New research has found that the number of people working in the hospitality industry has fallen every year since 2009, meaning that there has been almost a decade of the industry shrinking.
The research found that the average number of people working in hospitality dropped by around 18,000 in the last year. At the start of 2017, there were around 1.77 million British people working in the hospitality industry; by the end of the year, this number had dropped to around 1.75 million.
This shows a one per cent drop in the last year; however, the decrease has actually been happening for nine years – since the 2008 recession – and it is very likely that the actual drop is closer to nine per cent.
The problem with the drop
This is problematic for numerous reasons. One of the main issues is the size of the workforce. The hospitality industry currently makes up 5.5 per cent of the nation’s workforce; therefore, it is a significant industry and the crisis is starting to put the current workforce under strain. This could affect industry growth and could make it harder for cafes and restaurants to buy premium products, such as a coffee machines or glass door refrigerator from a supplier such as https://www.fridgefreezerdirect.co.uk/glass-door-refrigeration.
Why are people avoiding the hospitality industry?
A second study found that while many hospitality workers enjoy the convenience and flexibility of their job, they find the work stressful due to understaffing, which leaves them feeling overstretched. The low pay also means that most employees only have a functional relationship with their job rather than an emotional relationship. They don’t really enjoy their job or feel passionate about what they do; instead, they are only motivated by the pay cheque.
This would not be a huge problem if the pay was good; however, when employees were asked what they would change about their job, the number one answer was a better wage. Most employees are motivated by money, but they are only getting paid a base rate that they can find in many other industries where they won’t have to work so hard.
The future of hospitality may feel uncertain, but declining employment numbers may force bosses to reassess how they can make the jobs more appealing. This could result in higher wages, happier employees and a booming industry.
