The Four Day Restaurant Workweek Edition

On hospitality, service, and the value of rest

Colin here. As the world went from confinement back into a semblance of reality, the stress on the hospitality world was real. Hoteliers and restaurant workers were often unceremoniously fired in the worst of times and then hastily courted back and thrust into hyper-busy workdays with less-than-polite patrons that seemed to lose their manners in the pandemic. It is a tale common in the US, but also abroad. In Dubai, which remained open for business, demands on hospitality workers were also high due to the surge of new arrivals. 

Based on these stresses, I was interested to see a popular restaurant experiment with a four-day work-week for staffers. The thesis was more time off means more refreshed teams and a better end experience for the consumer. And initial data shows it is working. 

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Bloomberg reports: “PM Restaurant & Bar, formerly known as La Petite Maison, says servers, cooks, and other staff members will take on longer shifts on two days and have three days off per week at both of its branches in the United Arab Emirates. Overall, staff members will work slightly fewer hours per week and keep the same salary.”

Photo: Bloomberg. 

Why is this interesting? 

Hospitality is a race to attract the best talent in order to provide the highest touch service with warmth and care. To do this, well-rested and well-treated staff are the recipe. The restaurant industry is notorious for late nights, high standards, and a culture of “suffer in silence” as you move up the ranks. So, it is interesting to see a proactive approach being taken to care for emotional and mental well-being. It brings to mind more of the enlightened hospitality we see from somewhere like Union Square Hospitality. And at the end of the day, the war for talent matters a ton. 

Bloomberg continues: 

The French restaurant is making the change in a bid to attract and retain the best employees in a notoriously high-pressure industry. “It was really necessary to act,” says Alexandra Audon, director of operations in the Middle East at LPM. “In an era when everyone is talking about a work-life balance, I can assure you that the hospitality industry was never known to tick the boxes.”

Experimentation with different working hours is nothing new for other industries—notably tech and startups—but this is an interesting precedent, and LPM plans to scale it to other locations around the Gulf. And though staff will work three fewer hours with this plan, it is a bet that the physical and emotional rest will have a knock-on effect the guests. One would surmise that greater loyalty to the restaurants and the resulting repeat visits could be a nice return on investment. The rest of the world should pay attention to what is learned. (CJN). 

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)

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