Hospitality means dealing with people for many hours, sometimes at night and at weekends. That creates risks you cannot see: stress, tiredness, pressure and, at times, aggression. Ley 31/1995 obliges the employer to assess all risks, including psychosocial ones.
Factors that weigh on the sector
- A very high pace at peak service times and little room to stop.
- Long, split or changing hours, which make it hard to rest and balance work and family life.
- Lack of autonomy and repeated tasks (for example, in housekeeping).
- Dealing with demanding customers, and sometimes disrespect.
- Job insecurity (temporary contracts, permanent seasonal contracts known as fijos discontinuos).
- Poor communication within the team and with managers.
The INSST has published a guide for managing the ergonomic and psychosocial risks of the hotel sector. It is a good starting point for employers and representatives.
Signs of stress
Headache, insomnia, irritability, constant tiredness, frequent mistakes, not wanting to go to work. If they last, talk to your manager, to the prevention delegate (workers' representative for prevention) or to the prevention service. Do not keep it to yourself. Stress that continues over time can cause illness.
Difficult customers and aggression
Most customers are fine, but some insult, threaten or even assault staff. Useful rules:
- Stay calm and speak in a calm, clear voice. Do not argue or answer with provocations.
- Do not stay alone with an aggressive person. Alert a colleague or the manager.
- Offer a solution within your means and, if you cannot, call someone who can decide.
- If there is a physical risk, move away, try to keep an exit clear and call security or the police (112).
- Report it to your employer in writing or in person, so that there is a record. The employer must review what is needed: more staff at critical times, an alert to security, training, a protocol.
An assault suffered at work can be an accident at work (article 156 of the General Social Security Act: bodily injury suffered in connection with or as a result of work). Seek medical attention and report it.
Harassment
Sexual harassment or harassment based on sex, whether from a colleague, a manager or a customer, is not part of the job. The employer must have measures to prevent it and a procedure for handling complaints. That subject is developed in the course on equality and workplace harassment. Here it is enough to remember that you can and should report it.
Night work and shift work
The Workers' Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores, article 36) defines night work as work done between 22:00 and 6:00. A night worker is someone who normally does at least three hours of their daily working time in that period, or who is expected to do a third of their annual working time in it. For that person:
- Working time cannot exceed eight hours a day on average, over a reference period of fifteen days, and they cannot work overtime.
- The employer must guarantee a free assessment of their state of health before they start night work and then at regular intervals.
- If health problems linked to night work are recognised, they have the right to move to a day job that exists in the company and for which they are suited.
- People who work shifts or nights must have a level of protection equivalent to everyone else's.
Looking after your sleep helps: a dark, quiet place, regular mealtimes and not much coffee in the second half of the shift.
Rest breaks
Take the breaks you are entitled to. Tiredness multiplies mistakes in the kitchen and when driving home after a long shift.
What the employer is responsible for
Assessing psychosocial factors, organising reasonable shifts, explaining how to act in the face of aggression and harassment, and offering support after an incident.