AUGUSTITIS…Can It Be Cured?
It’s August already! This summer has definitely flown by. But then again, it is August….
You know that August feeling. The seasonal college help is leaving, the influx of people doesn’t change, the workload just increases, morale starts to downward spiral and the amount of fucks industry workers have left is in the negatives.
It happens the same every year. August always looks so daunting. We get angry with each other more than we did all summer which in turn reflects onto our guests. Our mood changes the minute we see the building.
Is there a way to change the environment to soar over the August feeling and go back to the way we felt in May; excited and eager to make money and do what we love?
OF COURSE
First thing’s first. Acknowledge and give yourself a pat on the back for how far you’ve come this summer; the busiest summer to date at many places in the tourist beach area. From the beginning of May when short staffing was a serious issue to June and July where we saw volumes of people like we haven’t seen before. We made it.
HERE’S HOW TO GET RID OF THAT AUGUSTITIS
1. CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE
The easiest way to change our environment is to focus on how we enter it.
At the end of the day the only thing we have control over is our own attitudes. A lot of us in the industry have our own “on” personalities that our guests are used to but our co-workers are used to as well. If the usual bubbly and brightest in the room is coming in angry and annoyed already, it is very easy for our co-workers to match it. To boost morale and have a better shift, check your mood at the door.
What can you change before you even walk inside?
Do you need a minute?
What do you need to leave at the door?
2. LEAVE YOUR EXPECTATIONS OUT OF IT
In August we can find ourselves making judgement calls before we even get to work based on situations around us. “Traffic’s horrible. Today is going to suck. I’ve been beeped at four times just in the traffic circle alone.The parking lot is packed. That’s not even a spot sir. It’s raining. We’re understaffed. Cue the shit show.” The energy you put out is the energy you’re going to receive.
Can you flip the script and just let it be what it is?
Can you put our best foot forward and help others when you can?
Can you refrain from linking daily events to how the work day will go?
What can you do to make the day run smoothly?
Can you put all expectations aside?
3. LET IT GO AFTER THE SHIFT. DON’T TAKE IT HOME WITH YOU.
The most difficult part of the industry is letting things go and keeping emotions out of situations. Angry guests take a lot of patience. We classify August as the worst of it but it’s the same amount. We’ve bottled up a lot of our emotions throughout the last two and a half months that the bottle is about to pop. We don’t have to pop the bottle (of anger that is, champagne Labor Day Monday is acceptable)
Instead of blowing up:
Did you have a situation that really grinded your gears this shift?
Do you have that person to talk to about it?
Can you write it down and rip it up?
Can you refrain from getting empathy by telling everyone and just letting it go?
Think about this—— We’ve all been on yelp before. We see those 5 bad reviews in the millions of good ones. Let’s flip the script again! Are you going to let that one table who had a “bad experience” take away from the 24 tables you had and connected with? Who sang praises of the restaurant and of you? Because of the work YOU put in? Don’t let one person’s experience rob you from all the hard work you did and was appreciated for.
4. DO VALUABLE AND HEALTHY THINGS FOR YOURSELF
It’s the last month of the summer. Our free time is so important to recharge and get ready for the next shift. A lot of us during this month work at least five, sometimes six days in a row like a majority of the summer. Yet we have less help at work in August. What we do in our free time directly affects our work ethic and emotional state even more.
Have you done something for yourself (literally something that only directly helps YOU) during a day off?
Have you rested when your body asks for it?
When’s the last time you moved your body?
Have you taken time to do something that makes you happy?
Let’s take this August by the balls and change the narrative we’ve been telling ourselves for years. It is possible to get through this month on top; feeling like we still love our jobs, our coworkers, and the environment we’ve chosen for work.
All it takes is looking inward,
focusing on how we choose to show up,
and giving ourselves a bit of extra love.
***LIKE THIS ? Tune back in next week where Ryan will tackle overcoming BURNOUT. ***