COVID-19 pushes companies to quickly change approaches to work and puts the stability of various systems to a severe test. Businesses have to deal with the risks of disruption of continuity, sudden quantitative changes, real-time decision-making, productivity indicators, and security threats. Managers must act very quickly, addressing the immediate challenges of system resilience while laying the foundation for the future of their organizations. Many businesses have been severely affected by the spread of the coronavirus, including the restaurant business. The COVID-19 virus has led to terrible consequences not only for restaurant owners, reducing the number of visitors but also for employees, as many were laid off due to crisis circumstances.
Restaurants are one of the few industries most affected by the pandemic. Many people are used to visiting restaurants, ordering takeaway food, celebrating family, and social celebrations in public catering places. Many of them were forced to close for a while, and some for good, as this type of business ceased to be profitable and profitable. The Restaurant Association claims that in the US, the restaurant industry ended 2020 with a total sales volume of $240 billion below the pre-pandemic season (National Restaurant Association). Currently, business people who have suspended the operation of restaurants during the pandemic, but did not close it, are looking for ways to earn money, even in a crisis.
Now, even delivery services are pretty challenging to work with. People have become more careful about food choices, and therefore are wary of buying food in restaurants and cafes. Wholesale food suppliers who supplied food for restaurants have now taken up selling basic necessities to consumers. People are forced to work in any condition, whether working on the street or working without a proper permit, but the main thing is to earn money and not leave their employees without wages.
Due to the fact that a large number of restaurants have closed or suspended their work directly when people come to the restaurant itself, many waiters have been deprived of their jobs. People who have dedicated many years to serving visitors are now forced to find new jobs, which are also scarce. Moreover, many waiters do not have the unique skills or education to find a good job and be accepted for it. Fronstin and Woodbury state that about 3.3 million people from the restaurant business were laid off in the United States (Fronstin and Woodbury). Now they are forced to stay at home without pay and look for a new job that will match their skills and knowledge.
The suspension or closure of restaurants has put many people out of work. It is disappointing that even if the restaurant is re-launched after the pandemic, not everyone will get their jobs back. Kochhar and Barosso argue that in 2020 in the United States, the number of applications for unemployment insurance increased by 3 million in one week (Factank). This statistics means that an incredible number of people have suffered from unemployment, and now it will be challenging to find a new job where their skills will be needed.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, people have the choice to either close the restaurant or learn to be flexible and continue working even under challenging conditions. The state is trying to help by providing financial support to the restaurant business, but this support is mainly aimed at helping large restaurants. Volunteer companies were created, which focused their activities on providing financial assistance to small restaurants and aid in the work to attract the maximum number of visitors. According to the National Restaurant Association, 60% of Americans believe that the restaurant business will recover and reopen restaurants (Hess). Unfortunately, this is not expected in the near future, and people are still forced to work in the same model and conditions in which they work now.
In order to save their restaurant, entrepreneurs must take various steps and find solutions to the issues. For example, it is essential to optimize costs, which can be done by finding more profitable suppliers. The cost of dishes can be also reduced by finding cheaper ingredients that are used to decorate the plate. Restaurants can sell related products, for example, semi-finished products for quick cooking at home. Restaurants can also revise the menu and remove dishes from it, the cost of which is high, and the mark-up is minimal. Instead, they can add other dishes, the cost of which will be low, and the margin is high.
As for the dismissed employees can turn to their former superiors with a proposal for a new job. For example, dismissed waiters can work as deliverymen. If the entrepreneur is determined to close the restaurant, the former employee can find another job. Perhaps it will be in a related field, or maybe something completely new, where you will need to review your skills and learn something new.
In conclusion, the coronavirus has caused irreparable damage not only to businesses but also too many people’s lives. In order to restore at least a small part of the past habitual life, it takes a lot of time and patience. Currently, people need to adapt, and they need to look for new jobs and think about how profitable it is to maintain a business that does not generate income. Still, people can find a way out by being entrepreneurs who have their own restaurant or employees who once worked in restaurants but were dismissed. One way or another, people need to learn how to live in a crisis and earn a living in any conditions since it is not known how the situation with the pandemic and people’s lives will continue to develop.
Works Cited
Fronstin, Paul and Woodbury, Stephen. “How many Americans have lost jobs with employer health coverage during the pandemic?” The Commonwealth Fund, 2020. Web.
Hess, Abigail. “’I have enough money for food, not for rent’: how restaurant industry workers are navigating the pandemic.” CNBC, 2021. Web.
Kochhar, Rakesh and Barroso Amanda. “Young workers likely to be hard hit as COVID-19 strikes a blow to restaurants and other service sector jobs.” Factank, 2020. Web.
“State of the Restaurant Industry report measures virus’ impact on business.” National Restaurant Association, 2021. Web.