Should Hotel Front Desk Employees be allowed to sit?

[Saint-Jean-Jacques et Burnham-on-Stove]

I work in the hotel industry since almost 3 years both as front desk during day and evening shift and as night auditor. From what I've seen, in big hotels, employees aren't allowed to sit but in smaller hotels, especially independent ones, employees are allowed to sit. It's mostly because in bigger hotels, we're always busy so we need to stand all the time.

I did an internship in an hotel with more than 200 rooms, both as day and evening receptionnist and night auditor. We weren't allowed to sit, even at night we had to stand to do the audit work. I also worked the evening shift in a small boutique hotel and I was allowed to sit. More recently, I worked as night auditor in a 3 stars Marriott hotel. Day and evening receptionnist needs to stand all the time, but as a night auditor, I was allowed to sit in the back office to do the audit work and stand up and go in front when a guest was at the front desk.

[Kannap]

All working people should be allowed to sit unless their job absolutely requires them to be standing.

As far as I can tell, hotel employees, retail cashiers, and fast food workers don't need to stand to complete their jobs.

[Rary]

Yeah, but if someone comes up to them, they should probably stand up.

[Kannap]

I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to. I await any reason against this notion.

Mostly because they would have to stand up to interact with guests. The desks they sit behind are so tall, that you would essentially walk into the hotel and be greeted by an empty desk until they stood up.

Taller chairs or shorter desk.

A chair makes it more likely someone will fall asleep.

[citation needed]

I'm not sure because they obviously have to be physically present to check people in and out of the hotel but there might also be days where nothing happens and it's a waste of everyone's time.

They could perhaps have a internet terminal they can pay their own bandwidth for but there should be a brief ding or alarm for if someone is approaching the desk and needs service. They're supposed to answer calls or get people in and out or to their rooms but actually make sure the people pay up or are billed for what is used.

I literally haven't a fucking clue what the rest of this is going on about.

[Kannap]

A few months ago I stayed at a hotel where the front desk employees sat on chairs at the front desk. It was the first time i've ever seen this at any hotel. it got me thinking. Why don't more hotels do this? Standing for several hours a day isn't healthy but sitting isn't either.

Some hotels might say it's unprofessional but I don't see how. You can put chairs at the desk for the guests or require your front desk people to stand when a guest comes to the desk.

I don't see it as unprofessional to allow Front Desk employees to sit down and would likely make these jobs easier to retain employees. It would be a benefit.

What are your thoughts NSG?

They do it for the same reason Retail does it. So the Manager can come around and be like "How delightfully devious Seymore, those workers must be more efficient if they can't sit" because the managerial class in the US is basically constantly getting cloned and has no idea what the fuck they're doing.

Basically this. For the managers and for Boomer customers, the mere fact that they can see the employee sitting immediately triggers a "laziness" alarm bell in their heads.

[San Lumen]

Yeah, but if someone comes up to them, they should probably stand up.

why do they need to stand?

[Fractalnavel]

Yeah, but if someone comes up to them, they should probably stand up.

why do they need to stand?

respect?

[Rary]

Yeah, but if someone comes up to them, they should probably stand up.

why do they need to stand?

So you don’t need to look down at them, to show respect and many more. I thought you would know that.

[San Lumen]

why do they need to stand?

So you don’t need to look down at them, to show respect and many more. I thought you would know that.

I don't give a darn. at the hotel that inspired this thread the front desk employees had chairs for both them and guests. I felt zero disrespect.

[Haganham]

I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to. I await any reason against this notion.

The reason is we don't screen management candidates for Cluster B personality disorders.

[Gaybeans]

I don't see why they shouldn't be allowed to. I await any reason against this notion.

The reason is we don't screen management candidates for Cluster B personality disorders.

i don't think the "if your manager is a prick they have a demonisable mental illness" is quite the take you want to make.

[Ethel mermania]

Yeah, but if someone comes up to them, they should probably stand up.

why do they need to stand?

To be at the same level as the customer.

[Rary]

So you don’t need to look down at them, to show respect and many more. I thought you would know that.

