Barista Magazine

APR-MAY 2017

Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005

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as well as for those with ongoing struggles and/or more severe cases. Providing a safe environment for baristas to let these emotions out and honor them as true and meaningful, is not only kind but sensible for a café owner or manager, as it allows us to "reset." Anne cites crying as an example of a "reset" behavior. ASK QUESTIONS BEYOND COFFEE Let's assume you want to be supportive of your baristas, but maybe you're not sure how. If you can see a barista feels overwhelmed or down in the dumps, ask them a question about their lives outside of work. "Have a personal conversation with your baristas that goes beyond coffee," Eli suggests. To give customers the high level of service that our industry expects is often in direct competition with other real stressors and problems that many baristas face, like having a new roommate or not knowing if your next paycheck will cover all your rent. These are real emotions that need to be expressed, so give baristas space to do so. If you're unsure of how to proceed, give up a piece of your own strug- gle—managers and café owners certainly aren't immune from feeling overworked or stressed about money or other personal problems, and showing your staff that you prioritize self-care means that baristas can feel safe sharing their experiences. And make sure to follow up with them, too. If someone tells you about a fi ght with a roommate or a diffi cult time moving out of an apartment, ask them later how things are going. Showing that you care—and that you continue to care beyond an initial conversation—creates an environment where baristas feel sup- ported and relieved of some of the stress of their lives for a moment. CONTINUED SUPPORT IS MEANINGFUL I'm consistently caught off-guard by how meaningful small gestures can be. A text to tell a barista they're doing a good job, or an extra 20 bucks on a paycheck for pulling a shift for a sick coworker goes a long way to making the work environment feel safe and compassionate. Further, offering support can go beyond simply making someone feel better—it can ease the real pain someone might be going through. "It is simply incredible how much of a family this global industry is. It really is. While it could be something that folks shrug off sometimes, it is true," says Adam Koehler, a green buyer who suffered severe head trauma in the San Francisco Bay Area about a year and a half ago. Adam continues to improve every day, and cites the warmth and kindness extended to him by his coffee community as one of the reasons he's making such a strong recovery. "You may kind [of] think that calling this a family is some weird piece of marketing—I know I kind [of] did for a while. But it is my experience of very nearly dying that changes my thoughts of 'ah, the coffee industry is just folks trying to make a profi t and using talking about the human connection as a piece of marketing.' It really is a big family I became a part of." Adam acknowledges that this kind of sentiment can seem cheesy, but Adam, himself a professed cynic, today realizes that the very senti- ments he might have written off as cheesy in the past have made huge difference in his life and recovery. Of course, the support of the coffee community isn't helping Adam recover physically, but the emotional outpour of love directed to Adam since his accident has shown him that the community is always there for him when he needs it. "Being able to feel that love is very emotional," he says. "It's weird to realize, but the experience of almost dying has some big, unique positives." A lot of these suggestions for how to own, understand, and safeguard your mental health in a coffee-industry job require only one thing: a willingness to accept vulnerability, both from yourself and from your staff. The word vulnerable might seem scary in and of itself, but through true honesty and openness, we can begin to relate to our baristas and create safe environments. Leaders and business owners won't be able to tackle all problems, and being supportive doesn't mean you can't coach a barista on how to give better service, or give them feedback on how to do their jobs better. However, simply expecting baristas to be perfect at their jobs without engaging in their personal lives is not only callous—it also just doesn't work. Service work is always emotional, but what's great about that is our ability to create systems and provide care really easily—all we have to do is be present and ask questions. Most people are used to unsupport- ive work environments, so through a little bit of care and compassion, we can help ease the diffi culty of service work and make cafés safer and more tolerant places to work. 106 barista magazine

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