Industry professionals share how restaurant workplace toxicity affects mental health, as depicted in FXs The Bear.
Experts in This Article
Dina Butterfield is the chef de cuisine at Uchi Miami.
Julie DAmico, MA, EdM, LCMHCA is the director of mental health operations at Restaurant After Hours.
Patrick Keefe is the culinary director at Legal Sea Foods.
Raeghn Draper is the co-founder of The CHAAD Project.
Taylor Bauer is a support group facilitator at Restaurant After Hours.
Dina Butterfield is the chef de cuisine at Uchi Miami.
In this new age of awareness, pop cultural portrayals are shifting accordingly.
FXsThe Bearis the prime example: Its neither light-hearted nor unrealistic.
Instead,The Bearis helping to make the abusive cycle in the restaurant industry crystal clear.
But I couldnt stop watching.
After all, we spend more time in the restaurant and with each other than in our own homes.
Can you not handle this, is it too much for you?
You have a short mans complex.
you’re free to barely reach over this [expletive] table, right?
Youre terrible at this.
Dina Butterfield is the chef de cuisine at Uchi Miami.
Youre no good at it.
Go faster, [expletive].
Why are you so slow?
You should be dead.
In fact, its often encouraged that restaurant workers think of their coworkers as family.
We love to say that the hospitality community is so tight; we love each other.
Its true, we love to feed each other, give each other drinks, and extend that hospitality.
But we dont love to create safe spaces for one another or hold each other accountable.
This further perpetuates the abuse cycle, says DAmico.
Most of the behaviors we encounter are inherited, or passed down.
Some individuals who have endured the abuse may eventually turn into the abuser.
Thats what I went through is a common saying amongst management when questioned.
Same goes for I made it.
I turned out fine.
Generally, the positions that have the littlest power are at a higher risk of experiencing abuse.
Retaliation can come in the form of verbal abuse, having hours cut, or being fired.
Keep in mind that the vast majority of restaurants dont have a human resources departmentfar from.
In a perfect world, finding community support and the strength to speak up would be easy.
However, DAmico explains that due to the flawed nature of the industry, it can feel nearly impossible.
so that break this cycle of abuse, DAmico says management and policymakers must be held accountable.
Change needs to happen from the top.
Sure, it’s possible for you to find a body to replace me.
You cant just replace that.
In the meantime, however, individuals still need to find ways to protect themselves.
It is okay to not be okay.
It is okay to ask for help.
It is okay to focus on ourselves while we tend to others needs all day, she says.
This isnt what other people are going through at work.
This expectation is inappropriate, saysTaylor Bauer, a support group facilitator at Restaurant After Hours.
I dont know if without [the break], we would be having these conversations.
In this new age of awareness, advocating for oneself is more important than ever.
(And if you dont work in the industry, always tip 20 percent.
)Yes, chef.
…
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