How to survive working in hospitality in 2026 as a 52 year old.

I started working at 14. I wasn’t learning about hospitality. I was learning how to survive. Head down, graft hard, don’t ask questions. That was the deal.

The generation coming into hospitality now didn’t grow up with that deal. They think differently. And for years, that did my head in.

We begged for a week off. They want at least three.

We wanted every hour going. They cap out at 35.
We were told to do something and we did it. They want to know why.

I spent years measuring every new hire against my own standard. Some seemed to get it. Most didn’t. And the ones I thought were cut from the same cloth? The pandemic came and they just vanished. People I would have put money on walked away without so much as a backward glance.
And honestly, that was the best thing that could have happened to me. Because it forced me to stop expecting 1999 attitudes in a 2026 workforce.

The staff I have now are brilliant. They just think differently to me. Which means I have to lead differently.

They don’t respond to “because I said so.” They respond to being asked. To understanding the goal. To knowing their work actually matters.
That’s not a weakness. That’s a workforce that will run through walls for you the moment you stop fighting it and start leading it.

The industry didn’t go soft. It got honest.

The managers who accept that will build teams.

The ones who don’t will keep writing job ads.