Although some hospitality managers try to promote a supportive team or family atmosphere for their employees, working in customer-contact positions in the lodging or food and beverage industries can be mentally taxing, especially in a tourism-heavy rural resort community.
Industry veterans point to issues ranging from workers feeling expendable and under-appreciated to late-shift employees who get off work when most everything is closed except for bars serving alcohol. Shift drink excesses and having to work holidays are some of the common challenges.
According to research and survey data compiled by Arvada-based nonprofit CHOW, or Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness, workers in the food, beverage and hospitality industry may suffer from higher rates of depression, substance abuse and mental health issues than other service industries.
CHOW reports that 53% of food, beverage and hospitality workers feel they have been pushed to their breaking point; 63% of those workers suffer from depression, 65% report using substances at work and 84% say they feel stress from their job.
Several Colorado resort communities offer weekly CHOW peer-to-peer support groups including a hybrid in-person/virtual meeting in Steamboat Springs noon-1 p.m. Tuesdays at Dusky Grouse Coffee. CHOW offers additional industry-focused groups online including meetings at different times of the day and week and groups tailored for men, women, Pride and Spanish speakers.
Jasmin Parks-Papadopoulos, chief growth officer for CHOW, said the support meetings are operated in a confidential format with participants asked not to take specifics outside of the meetings. Attendees using the Zoom option are allowed to create an alias name and keep their microphone and camera off if needed.
“We cannot underscore the importance and value of vocationally specific care when we want communities to get well and share the lived experience,” Papadopoulos said.
CHOW, or Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness, asks hospitality workers to take a daily wellness check-in.CHOW/Courtesy image
She noted the CHOW group in Steamboat started in 2023 and can offer a harm-reduction pathway to recovery if employees desire to quit or reduce use of substances.
“While the rest of the world winds down, our industry gears up. Long shifts, high expectations, tough guest interactions and the pressure to ‘hold it all together’ can make December feel less like a celebration and more like a marathon. With intention, boundaries and a little support, we can protect our well-being, stay connected to our purpose and move through the holidays with more steadiness and less strain.”
CHOW
The mission at CHOW is to support wellness within the hospitality industry and to improve the lives of that employee community through shared stories, skills and resources. The Steamboat meetings for CHOW are led by volunteer hosts with experience in the local restaurant industry including Chris Ray, who founded the sober social network SoBoat Steamboat in 2020.
The Steamboat Springs CHOW weekly peer support group is led by hospitality veterans including Chris Ray, who founded the sober social network SoBoat Steamboat in 2020.CHOW/Courtesy photo
“What brings us together is our shared experiences of having worked in hospitality settings, as well as the common side effects of industry work, such as substance use, mental health, emotional health, family or relationship issues,” according to meeting organizers. “This industry is tough. Let’s talk about it.”
The meeting hosts are calls ExPOS, or experienced peers offering support. The support group organizers in Steamboat shared the meeting philosophy of providing an open place to talk with people who hold shared industry experiences. For more information, contact Ray at Chris@chowco.org.
“We meet to talk about where it hurts, to admit what doesn’t help, to tell stories about what does,” the organizers said. “When crying in the walk-in doesn’t cut it anymore, when we’re in the weeds or burnt out, we can still help each other go from survive to thrive. Our work is often just ‘more, more, more! now, now, now!’ That can be exciting – or exhausting. CHOW helps us to slow life down, take a pause and rethink what matters.”
The nonprofit established by a Denver piemaker in 2018, which now has participants from across the U.S., offers a wide range of support options including a monthly, online, four-hour Mental Health Amuse Course. The next Amuse Course offering is the afternoon of Dec. 10, with January and February courses dates to be announced soon. More information is online at Chowco.org/meetings.
The Amuse Course was created for the hospitality industry by industry peers and offers an overview of mental health, wellness and substance use recovery, complemented by resources, applicable skills and thought-provoking conversations. Some of the course topics include healthy boundaries, smart goals, writing a mental health self-service plan and assessments of communication and conflict styles.
Some of the other CHOW resources include mental health self-assessments, scripts for challenging conversations, workplace wellness toolkit, links to wellness apps and agencies, and recorded talks on the CHOW YouTube channel.
CHOW leaders also ask customers to help out industry workers by being understanding, patient and kind with hospitality staff who work to keep up and keep going during the winter high visitation season in busy tourism towns.
Arvada-based nonprofit CHOW, or Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness, provides a wide variety of wellness resources and peer support groups for employees in the hospitality industry.CHOW/Courtesy graphic
