Why Do Employees Leave Their Jobs? (by Lesley Garcia)

How long has the restaurant industry been treating their sick workers with no guilt?

How many times have customers treated workers in the hospitality industry terribly?

As I was browsing online for the perfect article for my paper, I came across an article from Grub Street, “The Restaurant Industry has always treated sick workers with no remorse”. As someone who has worked in restaurants for the past years, I can confirm that what this article expressed about this situation was a real thing. 

When I used to work at Restaurant X, I never missed one shift, but sooner or later, I realized that other employees would call off because they were feeling sick. I remember my shift supervisors would let the General Manager know about a sick call-out, but in a way, the upper management sounded more bothered than worried because the sick employees could not make it to work. Additionally, this becomes a problem with customers as well because many call-outs create a place with slow service. Customers would receive poor service or even worse, they might start insulting employees for working unstable, which can become a hostile environment.

HR should go above and beyond to those who are sick for updates on their symptoms and take extra precautions especially since we have already gone through COVID-19 and the Omicron. Respect and keeping your employees should come first from upper management. Managers must know why someone is feeling sick. There have been times when employees call out, but managers still ask if they can make it at least half-time. Are managers taking safety precautions by doing this? If safety precautions are brought up to HR, should HR bring this to the manager's attention and be on the sick employee's side?

Changes that can happen in HR after many sick employee's voices aren’t heard

Having sick employees to serve customers could lead to serious problems for the employees/customers and businesses, especially in the hospitality industry. As we all become aware of the power of social media, people like to post what they recorded or captured online such as on Facebook, Youtube, and TikTok. Workers can share their opinions or start campaigns to show how they were treated by their employers. If workers don’t get enough respect from their company, can they expect fair treatment and respect from customers? 

According to Miller, who runs her own consulting firm, 74% of consumers strongly agree that frontline employees and servers need to be treated better by customers. Many employees, especially since the pandemic started, have quit a job faster than it's ever happened before. Time has changed, and people would rather be treated respectfully, “Labor Department data also shows that workers in customer-facing roles are quitting at higher rates than in other industries. An August report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that workers in hotels, food services, and retail quit at a higher rate in that month than the record national rate.”

Training and development

Now, HR should aim to create a work environment that makes employees feel valued. It would be frustrating for anyone when a manager says no to their call-out request even if they were feeling really sick. To some managers, they do not care if employees do not have sick hours. They only care if they have enough workers to cover the work. 

We must acknowledge that is another problem we face in jobs --- we are all short-staffed due to high turnovers. Yet, a high turnover can also be caused by a lack of respect. Then, also being on the employee's side with a rude customer because the phrase “the customer is always right” is not always true. To earn respect, employers must give respect and HR should reach out to management soon, before the establishment gets a terrible reputation. Without workers, a company cannot operate. Therefore, understanding and respecting the employees should be the number one push that training managers and supervisors should be doing.

When will that time finally come when companies show some respect to their sick employees? Will employees continue quitting jobs if they are not feeling they are valued by the management and customers?

About the Author

Lesley Garcia is a senior at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management and is planning to graduate by Spring 2023. Her work experience includes working for Starbucks as a Barista and other restaurants in both the front and back of the house. Lesley has acquired over 5+ years of customer service experience in food/beverages and events. In the future, Lesley plans to manage a restaurant or open up her own Bar. 

Works cited:

Blake, Suzanne. “Report: Hospitality Workers Could Quit in Droves in 2021.” QSR Magazine,    https://www.qsrmagazine.com/employee-management/report-hospitality-workers-could-quit-droves-2021. 

Crowley, Chris. “The Restaurant Industry Has Always Treated Sick Workers with No Remorse.” The Restaurant Industry Has Always Treated Sick Workers With No Remorse - Opera News, 10 Jan. 2022, https://www.dailyadvent.com/news/129231702162cc986ac59480e388ca70-The-Restaurant-Industry-Has-Always-Treated-Sick-Workers-With-No-Remorse. 

Quillen, Alanna. “Is the Customer Always Right? Rude Shoppers Could Be Fueling Labor Shortage.” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 26 Oct. 2021, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/business/is-the-customer-always-right-rude-shoppers-could-be-fueling-labor-shortage-research-shows/2785812/. 

USDL. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 Apr. 2022, https://www.bls.gov/. 

Picture Source: qsrmagazine.com/employee-management/report-hospitality-workers-could-quit-droves-2021