Working when others are off is part of the job description in the hospitality industry. Especially in the bar scene, where work in many establishments begins with the after-work business. Providing guests with a great evening - isn't that what makes the job behind the bar so fulfilling? Then there is the creative-artistic aspect and the career opportunities that have been created by the further development of global cocktail culture over the last two decades.
However, a career at Barkeeper is not a sprint, but a marathon. The working hours are stressful in the long term and full-time, and the fact that the average age of bartenders is probably under 30 speaks for itself. Of course, you can also simply complain about the shortage of skilled workers or get upset about the work ethic of the next generation. Of course you can justify the "no" to requests for time off and vacations with the killer argument: "That's just the hospitality industry". However, it would make more sense to look at how the job behind the bar can be made more attractive. The pressure is not just on individual businesses, but on the industry as a whole. Of course, nothing works without a wage that exceeds the amount stipulated in the collective labor agreement, nothing without further training and promotion opportunities and nothing without compliance with labor law. At the same time, it is crucial that employees do not run out of energy at Kilometer 30.
Four bars that have been working a 4-day week for some time are presented below. Long shifts, but three days off - a model for the future?
Wolfgang Bogner, Tales Bar, Zurich
"We opened the Tales Bar in 2015. In 2016, we introduced the 4-day week. Working a few extra hours for an extra day off? Everyone actually liked that. They are long days. But you don't have to crawl out to the bar on all fours after a shift, nor do you have to go to rehab for three days after a week. At Tales, you start preparing at 4 pm and you're out again at 4 am. You couldn't cover that with a 9-hour shift, otherwise you'd need one more employee. Payroll is the biggest cost item in a bar. That's why it makes sense to think about how best to deploy your staff. I write the work schedule six weeks in advance. During this period, I make sure that the Barkeeper staff have five days off and two days off in a row. In addition to me, two Barkeeper employees work 100% and one 50%, which corresponds to two working days. We also have a pool of hourly-paid employees. The danger is that if someone can't work, the others still have to work five days. You have more cluster risk, but it can't be that your people then always have to make up for it. The 4-day week is not the salvation of the restaurant industry. It's only applicable to a few concepts and we also switch to a 5-day week for two months in the summer because we open later."
Victor Topart, Crapule Club, Fribourg
"We've had a four-day week since we opened. The Crapule Club is only open on three days, Wednesday is our pre-batching day. From 9am to 7pm we make infusions, cook syrups and take care of the orders. On the days we are open, we work from 6pm to 6am. This includes an hour and a half paid break. It's like that: They are long days. At the same time, there are only three such shifts per week. It was clear to us that we wanted to work with professional bartenders. This means that you can employ them 100% of the time. The concept with the 4-day week and the pre-batching day allows us to mix and serve high-quality drinks quickly. Besides me, two Barkeeper aged 32 and 30 work 100%. The others - two on the floor, one in the checkroom, a barback and a bouncer - work hourly wages and shorter shifts. I'm currently looking for a third juniorBarkeeper for Fridays and Saturdays. In summer, we also have the "Crapule Garden", where we take on more staff. One Barkeeper then starts earlier in the garden, the other a little later in the club. I don't think the 4-day week works for all businesses. Planning is very easy for us, but businesses that are open from morning to evening, from Monday to Sunday, may need to hire more staff."
Bertrand Tessier, Lausanne Cocktail Club
"With me, we have three full-timeBarkeeper plus three 100% service employees. We're closed on Sundays, but during the week we're open until three in the morning and from Thursday to Saturday until five o'clock. We introduced the four-day week shortly after the pandemic. We have three different shifts of between eight and fourteen hours. This includes an hour break, which is taken outside the bar and in one piece. Some people go home, but we often eat something in the neighborhood. If the break goes on a little longer, it's no big deal as long as you let them know. In the evening, many restaurants are not designed for quick lunch service, but it is important to me that my team maintains contact with the restaurant scene. It's essential that the employees are happy. Not just because it's so difficult to find staff at the moment. Thanks to the 4-day week, they can take more time for shopping, housework and leisure. For me as an operator, the 4-day week is also interesting, even if I am in the business more often. We can employ professional staff for a fixed workload during the year. We work more in winter and less in summer. Until now, we have closed the bar from mid-July to mid-August. This summer, we'll be open from Thursday to Saturday."
Adrian Tännler, L'Ovestino, Berne
"Six of our 19-strong team are permanent employees. Most of them have a 60% or 80% workload and have contact skills in a specific area in addition to the bar shifts. Nils and I are in F & B, Chrigu does HR, Sophie looks after the social media presence and Adi Franz is responsible for maintaining the establishment - and they all have a deputy in case someone is absent. I couldn't work five days a week in the restaurant and live the life of a father the way I want to. I'm out with my one-year-old this morning and others in the team also have children. But there are also a lot of younger people in the core team who are very motivated and take on a lot of responsibility. It's good to give them a chance. If you do the starter shift, you start at 3 or 4 pm. At the weekend, we close at 2.30 a.m. and you finish between 3.30 and 4 a.m. With my 80% workload, I have three bar shifts and the rest of the time I take care of my other activities, which I can schedule flexibly. Because we run a large bar with 350 seats, there are also a lot of preparation tasks. And as we have a lot of students and part-time employees who sometimes only have two shifts a month, we work a lot with pre-batching. For the six "Favorite Drinks", you usually only have to add the acid and stir in the spindle mixer."
