Neutralizing Stress

Stress is easy to excuse. Stress comes with leadership. Stress kills. All three of these statements are correct. And stress is everywhere for caterers. It’s hard to stay calm in the profession of catering. There are daily deadlines, the commitment that the show—the party—must go on, no matter what.

The biggest stress maker might be the caterer’s self-imposed requirement for perfection in everything they do. Caterers just can’t help themselves; they cater events to please themselves—not just the host or guests. A caterer is similar to an actor on the stage where everything is live and there are no retakes or do-overs.

Family, marriage and competitive forces constantly face caterers and create added stress. Caterers are often faced with choices between work and personal aspects of their life. Imagine being faced with the realization that you have a huge event on the same day as your child’s first play at school and you have to choose between the two. You’re going to have stress simply from the guilt you will feel about letting down either your customer or your family, depending on the choice you make. In my own career as a caterer, I missed many family occasions because I always chose the company first over my personal obligations. I was often stressed in anticipation of the guilt I was going to live with because I was a cateraholic.

My solution was a simple pill: Xanax. I carried them in a small vial on my keychain and used them as needed. Many caterers turn to activities like exercise, reading or massage to neutralize stress in their lives. I believe it’s the mere idea that they are doing something for themselves that leads to stress reduction.

In all my years in working with caterers, I have not found much alcohol use in the workplace. I’ve seen caterers who have become intoxicated on very special occasions, but I’ve never been aware of one who used alcohol to get through the workday. But I’m saddened by the number of caterers who resort to prescription drugs to neutralize the stress in their lives, just as I did, and I have known several caterers who resorted to illegal drugs to make it through some days.

The surest way to neutralize stress in catering is to say “no” instead of overbooking a date. Three overbooked days in a row are a killer! If you know the addition of a possible booking will take you into your stressful zone, pass on that booking.

While stress may be incurable, it can be neutralized when a caterer simply becomes aware of it and understands they have the ability to limit stress by limiting the amount of work they do. Caterers who take off at least one day a week have less stress than those who don’t.