I don't give a darn. at the hotel that inspired this thread the front desk employees had chairs for both them and guests. I felt zero disrespect.

Ok? That might be how you feel, but for me it’s easier to talk to someone if they’re on the same level as you, not looking down at them like they are beneath you.

[Fractalnavel]

why do they need to stand?

To be at the same level as the customer.

What if they slung hammocks at eye level?

[Darnau]

As a former front desk person, a lot of it stems from antiquated beliefs. One hotel I worked was very old school where you had to maintain an outdated grooming standard on top of having to stand all day. We could only take lunch/ breaks during lulls in customers so if you worked first shift, you had a break after 11 am. Evenings? You are not so lucky until around 9.

[Zantalio]

They should just sit on a recumbent exercise bike then.

[El Lazaro]

No, forcing hotel front desk employees to stand when they don’t need to causes a 0.0001% increase in overall human suffering and may or may not an increase in revenue by an amount so small that doing any research to confirm its existence would lead to a loss in profits. Although the stakes seem low, if the hospitality industry budges on this point, it’s a slippery towards liberal commu-Nazi dictatorship.

[Kerwa]

Last place I stayed (Hilton) I didn’t even deal with the front desk, I just used my phone. It really depends on where you stay: cheaper places tend to let the staff sit, bed and breakfasts sometimes don’t have someone and you have to ring the bell, and full service places (Peninsula etc.) have the staff stand. From what I understand front desk at high end places is a highly sort after job, so I don’t think they’ll ever be allowed to sit because the rich and powerful don’t like servants sitting in their presence.

I don’t care one way or the other. I can see why flashy places do it though.

[San Lumen]

Last place I stayed (Hilton) I didn’t even deal with the front desk, I just used my phone. It really depends on where you stay: cheaper places tend to let the staff sit, bed and breakfasts sometimes don’t have someone and you have to ring the bell, and full service places (Peninsula etc.) have the staff stand. From what I understand front desk at high end places is a highly sort after job, so I don’t think they’ll ever be allowed to sit because the rich and powerful don’t like servants sitting in their presence.

I don’t care one way or the other. I can see why flashy places do it though.

The hotel that inspired this thread was very high end. It's only one example though.

[Luziyca]

Not just those working at the hotel front desks, but also cashiers in retail.

[Haganham]

All working people should be allowed to sit unless their job absolutely requires them to be standing.

As far as I can tell, hotel employees, retail cashiers, and fast food workers don't need to stand to complete their jobs.

This. It's not even an issue of respect or comfort. Requiring prolonged standing is a health and safety issue.
Requiring employees to stand when not necessary and failing to manage tasks so employees are able to avoids excessive time standing needs to be treated as an occupational safety violation.

[San Lumen]

All working people should be allowed to sit unless their job absolutely requires them to be standing.

As far as I can tell, hotel employees, retail cashiers, and fast food workers don't need to stand to complete their jobs.

This. It's not even an issue of respect or comfort. Requiring prolonged standing is a health and safety issue.
Requiring employees to stand when not necessary and failing to manage tasks so employees are able to avoids excessive time standing needs to be treated as an occupational safety violation.

Seems many hotels don’t care.

[Dakran]

Yeah, obviously. Unless they absolutely need to stand to accomish a task, they should be allowed to sit. As with all jobs. Slightly related, when I had a job cleaning oxygen machines, one day they decided that nobody was allowed to use chairs, not even the technicians who REPAIRED the damn things. Supervisors+ though... anyways, yes for sitting.

[Adharcaili]

As I am seated right now, I want the same luxury to be extended to all people.

[San Lumen]

Yeah, obviously. Unless they absolutely need to stand to accomish a task, they should be allowed to sit. As with all jobs. Slightly related, when I had a job cleaning oxygen machines, one day they decided that nobody was allowed to use chairs, not even the technicians who REPAIRED the damn things. Supervisors+ though... anyways, yes for sitting.

Like I said before many hotels do not care. Being required to stand all day for any job is ridiculous.