Gen Z hospitality staff don’t see a long-term career in the industry, according to a new survey from Stay Nimble.
Its data shows that more than half, 54%, intend to stay in the sector for less than four years.
Measuring responses from 500 full time hospitality workers, the career coaching platform found that 29% of 16- to 24-year-olds said the cost-of-living crisis had made a long-term career in the industry unsustainable.
Other key barriers included low pay and benefits (39%) and unsocial working hours (30%).
With 24% citing high levels of stress and burnout as a barrier, as well as better job security in other industries and lack of progression opportunities also scoring 20% respectively.
This lack of career progression and training was largely put down to limited financial resources for employee development, representing 56% of responses.
A perceived lack of senior roles was also an important factor at 50%, with over 30% also citing that managers are not invested in developing employees as there is such a huge turnover of staff.
The survey also found that 37% of young people said they sometimes feel embarrassed about their career choice, with 61% saying they want a job that makes them feel proud.
34% said that although passionate about their career, they feel friends and family don’t take it seriously.
More positively, over half of Gen Z respondents said they don’t want to leave hospitality because they feel accepted for who they are in the sector. A further 34% don’t see themselves working in any other sector.
CEO of Stay Nimble, Dominic Atkinson, said, “It’s concerning to see from our survey that so many Gen Z hospitality workers said “lack of resources” given by their employers are a major barrier to their career progression.
Atkinson added that there is clearly scope to retain younger staff in hospitality with 24% of 16 to 24 year olds saying career opportunities are important to them.
However, he notes that these routes need to be made a lot clearer, with over half asking for more information about progression.
“It’s certainly not all doom and gloom when it comes to careers in hospitality for the younger age group”, Atkinson added, with a promising 44% of Gen Z hospitality workers feeling committed to their role.
“This is where highlighting career coaching and progression opportunities can play a huge part in motivating staff to help them feel like it is worth working towards a longer-term career.
“However, it’s vital this coaching is tailored to the individual because a third (33%) said they’re worried that if they progress from their current role, they won’t be doing the things they currently enjoy.
