Pilot study published by the Center on Policy Initiatives and San Diego State University uncovers wage theft, discrimination, and break violations among restaurants in San Diego County.
“Overwhelming numbers of restaurant workers reported they had been cheated out of money they were owed in wages and tips, as well as their break time.”
Professor Jill Esbenshade, quoted above, is the principle investigator of recently published study Shorted: Wage Theft, Time Theft and Discrimination in San Diego County Restaurant Jobs, which includes results from a survey of 337 employees working in more than 160 distinct dining establishments in San Diego County, as well as 30 in-depth interviews and observational data collected at 40 top local restaurants.
The findings reveal disturbing numbers of labor laws violations and other exploitive workplace practices at restaurants of all kinds, from fast food to fine dining:
More than 75% of employees surveyed reported that their employers had illegally shorted them on wages or tips during the past year.
25% of respondents said that wage theft is a regular part of their jobs.
84% reported violations of rights to meal breaks and rest breaks, and 23% said restaurant managers made them falsely record unpaid meal breaks although having worked through the break.
Wage theft was found to most oftentarget women, Latinos, and back-of-house staff.
This study’s findings replicate what has been reported in other studies conducted throughout the country; the violation of employee rights is far too commonplace in the restaurant industry and warrant further exploration as well as the development of policy solutions.
The universal sign for work- coffee. Be it physical, formal, collaborative, or leisurely, there is coffee to be consumed, often multiple times per day and on occasion free of charge. Even electing a new pope requires the diverse drink, The reason why? Well, energy of course! Actually, while this is the most commonly associated by-product of coffee-drinking, there are other reasons why more than 400 billion cups are consumed each year.
Surprise! Coffee keeps you alert. Caffeine, the most commonly consumed psychoactive drug in the world, is a stimulant. It blocks the adenosine receptors in the brain, which lets the neurotransmitters like epinephrine and dopamine that are associated with alertness run wild. There are many studies showing that ingesting caffeine helps workers perform better, especially if they’re working when their circadian clocks say they should be sleeping. Researchers studying night-shift workers found coffee is effective in counteracting any “sleepy effect,” and caffeinated shift workers made fewer errors than their decaffeinated colleagues.
Coffee eases the pain of working at a desk. There’s a reason why computer programmers are so wired: Consuming caffeine has been found to ease pain in the neck, shoulders, forearms, and wrists that are often experienced by those of us who are chained to our keyboards.
Coffee is a social lubricant. Researchers from MIT found that employees who take coffee breaks together are more productive. The study tracked a group of workers in a call center and found that when coffee breaks were scheduled so that co-workers could take them at the same time, their performance improved.
Even without the coffee, coffee shops are good places to work. A study in the Journal of Consumer Research explored the effects noise has on creativity. They found that a low to moderate level of ambient sound, like the one found in your favorite coffee shop working spot, improves creativity. A tech startup in Virginia developed Coffitivity, a coffee shop noise simulator.
Coffee may be a life saver, especially for older workers. The US National Institutes of Health found a link between coffee-drinking and lower risks of death. People in their 50s and 60s who drink three or more cups of coffee a day have a 10% lower risk of death compared to those who don’t don’t drink coffee at all.
It even works with decaf. The same NIH study found that removing caffeine didn’t change coffee’s life-extending aura. This article originally appeared on Qz.com.
Why do you drink coffee? Let us know here, or @gosirvo.com.
Americans may not have the most pristine reputation when it comes to eating healthily, but that may soon change as consumers are increasingly basing what to eat on healthfulness. As the demand for healthy food rises in and out of the home, the restaurant industry must adapt to fit the times.
Healthy Habits on the Rise
According to the 2014 Food & Health Survey published by the International Food Information Council (IFIC), healthfullness is the third leading driver of food and beverage selection, influencing 71 percent of consumers. And this shift towards better nutrition is not passive at all as the same survey concluded that at least three out of five Americans spend some time planning each of their meals.This healthfulness movement does not only apply to what is being eaten within the household, but extends to what people are looking for when choosing where to eat out. Research conducted by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) shows that nearly 75 percent of consumers are more likely to dine at restaurants offering healthful items, and when ordering, half of Americans at least sometimes use nutrition information to decide what to have.
A Few Changes
So what does this mean for the restaurant industry? It means boosting nutrition while maintaining taste. To help, Deanne Brandstetter, vice president of nutrition and wellness for the Compass Group North America, offers a few easy ways to improve the nutrition content of your menu items:
Increase produce on the plate. Fruit and vegetables have a huge water content, are low in calories, lower in sodium, and have no saturated fat in their natural state. The more produce you place on a plate, the less you need of other items. The challenge: making produce as interesting and craveable as your proteins.
