We’ve all been there—a shift drink that turns into 6, a friend’s birthday dinner that turns into a bar crawl, a “night in” that turns into your unintentional destiny to kill an entire bottle of wine. No matter how it happens, the next morning feels like absolute…well, death. You’ve got a shift in an hour, nobody to pick it up, and an overwhelming feeling that you’re genuinely not going to be okay. But if it is going to be okay, it’ll go a little something like this. This is how to work a shift…with a hangover.
1.) Don’t You Dare Snooze That Alarm – What’s done is done. An extra 10 minutes of sleep isn’t going to change the fact that you’re about to walk into your place of work looking like a zombie running a fever.
2.) Put Some Good Into Your Body – We’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is we’ve got a definite answer on whether or not there’s an official hangover cure, the bad news is that the answer is “no.” Start with a gigantic glass of water and a couple ibuprofen to combat the screamer of a headache that has camped out in your skull. Does Aspirin work? Nope. According to Medical News Today, “aspirin can aggravate gastritis and increase the risk of gastric erosion and bleeding.” We’ll also allow a single iced coffee to pry your eyes open, but nothing more. You’re dehydrated, and 8 coffees will only make it worse.
3.) Never Let Anyone Know How Bad It Really Is – When one of your coworkers notices the fact that you look like you were hit by a semi-truck the night before and asks you about it, play it down with “didn’t sleep well, all good though.” They’ll look at you weird at first, but before they can follow up you’ll already be at your station pretending to do side work.
4.) The Walk In Is Your Friend – Every spare moment you have, hide in it. Your soul is bruised and swollen, and it needs to be iced. If someone catches you, just tell them you were checking on the kegs (even though you were laying on the kegs).
5.) Bacon – Find it. It’s somewhere in the kitchen. Be honest with one of your BOH buddies, let them know this is a make-or-break situation—they might just fry a couple pieces up for you to gobble up in secret like a dumpster troll. If you have to pay for it, fine. As long as you get your filthy paws on some crispy pork. According to researchers, “Food doesn’t soak up the alcohol, but it does increase your metabolism, helping you deal with the after-effects of over indulgence. So food will often help you feel better.” If you yourself are BOH, you already know what to do.
6.) Customers Don’t Know (or Care) – Look, you’re not going to win any “pristine hospitality” awards today. You just need to fly under the radar and make sure nothing from the night before bleeds into your shift. Don’t get too close to your tables when suggesting menu items; you reek of booze. I know you brushed your teeth twice this morning and took an aggressive shower, but the toxins are still making their way out of your body. Keep a safe distance and enunciate your words, there’s nothing to see here.
7.) Send The Dog and it’s Hair Away – A common misconception is that a little “hair of the dog” will bring you right back to life. That’s a shortsighted decision, and will only prolong this terrible sickness into tomorrow. Your bartender might offer you a little shooter of something, or if you’re behind the sticks, you might offer yourself a little shooter of something—just hold off. If you need a bloody mary to take the edge off, wait until you clock out. Trust us, it’ll taste better when the only responsibility left is sleeping (passing out).
And for those that hate to read, the short answer is this: Your shift is going to be brutal, but tomorrow is a new day—you got this.