Photo: Restaurant After Hours - restaurantafterhours.org
Restaurant After Hours
It took a pandemic to bring to light the unique mental health challenges faced by restaurant workers. Workplace obstacles like power struggles, perfectionism, harassment and discrimination can be exacerbated in fast-paced bar and restaurant environments where employees have to work long hours, nights, weekends and holidays, often at low pay and with few benefits.
Restaurant After Hours, founded by hospitality industry veteran Zia Sheikh, is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping hospitality industry workers nationwide find mental wellness support. They also have resources for restaurant owners and managers that want to improve their working conditions.
“We talk about issues from a mental health resources perspective and provide coping strategies, as well as links to other places that could be helpful,” says Kiri Lester-Hodges, the outreach coordinator, partnership coordinator and support group facilitator for Restaurant After Hours.
The free virtual support groups address anger, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, relationships and trauma. The groups are held at different times to accommodate varied shifts within the hospitality industry. Restaurant After Hours board members and facilitators consist of mental health professionals and advocates, many of whom had worked in the restaurant industry and share their own emotional struggles.
Resources and Hotlines
The website, restaurantafterhours.org, lists under the “resources” tab more than a dozen crisis hotlines, along with links to mental health organizations and support groups. There are resources for suicide prevention and eating and sleeping disorders. Links to restaurant focused communities lists groups dedicated to improving working conditions, and wellness movements and hospitality grants.
Lester-Hodges says during 2020, they heard from restaurant workers that had been laid off during pandemic shutdowns. “They had time to reflect on the workplace and realized just how many issues there were. Now, they’re back at work and see that while there have been a lot of changes, a lot of these problems still persist.”
She cites examples such as restaurants reopening and functioning as if the pandemic didn’t happen. “They’re not providing health insurance, not paying more than minimum wage, not providing mental health resources and not accommodating employees that are immune-compromised.”
Many businesses made it clear they do want to do something to improve workplace conditions, Lester-Hodges notes, but they don’t know how. “In those situations, we want to help them make it work and offer resources, provide psychoeducation and consult with those that want something specific.”
Common and Overlooked Challenges Persist
Long-time challenges that exacerbate workplace anxiety and depression still persist, says Lester-Hodges, such as sexual harassment, power dynamics and lack of respect from owners or managers that treat workers in a way that abuses their power.
“Things that are not as talked about as much are race dynamics,” Lester-Hodges emphasizes. “A lot of people in the back of house that work in the dish station are people of color and often not treated the same way as folks who serve people in front of house. Women of color in the restaurant industry are often not paid the same as their male white counterparts.”
Restaurant After Hours strives to offer resources where people can stay anonymous, as well as care that is free of cost and non-judgmental. “We try to make sure resources for substance abuse are open to harm reduction instead of complete abstinence.” Lester-Hodges adds they also want to reach people that don’t speak English.
For workers that want to form support coalitions where they live, she advises to organize a union, if applicable for the size of the company. “Our friends at Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (rocunited.org) have been able to advocate for people forming a union at their places of work,” she says. “They help demand minimum wage, and report things like sexual harassment and wage theft.”
Lester-Hodges also recommends finding a good therapist and using social media to join or form groups specific to certain workplace issues. “We have Facebook groups whose members are cooks that want to talk about mental health. There is a Women in the Restaurant Industry Facebook group. You can talk with and validate each other or push for systemic change.”
For more information, visit restaurantafterhours.org.
