Recently I have been thinking about the welfare of staff working within the hospitality industry and their wellbeing. Initially I had considered their mental wellbeing, especially after the impact of Covid.

Then we have the physical injuries that are part of the territory, finding yourself at the sharp end of unacceptable behaviours from visitors and guests, and the simple wear and tear on their bodies from the jobs they do. It is fair to say that often poor practice is brought into the workplace from home since we have no rigid or set rules to follow off duty. We must ensure home practices or tendencies are left at home.

Hotel housekeepers have many tasks they must complete, under time pressure, on a daily basis. There is little or no time when the pace slackens. Daily they may be required to clean bathrooms, deal with body spillages, vacuum, damp dust, make beds, turn mattresses which can weigh up to 100lb, scrub floors, remove waste, clean carpets, even take down and rehang curtains. And that’s just a few of the tasks. Performing each of these activities, sometimes numerous times a day, opens up housekeeping professionals to a higher risk of physical, stress-induced, and repetition injuries. Hospitality workers potentially have a 40 per cent higher chance of becoming injured at work than other service-sector employees in general.

In the United States research has identified that

Hotel workers suffer the highest injury rate than other workers studied.
Hotel workers incur the highest rate of musculoskeletal injuries among all other occupations studied.
Hotel workers ranked the highest acute trauma injury rates as well.

California has passed a regulation intended to protect housekeepers working in lodging establishments. This requires hotels, resorts, and other lodging properties to identify and address hazards that place housekeepers at risk of musculoskeletal injuries.

Musculoskeletal injuries can be caused by traumatic events or by weeks, months, or years’ worth of consistent exposure to repetitive force, awkward positions, motion, and vibration. It’s not just those identified by the slips, trips, and falls headline. Lifting, kneeling, bending, reaches above the shoulder and much more can lead to staff being physically and mentally exhausted. This can lead to back issues or pain in other parts of the body and damage to nerves, muscles and tendons.

**Lifting, kneeling, bending, reaches above the shoulder and much more can lead to staff being physically and mentally exhausted**

Housekeeping professionals are at higher risk due to the amount of time they spend on surfaces in bathrooms, which create ideal conditions for slip and fall injuries, but there has been a big swing towards safety floors in these areas, which has led to a reduction in accidents.

Manual handling injuries can occur from situations such as having obstructed vision when carrying linens, pushing trolleys, or performing other tasks. This is why regular Manual Handling training is so important for housekeeping staff. Housekeeping staff can be vulnerable to cumulative trauma injuries, which develop from repetition, force, or improper work positioning. Such injuries develop gradually over time and can cause pain in the wrists, back, neck and shoulders. Also, without competent training in the use of cleaning agents, respiratory illnesses from repeated exposure to chemicals has the potential to cause issues. The most common causes of hotel housekeeper injuries are repetitive movements and working in small spaces with awkward postures. Then comes slips, trips and falls, followed by lifting and finally sharps incidents. There are repercussions, not just for the housekeeper who while away from work may lose out financially, face long term physiotherapy and be drained by the impact on their day-to-day life.

For establishments, the loss is often financial, time-consuming covering work absences, and it also impacts on the rest of housekeeping teams who need to cover the work. This can lead to high employee turnover and further absence. The first thing that must be done is training in all the skills, best practice, COSHH, Manual Handling, with monitored risk assessments. Wellbeing health checks should be available for staff, with access to an occupational health service. Putting into place an injury preventative plan is essential, with procedures to identify housekeeping safety issues and hazards. Any injuries must be investigated, leading to procedures for correcting safety issues connected to musculoskeletal injuries. Training for housekeeping teams and their managers needs to identify symptoms, signs and risk factors linked to musculoskeletal injuries, alongside best practice and health and safety to prevent injuries. The right equipment and tools, chosen following robust trials by housekeepers is vital, together with regular training in their use. Quality Improvement teams involving housekeepers can review issues and generate solutions.

We can never completely remove hazards, but we can work with staff so they identify potential issues.

Delia