According to Craft Beer Professionals, only 26% of brewery production employees enjoy working at their current job. And in 2021, the beer industry “woke up” to the fact that brewery working conditions often demand more of employees than they have to give. As data from Secret Hopper shows, when worker morale suffers, a brewery’s bottom line often suffers, too.

Veteran freelance journalist and author Tara Nurin often uses liquid lubricants as her mirror to reflect broader societal trends. The former Forbes beer and spirits contributor trains her eyes, ears and typing fingers on the places where food and beverage intersects with business, culture, history, sustainability and identity. Her first book, A Woman’s Place Is in the Brewhouse: A Forgotten History of Alewives, Brewsters, Witches, and CEOs, won first place from the North American Guild of Beer Writers. She is the executive director of the Transcending Trauma Program (TTP), which focuses on mental wellbeing and healing in the beverage alcohol industry through the practical application of Transcendental Meditation and proven workplace wellness strategies.