Add umami with mushrooms. Mix ground mushrooms into ground animal protein to decrease calories, sodium and fat and increase fiber, selenium and Vitamin D. Let customers know about it. They’re no longer into “stealth health,” Brandstetter says. They want to know that you’re making your menu items more nutritious – and how you’re doing it.
Reduce sodium. Use salt as a “finisher,” rather than in every step of the preparation. Or, explore new salt replacements. In response to restaurant and consumer demand, food manufacturers are developing innovative, new products to reduce sodium. One example: diamond-shaped salt crystals, which are hollow inside and have more surface area than traditional salt crystals.
Improve carbohydrate quality. Use whole grains in pasta, pilaf, risotto and other dishes. Experiment with grains other than whole wheat, such as millet, quinoa and spelt. Get ideas and resources from the Whole Grains Council.
Create interesting, lower-calorie beverages. Offer house-made, healthful beverages, such as ginger water, sparkling water with fruit or tea infused with fruit or herbs. Serve juice made with fruit and vegetable purees.
Consider strategic calorie design. Create plates with a limited number of calories. For example, if you are designing a plate with no more than 600 calories, make sure every element builds flavor, satisfaction and craveability.
Rethink desserts. Instead of serving a large slice of cheesecake with a strawberry garnish, create a miniature cheesecake surrounded by strawberries. “The CIA calls it the ‘dessert flip,” Brandstetter says. Customers appreciate tiny dessert portions rather than low-calorie versions, she says.
Allow for indulgence. But on a small scale. Instead of a platter of all fried seafood, serve a few fried shrimp and many, many more grilled shrimp on skewers. “It balances it out a little bit,” she says.
How are you making strides to improve the nutrient content of your menus? Let us know here, or @gosirvo.
Self-trained chef, James Beard Foundation award winner, head judge on Emmy Award winning reality-competition program “Top Chef”, world famous restaurateur, family man, mentor, and even life-saver (of cookbook author Joan Nathan, while choking on a piece of chicken) are just a few of the many hats worn by celebrity chef Tom Colicchio. So what are the secrets behind the success? A three ingredient recipe: “make people happy”, “remain flexible”, and “learn from everyone”.
”Make People Happy”
Eating out is about eating good food, of course, but it is also about convenience. When at a restaurant, whether it is fast casual or fine dining, we don’t want to worry about a tåhing. From the food, to the service, to the atmosphere, we want it wrapped up in a nice bow to be devoured as we please.
Tom Colicchio believes that the fundamental principle that is the foundation of every successful restaurant is that “everything has to work- food, service, and hospitality.” He understands that not only does the food have to be tasty and well-served, but the mood is crucial as well. When “no one is making you feel good”, you leave unsatisfied, with a bad taste in your mouth, if you will. And for Tom, it’s all about “the feeling when you’re walking out the door.”
”Remain Flexible”
What does Tom Colicchio, who has opened several extremely successful restaurants, believe is the most common mistake made when undertaking this notoriously arduous task? “Too much of a game plan.”But don’t misunderstand what he is saying. According to Tom, “always go into a restaurant opening with a great plan, but be prepared to make changes quickly.” On occasion, ideas which sound great in theory don’t always translate into reality as imagined. And this happens to everyone, including the greats. For example, Tom explains that when opening Craft, the menu was confusing customers. So, instead of saying “this is just how we do it,” he and his team realized that it was “causing too much confusion,” and changed the menu as to cater to the diners.In the end, as Tom explains, “you might have a plan… but if it’s not working, you may have to make a change to that plan. You have to remain flexible.”
”Learn From Everyone”
As a chef, restaurateur, and television personality, Tom Colicchio receives his fare share of criticism. What does he do with it? He listens, and then he learns. When considering reviews and the like, Tom doesn’t take it personally, and doesn’t necessarily equate a negative comment to a mistake made by him or his team. Instead, he takes his own advice to “learn from everyone,” and says “you have to start looking for patterns. And once you establish a pattern, then you can identify where there’s a problem that needs fixing.”As a judge on “Top Chef” and an expert on all things culinary, Tom also knows how to dish out the criticism. His advice: “don’t make it personal.” Most of us know that when feeling attacked on a personal level, what is actually being said, the critique itself, goes in one ear and out the other. There is no chance of learning, and improving. So, Tom suggests that we instead “focus on what people are doing as opposed to who they are.”
Sage Advice
Not one person can argue the success of Tom Colicchio, and as such, his advice is in all likelihood good advice. In essence, he’s telling us to stay true to ourselves and our intentions, and that we must be open to change, and adapt. Now those are two tactics we can all use!
Want more tips on how to hack the service industry? Find them @gosirvo.
In fact, the service industry recorded the strongest sales volume on record in December 2014, as well as the eighth consecutive monthly increase, totalling $49.6 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
