Over half of restaurant workers say they’ve been abused by customers or managers — and many are planning to flee the industry because of it

• 15% of restaurant workers left the industry in the last year, and another 33% said they hope to, according to a new survey.
• 62% of the survey’s respondents report emotional abuse from customers, and 49% report abuse from managers.
• Restaurants are closing dining rooms and cutting hours to cope with fewer workers. 

It’s no secret that the restaurant industry is in crisis, and signs point to it getting even worse. 

Turnover, which is already higher in restaurants than in many industries, is still elevated over pre-pandemic levels, according to a survey of 4,700 former, current, and hopeful restaurant workers from Black Box Intelligence. Turnover for hourly workers is at 144% for quick-service restaurants, compared to 135% in 2019, and turnover for full-service restaurants is at 106%, compared to 102% in 2019.

Workers gave clear reasons for leaving the industry. Well over half of workers, 62%, reported receiving emotional abuse and disrespect from customers, and 49% reported abuse from managers, according to the Black Box Intelligence survey. Of workers surveyed, 15% left the restaurant industry in the last year, and another 33% said that they hope to.

Other data shows that things could become even bleaker. A survey of nearly 14,000 hourly workers from Joblist found that 58% of restaurant and hotel employees plan to quit their jobs by the end of the year. Further resignations could completely destroy the industry’s hopes of recovery, adding to the record numbers of workers that have been quitting throughout the year.

Business owners say they’re unable to find staff and in some cases even cite a lack of desire to work, while workers say they can demand better pay and benefits in the tight labor market. This mismatch has led to restaurants decreasing hours and closing dining rooms. 

Restaurants are already feeling the effects of workers leaving the industry. Nearly half of operators said that they reduced dining capacities voluntarily. According to a survey from the National Restaurant Association, 61% of fast-food restaurants, and 81% of full-service restaurants said that they decided to shut parts of dining rooms in August because they didn’t have the workers to serve those areas.

There is some hope that workers would return to restaurants, but it would require a major shift in the industry. 66% of workers told Black Box that they’d consider returning if the right conditions were met, including higher pay, consistent schedules and income, and improvements to company culture and work environments.

With these changes seeming unlikely in the near future, restaurant workers have fled to other industries.

In place of customer-facing restaurant jobs, some workers are turning to warehouse employment with companies like Amazon, even as those jobs make headlines for poor conditions. Warehouse jobs are up 278% over pre-pandemic levels, and on-demand jobs like Uber and Lyft driving are up 183%, per Black Box.

“Employees have been fired or people are quitting because we’re so overworked and stressed and abused,” an employee at a Midwest Starbucks previously told Insider.

The “handful [of customers] that you get each day who will berate or abuse you can take a drastic toll on your mental well-being,” a restaurant worker in Louisiana echoed.

Mary Meisenzahl 

Business Insider