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Losing sleep this Christmas?

Couple Christmas Dining

On the back of research revealing that hospitality workers sleep on average just 5-6 hours a night, we at Matthew Clark have been helping customers take back time with our award winning online ordering system, MC Live.

The research we conducted found:

  • An average of 28 hours of overtime will be worked this Christmas by those in hospitality
  • Staff will be running on 5-6 hours’ sleep, 2 hours less than recommended
  • Over a lifetime in hospitality, workers will miss out on over 120 hours of sleep – five whole days - over the festive period alone

Therefore, we are helping customers by giving back time through our speedy online ordering service available 24/7 from any device which it has revealed cuts the order time by half. The research we carried out reveals that this Christmas, bartenders, waiters, hotel staff and chefs will be loading up on overtime with just five to six hours of sleep a night. What’s more, those in the industry will be working an extra 28 hours over the festive period. In this time, you could pour 840 pints of Guinness or cook 168 steaks.

We can help to address this issue and assist our customers in taking time back, with our award winning online ordering service. As most of our customers place orders outside normal office hours and the online ordering service, being available 24/7, user-friendly across multiple devices as well as having a speedy repeat ordering mechanic, means that customers can manage their ordering at their convenience. Not only does the service suit their working hours but it also gives them back time, with Matthew Clark Live enabling customers to place orders twice as quickly as the offline process. Time is indeed a precious commodity in the hospitality industry, with the majority of those employed in the sector saying they only get between five and six hours’ sleep a night over the festive period, when experts recommend between seven and nine hours of sleep a night to encourage productivity and help concentration. Worryingly, 64% say that they very regularly miss out on sleep and especially so over the festive period and nearly 10% are getting by on just three to four hours’ sleep. Over a lifetime in hospitality, workers will miss out on over 120 hours of sleep – five whole days - over the festive period alone.

The following top ten activities that are regularly missed out on are:

  • Dating
  • Pampering themselves
  • Watching films or TV shows
  • Exercising
  • Learn a new skill (e.g. language, sport)
  • Cooking new recipes
  • Reading books
  • Running essential errands
  • Holidays

Ollie Sheridan, Regional Manager of Pubs of Distinction has a long-standing career in hospitality and explains the tasks that take up that extra time:

“As a Regional Manager in London for the Pubs of Distinction group, I’m no stranger to long and sometimes antisocial hours – and never more so than at Christmas where I often miss out on parties and gatherings with my friends and family. Despite this, it is the best time of the year to work too – the pubs are always busy and buzzing, and customers are in good spirits. Of course, when we do close, as staff it doesn’t end there; we need to tidy up, cash up, and place our orders. As I carry out regular stock audits on each site, having this information to hand 24/7 saves me quite a lot of time when compared to sifting through piles of invoices looking for that missing bottle of vodka! I will be asking Santa for an extra few hours’ sleep this year!”

MC Live, picked up the Food or Drink Supplier Website of the Year at The Caterer’s Digital Vision Awards recently, which adds further credibility to our online ordering system. You can read more about it here.

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