Hospitality Action launches survey to assess mental wellbeing

Hospitality Action has launched an industry-wide survey into current attitudes towards mental health and stress in the sector in light of recent added pressures caused by the pandemic.

The survey builds on an initial study first commissioned in 2018, which found almost half (46%) of respondents had struggled with a mental health issue in the last 12 months.

Hospitality Action chief executive Mark Lewis said: ‘We know from the increased calls to our helpline and the unprecedented demand for financial assistance that people at all levels in the industry are currently experiencing extreme pressure.

"We wanted to take the temperature now, during this difficult time, to discover how Hospitality Action and other agencies in the sector can come together to support the industry during its most challenging time."

He added that while many people in the industry may be struggling with their mental health, the sector had made "huge progress" over the last two years to "challenge taboos and to encourage more honesty and openness" in the workplace around mental health.

The industry charity anticipates that the findings will allow it to develop its mental health provision, which is run in partnership with Compass UK & Ireland and includes access to counselling services and a range of resources for managers and staff to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace.

Lewis continued: ‘Operators are understandably concerned about their ability to continue to trade, but the last few months have also been a great leveller, with many businesses realising that there's never been a more important time to take care of the teams they have left after painful restructuring and closures."

He said that the charity's Employee Assistance Programme had seen an increase of enquiries from operators keen to do more to support their staff.

He added: "By better understanding current attitudes we can further develop our offering to make sure it's accessible and fit for purpose."

The charity has said it plans to roll out additional resources over the coming months to support managers and staff impacted by restructuring and job losses.

The survey can be found here and takes just a few minutes to complete.

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