and reduce stress among the team. By organizing regular events, such as parties or competitions, managers can help to foster a sense of community and build positive relationships among team members.

7) Create A Safe Space

Finally, providing a safe space for employees to discuss their concerns and seek support can help to prevent burnout and improve overall well-being. By being available to listen to employees and provide guidance and support when needed, managers can create a positive and supportive work environment for their team.

In conclusion, to achieve a healthy work-life balance in your restaurant, you should rotate schedules and set the right expectations, encourage time off, hire part-times, distribute responsibility, introduce technology to the operation, build a fun culture, and create a safe space for your employees.

If you found this blog helpful and would like to discuss or learn more about how spoon.tech can help you to bring your staff to the next level and create a better work-life balance, please fill out our contact form, alternatively, you can reach out to us via phone at (+43 670 655 56 82) or email us at hello@spoon.tech.

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