Research shows extent of workers' pain

The study shows the majority of retail and hospitality workers, 79%, spend four to ten hours of their shift on their feet. Over a third, 34%, spend between eight and ten hours upright. This extended time standing up and walking around caused 45% of hospitality and retail workers to feel physical pain before the start of the lockdown. 

The lockdown period, with many hospitality and retail workers on furlough, brought noticeable relief with 30% of staffers reporting pain at the end of the lockdown. However, after just a few months of being back at work, some physical pain is already higher than pre-pandemic levels, with over half of employees, 52%, experiencing foot pain, up 11% from early 2020. 

The impact of working upright all day has kept 24% of employees off work and over a third, 37%, report a negative impact on their mental wellbeing, while four in ten, 40%, admitted the quality of their work has suffered for the same reason.

Kate Nicholls, CEO of UK Hospitality said, “COVID is providing the hospitality sector with a reset moment and we are looking at ways of working, hours and conditions. As people come back from furlough they are more selective about what they want to do and more demanding as employees. It's about making sure that we look after our people because they are our most valued and valuable resource and we need to make sure that they can be as comfortable as possible at work”.

The four-hour pain cycle 

The research uncovered the pain’s impact at work goes through a four-hour pain cycle. Up to four hours working on their feet, workers feel an equal impact on quality of work and mental wellbeing. Over four hours, up to eight hours, quality of work was hit hardest, 46% in comparison to mental wellbeing, 32%. After eight hours of being on their feet, mental wellbeing was more strongly impacted, with 44% of hospitality and retail workers citing this issue. 

You are what you wear 

The shoes hospitality and retail workers wear at work differed in pain impact. 31% of those wearing sandals and flip flops experienced back pain, the biggest pain problem for this shoe. High heel wearers experienced the most ankle and neck pain, 31% and 22%. However, the most popular shoe for work is trainers, 34% wear them to work. Yet despite this being considered a comfortable option, 47% of trainer wearers experienced foot pain while at work. 

George Cummins, director of Gait and Motion Technology said, “Bespoke insoles, created by dynamic gait analysis and 3D printed for optimal accuracy and true customisation, could reduce pain and risk of injury. This insole technology already supports many of our top Team GB athletes, including British Marathon Champions Lily Partridge, Natasha Cockram and Charlotte Purdue, and ultra-runner Tom Evans. It can absolutely support hospitality and retail workers who also complete long walking distances on shift.”

*This research was conducted by global insight-driven research company Censuswide, which surveyed 500 respondents in the UK across hospitality and retail who’d spent time off work during the pandemic.