The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Occupational Stress in Restaurant Work: A Qualitative Study.

Julia F Lippert,Mackenzie B Furnari,Charlie W Kriebel

doi:10.3390/ijerph181910378

Abstract

The economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted the food service industry—one of the largest workforce sectors in the United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the occupational stressors experienced by restaurant and food service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic through a detailed assessment of their lived experiences. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns within data from sixteen semi-structured interviews with people employed or recently employed in the restaurant industry during July of 2020. Five themes were highlighted including fear of being exposed to the COVID-19 virus while working under inadequate safety policies, job insecurity, inconsistent pay and hours and a lack of health benefits and paid time off, all of which increased occupational stress and led to uncertainty if respondents would return to the restaurant industry. Hardships associated with the pandemic were mitigated by the support and connections fostered by the communities built within the restaurants. Results led to several recommendations to address the social and economic contributors to occupational stress at the structural and population levels which can be used in the current and post-pandemic workplace.

Highlights

Public Health 2021, 18, 10378. https://In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spread to the United States triggering shelter in place orders that largely shutdown the U.S economy and resulted in a 22% to 60%decrease in the national Gross Domestic Product [1,2]
The goal of this study was to explore the occupational stressors experienced by restaurant and food service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Recent studies of the restaurant and hospital sectors have shown that organizational practices such as increasing workloads without increased compensation and lack of transparency in revised operating procedures during the pandemic had led to more job insecurity, lowered job satisfaction, occupational stress, emotional exhaustion, and less organizational commitment [28,29]

Summary

Introduction

Decrease in the national Gross Domestic Product [1,2]. This economic downturn disproportionately impacted the service industry which prior to the pandemic was one of the largest workforce sectors in the nation with roughly 13.5 million restaurant related jobs. The food service industry has lost nearly 3.1 million jobs and more than. 110,000 restaurants have or are projected to permanently close due to the economic fallout caused by the pandemic [5,6]. The pandemic and the associated economic impacts have led to unprecedented levels of occupational stress and adverse mental health outcomes [7].

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Methods

Discussion

Conclusion