Staying Well in Hotel Work: Stress Checks and Where to Turn

Hotel work is rewarding, and it is also demanding. The hours are long, the schedule changes, the busy seasons are intense, and guests are sometimes difficult. It is normal to feel tired. It is also worth knowing what protections the law gives you, and where to turn if you are not coping.

This article describes the annual stress check and the free consultation services run for working people. It is general information based on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's published guidance. It is not medical advice. If you are worried about your health, talk to a doctor, and if you are in immediate danger, call emergency services.

What the figures say about the context

In the ministry's 2025 survey of working conditions, accommodation and food service had the longest scheduled week of any industry (40 hours 2 minutes) and the lowest take-up of paid leave (8.0 of 15.9 days, or 50.7%). We go through those in Living With Shift Work. Neither figure measures stress. They describe the working pattern that many people in the industry say they find tiring. We have no industry-specific data on mental-health outcomes, and won't invent any.

The annual stress check

The stress check (ストレスチェック) is a system under the Industrial Safety and Health Act. Its purpose is prevention: to help you notice stress early, and to help the employer improve the workplace.

The ministry describes the main points as follows.

• Employers with 50 or more workers at a workplace must do it. For workplaces with fewer than 50, it is currently a duty to make efforts.
• It is done once a year, using a questionnaire about your work, your stress responses and the support you have.
• You are not obliged to take it. An employer may not treat you unfavourably for not taking it.
• The results go to you directly, from the doctor, nurse or other person who ran the check. They may not be given to your employer without your consent.
• If the results show that you are under high stress, and you ask for it, your employer must arrange an interview with a doctor. An employer may not treat you unfavourably for asking.
• Based on the doctor's opinion, your employer may need to take steps, such as changing your work.
• Employers are encouraged to analyse results by group, without identifying individuals, and to use them to improve the workplace.

Some workers are outside the duty: those on contracts of less than a year, and part-time workers whose hours are under three-quarters of those of a regular worker.

It is being extended to small workplaces

A law promulgated on 14 May 2025 extends the stress-check duty to workplaces with fewer than 50 workers. It takes effect on a date set by government order within three years of promulgation, and a commentary reports April 2028, so check the current position. The ministry has published a manual for small workplaces. The duty is counted by workplace, not by company, so a small hotel that is one site of a larger group is judged by its own headcount.

What it can and can't do

The stress check is not a diagnosis, and it doesn't replace talking to someone. It is a way to notice and, if you choose, to be seen by a doctor. It will not tell your employer how you answered unless you say so.

It also does not fix a workplace by itself. It works when the employer uses the group results to change hours, staffing or support. If your hotel runs it, you can ask what was done with the results.

Free places to turn

"Kokoro no Mimi" (こころの耳) is the ministry's mental-health portal for working people, run under contract to the ministry. It offers three free services.

• A telephone line, 0120-565-455, open Monday to Friday from 17:00 to 22:00 (last calls at 21:50) and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 16:00 (last calls at 15:50). It is closed on public holidays and from 29 December to 3 January. It is free and can be used anonymously.
• A chat service by social media, which is also free and anonymous, with text-only conversation. Hours are listed on the portal.
• Email, which is accepted at any time, with a reply within about a week.

The portal says its consultation services don't answer questions about the stress-check system itself. For those, see the ministry's pages on the system.

Hours and details change, so check the portal at kokoro.mhlw.go.jp.

For problems at work, such as long hours, unpaid overtime or harassment, each prefectural labour bureau has a General Labour Consultation Corner. It is free, needs no appointment, and takes calls or visits. The ministry's harassment website also lists consultation services. A free telephone line for working conditions runs in the evenings and at weekends.

If you are in crisis

If you are thinking of harming yourself, or are in immediate danger, call emergency services (119 or 110), or a crisis line in your area, and tell someone you trust. The services above are for working life and are not a substitute for emergency help.

What helps day to day

These are common-sense suggestions, not medical advice.

• Protect your rest. The ministry's sleep guide for adults suggests at least six hours, with individual differences. Our article on shifts explains why a gap between shifts can leave you under that.
• Take your paid leave. It is a right, and the take-up figure above shows many people in this industry leave days unused.
• Tell someone early. A manager, a colleague or the consultation desk. Saying "I'm finding the roster hard" is easier to help with than "I'm struggling".
• Keep one thing outside work that you don't cancel.
• Notice the warning signs we listed in Living With Shift Work: poor sleep for weeks, relying on caffeine to get through, making mistakes you wouldn't normally make, dreading every shift, or feeling low most days. If these persist, see a doctor.

Guests, and the new rules

Abusive guests are a source of stress, and the law now requires employers to have measures against customer harassment. The New Customer-Harassment Rules explains them, and What a Hotel Can Now Refuse covers the Hotel Business Act side.

Talking to your manager

If you decide to speak up, being specific helps. A sentence you can adapt: "I want to do this well, and I'm finding the late-to-early turnaround hard. Could we look at the roster, or at who I could ask for help?" Choose a time that isn't mid-service. If the first conversation doesn't help, you can go to the person responsible for the consultation desk, or outside, to one of the services above.

A weekly check-in with yourself

A few questions you can ask once a week. They are not a test.

• Did I sleep enough on most nights?
• Did I take my break and my day off?
• Is there something at work that is worrying me more than usual?
• Did I speak to someone I trust this week?
• Is there one thing I can change next week?

If the answers worry you more than a couple of weeks running, take it seriously, and talk to someone.

Three questions to ask a hotel

1. "Does the hotel run the annual stress check, and what is done with the group results?"
2. "Who can I talk to if I'm struggling, and is it kept private?"
3. "What do you do when a guest is abusive to staff?"

If you manage others

If you supervise people, you can make much of the difference. Keep rosters predictable, make sure people take their breaks and leave, and ask how people are, specifically. If a team member comes to you, listen first, and know where the consultation services are, so you can point to them.

Where to start

If you are working now, find out whether your hotel runs the stress check and who the consultation contact is. Save the portal's address and telephone number. If you are applying, ask the three questions at interview. On KankoHR, create a profile and set your preferences, including the patterns you can and can't work, so that hotels that fit can invite you.

Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare pages on the stress-check system and on the 2025 amendment extending it to small workplaces; the "Kokoro no Mimi" portal pages for consultation services; Ministry 2025 General Survey on Working Conditions; Ministry healthy-sleep guide for adults.