Shorter work week at Hong Kong restaurants for staff health and well-being – mental and physical – keeps them fresh and focused
- Top restaurants in Hong Kong that brought in shorter work weeks say they make staff feel happier and healthier, and more productive and focused when at work
- In an industry notorious for its long hours, Carlito Chiu, manager at Ando, says he feels more rested and mentally sharper
Écriture executive chef and general manager Maxime Gilbert is busy, not only with cooking at and running the two-Michelin-star restaurant in H Queens in Hong Kong’s Central district but also launching Plume, a wine bar on the tower’s roof that opened in mid-November.
The staff at Écriture are enjoying a recent change in the roster – two consecutive days off, an initiative Gilbert implemented to ensure they get a well-deserved rest after five long days.
“I have been dreaming about this for more than a year,” says the Frenchman, who can only think of the benefits for all the staff from having a five-day work week.
“It’s better to have all the management team in the restaurant. In Paris it’s like this, the chef and manager are there. At other restaurants [in hotels] because of rotating schedules, it can be rare to have the chef and manager working on the same day, and yet guests are paying the same price every day.”
