Research & Outcomes

The Challenge for Seasonal Resort Communities 

Unique stressors

  • Close living conditions in staff housing. 

  • Physical demands of resort work (early mornings, late nights, constant people engagement, short day-light hours) 

  • Seasonal transitions (arrival, mid-season fatigue/”blues”, end-of-season burnout/lack of care). 

  • A sense of always needing to present yourself well, within the staff housing community and the work environment. 

  • Sentiment: “I am working and living in a beautiful place, and so I shouldn’t feel like life is hard and a struggle”. A sense of guilt when the struggle is real, and therefore people tend to hold the stress. 

  • A sense of escapism from what life has been in the country or city of origin. We can’t escape how we cope with stress. 

  • Limited sense of agency in the workforce (i.e., How much they care about the success of the business and the quality of their work). The research says that what draws most to the resort is the opportunities to ski/snowboard, party, live in a community, the glamour of a mountain setting, and in order to do so they need to work. Therefore, work becomes lower on the priority list. 

Impact on operations

  • Increased missed work shifts. 

  • Staff disengagement and conflict. 

  • Increased risky decision making in peer groups. This often leads to many hours of disciplinary decisions and focussed time loss on operations and guest experience. 

  • Safety risks when focus and motivation decrease. 

  • Guest experience

Ski patrol tent on a snowy mountain with people in winter gear, ski racks, and ski lifts in background, under clear blue sky.

Alpine InnerWorks Approach: How we support mental health, leadership, and community well-being 

Leadership Development for Managers

  • Building confidence in addressing staff dynamics, investing in people they lead, setting the culture which directs the work, and navigating mental health concerns.

Consultation with Staff Housing Teams

  • Helping them respond proactively to emotional challenges of shared living (1-1 or small groups) 

  • Create and implement a Values based approach to community living that develops a shared foundation of respect, accountability, and awareness of others. 

Direct Support for Seasonal Staff

  • Accessible, real-time, and outdoors-based engagement. 

  • Promote connection over isolation. 

  • Skiing/boarding, trail walks, and on-hill conversations. 

  • Normalizing support and a personal growth mindset. 

  • Planned staff events (adventure film evening x 2 partnered with expert presenters). 

  • We provide a practical investment of a hot meal (Soup night) as the season begins to serve those in staff housing.

  • Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) debriefs. 

Group of children on skis being instructed by an adult on a snowy slope.

Outcomes Summary

For Staff

Develop healthy ways of coping with stress, stronger mental health, sense of belonging, resilience, and sense of being known. Staff will also have developed a greater sense of agency both in how they uphold and contribute to healthy community living, and the seasonal work they contribute to at the resort. 

For Leaders

Confidence in setting culture and addressing issues early, resulting in less crisis management and a higher functioning team.

For the Resort

  • Fewer missed days and therefore greater productivity.

  • Improved safety culture. 

  • Higher staff engagement and retention. 

  • Guests benefit from more energized, present employees throughout the season. 

“When we continue to develop and maintain a healthy and engaged staff, the result is a stronger resort community, higher performing staff, and safer operations.”