Today the USBG National Charity Foundation announces the launch of a ground-breaking study through the World Wellbeing Project (WWBP) designed to illuminate the health and wellbeing of front-of-house hospitality industry professionals. This study will focus on issues of burnout, empathy, language patterns, drinking, and stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic for front-of-house professionals in the United States.
Historically, the experiences of bartenders and servers have been under-studied. Lacking the deep reservoirs of resources available to other professions that underwrite support for decision- and policymakers, the hospitality industry often is forced to rely on general data collected by the government or anecdotal hearsay. The WWBP thus presents an opportunity to gather social and health data specific to bartenders and other front-of-house staff. It is important for the USBG Foundation to participate in studies like these in order to stay at the forefront of research and knowledge-building regarding those that it serves.
The #HealthierHospitality (www.healthierhospitality.wwbp.org) project consists of an initial survey focused on bartenders and other front-of-house hospitality industry professionals, with 15 additional one-minute mobile phone-based check-in surveys administered daily. Participation is voluntary, and participants will be compensated up to $50 for full participation. The information you share will be used only for research purposes and never shared with outside agencies to protect your privacy. The study runs through May 31, 2021 with rolling sign-ups throughout.
Said USBG National Charity Foundation executive director Aaron Gregory Smith, in a press release, “Through the USBG National Charity Foundation, we’ve embarked on a number of initiatives aimed at bringing attention to the wellbeing of the members of our community. The challenges have always been there and the pandemic has only intensified them. This study is an important step toward illuminating our challenges to policymakers in an effort to affect change both in the near and long terms.”
The USBG Foundation would like to thank the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, and Stony Brook University for this opportunity. Support for the study is provided through funding by the National Institutes of Health, and others.