Venues across the country come alive as friends, families and colleagues come together to celebrate, creating memorable experiences as well as a vital trading opportunity for businesses across our sector.
As operators prepare for the festive rush, attention naturally turns to bookings, menus, stock and rotas. However, preparing your people for the demands of the season should be approached with exactly the same level of importance.
For hospitality businesses, although the festive period can be hugely profitable, it can also bring longer shifts, late finishes, higher customer volumes and increased expectation to deliver – let alone the pressures of the season outside of work.
Financial worries, family responsibilities, Christmas commitments and difficulties getting sufficient rest can all compound the strain experienced during a shift.
Our latest research shows how significant that challenge can be. Two thirds of hospitality employees say they feel stressed or overwhelmed at work regularly or occasionally (source: LTC Wellbeing at Work Report – LTC & KAM Insight, 2026). These figures should matter to businesses as much as they do to individuals.
Quality and focus drops
Hospitality is fundamentally a people business. When employees are exhausted, distracted or struggling with their wellbeing, it can affect focus, productivity and the quality of service they are able to deliver. In fact, 92% of hospitality employees believe team wellbeing directly impacts productivity and service quality (source: LTC Wellbeing at Work Report – LTC & KAM Insight, 2026).
This becomes particularly important during the holiday season, when venues are at their busiest and teams are being asked to perform consistently at a time when many are already balancing significant pressures inside and outside of work.
It is exactly this reality that inspired our Always On Shift campaign. We highlight that pressure doesn’t necessarily disappear when someone clocks off. A difficult shift can follow someone home, just as financial worries, poor sleep or challenges at home can follow someone into work the following day.
However, we shouldn’t accept that pressure and poor wellbeing are simply inevitable consequences of working through a busy festive season.
There are practical steps operators can take such as clear and considered rotas, adequate recovery time between demanding shifts, regular conversations with teams and recognising when someone might be struggling can all make an important difference. Just as importantly, employees need to know where they can turn when they need additional support.
Managers don’t need to have all the answers themselves. What matters is creating an environment where people feel comfortable speaking up and ensuring teams are properly signposted to confidential, professional support when they need it.
Plan for staff wellbeing too
That’s where services such as LTC’s Employee Assistance Programme can play an important role. Our free EAP provides licensed hospitality businesses with access to specialist wellbeing support for their employees, while our free 24/7 helpline, Wellbeing Platform and wider services provide practical advice, mental and physical wellbeing support, and financial grants to people across the licensed hospitality community.
Demand tells us why making that support visible is so important. Last year, LTC supported 45,000 people, while our free 24/7 helpline received 6,000 calls, a 55% year-on-year increase. Behind every one of those figures is someone who decided to reach out rather than face a challenge alone.
As we head towards Christmas, operators will rightly be doing everything they can to make the most of this crucial trading period. It is vital that planning for your people’s wellbeing sits alongside planning your bookings, stock and staffing.
Speak to your teams and make sure people understand the support available to them. Look for the signs that someone may be struggling and encourage people to ask for help before a challenge becomes a crisis.
Christmas should showcase everything that is brilliant about hospitality: great service, vibrant venues and the ability to bring people together. With the right support in place, we can help ensure the people delivering those experiences are able to enjoy and thrive during the festive season too.
A successful Christmas doesn’t just depend on full venues. It depends on the supported, healthy and engaged people behind them.
