2026-06-29
A new survey of hospitality workers in the United Kingdom found a drop in job satisfaction and a rise in mental health strain, adding to concerns about staffing pressures across restaurants, hotels and bars.
The 2026 Hospitality People Survey, commissioned by Hospitality Jobs UK, Scrumptious Marketing, Hotel, Restaurant & Catering, the Independent Hotel Show, KAM Insights and Access Hospitality, surveyed 1,446 workers. It found that 54% of respondents said they were happy in their current role, down from 61% in 2025. At the same time, 36% said their job had a negative effect on their mental health, up from 32% a year earlier.
The findings were released after World Wellbeing Week and were presented by Access Hospitality, a technology company that sells software to hospitality operators. The company said the results point to a need for employers to focus less on broad statements about workplace culture and more on practical issues that workers say matter most in daily life.
Pay ranked first among employee priorities. In the survey, 56% of workers said a fair salary was very or quite important. Holiday entitlement followed at 53%, then training and development at 52% and flexible hours at 51%. Bonus payments or tips and mentoring each drew 47%. Team-building activities were cited by 43%, while remote work, shared parental leave and food and drink discounts each stood at 42%.
The data suggests that workers are placing the greatest value on financial stability, time off, predictable schedules and clearer paths for advancement. Those concerns are especially relevant in hospitality, where long shifts, late schedule changes and seasonal swings in demand can make work harder to manage than in many other industries.
The survey also found a shift in attitudes toward artificial intelligence. More than half of respondents, 52%, said AI is helpful in their job, up from 41% in 2025. That increase comes as operators across the sector test software for scheduling, payroll, training and labor forecasting while trying to control costs and retain staff.
Champa Magesh, managing director at Access Hospitality, said the survey showed that workers want work-life balance, financial security and career development. She said technology should be used only where it addresses those needs directly rather than as an end in itself.
Access Hospitality argued that one of the clearest uses for AI is payroll. In businesses with rotating shifts, overtime and last-minute schedule changes, payroll mistakes can become a source of stress for workers and managers alike. The company said linking payroll systems with scheduling software can reduce errors and help ensure employees are paid correctly and on time.
Scheduling was another area highlighted in the report. According to Access Hospitality, businesses using AI in workforce planning are seeing a 5% improvement in rota accuracy. In practice, that means software can use reservations, sales patterns, local events, seasonality and weather forecasts to estimate staffing needs more precisely. Operators hope that better forecasting can reduce understaffing during busy periods and cut unnecessary overtime when demand is weaker.
For workers, more accurate scheduling can mean fewer sudden changes and more control over personal time. In an industry where evenings, weekends and holidays are often required, even small gains in predictability can affect morale.
Training also emerged as a major issue. With 52% of respondents saying training and development matter to them, employers face pressure to show that hospitality jobs can lead to advancement rather than remain short-term roles with limited prospects. Access Hospitality said digital learning platforms can tailor training to individual employees and help managers spot gaps before they become larger problems.
The company also announced a 2026 employee wellbeing calendar tied to training recommendations and specialist courses throughout the year. That initiative is part of a broader push by technology suppliers to frame software not only as an efficiency tool but also as part of staff retention efforts.
The survey results arrive at a time when hospitality businesses continue to face high labor demands and tight margins. For restaurants and hotels, employee turnover remains costly because replacing trained staff takes time and money while service quality can suffer in the meantime. The latest figures suggest that dissatisfaction is not driven by one issue alone but by a mix of pay concerns, scheduling pressure and uncertainty about long-term career growth.
Although the survey was conducted in the U.K., many of the issues it identifies are familiar across the hospitality industry more broadly. Employers have spent years trying to rebuild teams after labor shortages and changing worker expectations reshaped the sector. The new data indicates that workers are still looking for basic improvements: fair compensation, enough time off, flexibility where possible and evidence that their jobs can lead somewhere.
For operators weighing new investments in technology, the message from the survey is narrower than many sales pitches suggest. Workers appear more open to AI than they were a year ago, but their support depends on whether it solves routine problems that affect pay, schedules and training rather than adding another layer of management oversight.