Prioritise mental health and wellness in hospitality by recognising stress, practising self-care, and setting boundaries. Address toxic signs, consider change, and emphasise staff well-being. Achieve a healthy work culture with effective strategies.
In the fast-paced world of hospitality, where late nights and long hours are the norm, taking care of your mental health is essential for your overall well-being and long-term success.
For the millions employed in this industry globally, it often becomes a way of life and a community as much as it is a career in hospitality. Working alongside a supportive team to create incredible experiences for guests under time pressure can be immensely rewarding. However, it’s equally important to balance between work and rest.
Hospitality professionals understand the demands of their roles. Monitoring and prioritising mental health is essential to staying resilient under pressure. To help you maintain this balance, we’ve gathered practical tips to foster a healthy work environment, recognise and address toxic behaviours, and navigate the unique challenges of an industry that never sleeps.
Before diving into these tips, let’s take a quick look at why maintaining good mental and physical health in hospitality is key for building a fulfilling and lasting career.
Understanding the challenges of the Hospitality industry
The hospitality industry is known among professionals for its demanding nature, as any chef or hotelier can attest. Professionals face intense pressure, from managing high-stress situations in the kitchen to dealing with high customer expectations. Moreover, operating long hours can disrupt sleep patterns, which means employees are at risk of interrupted sleeping patterns. Sleep deprivation is linked to all kinds of physical and mental illnesses, from diabetes to depression. Recognising these challenges and risks is the first step towards promoting a culture of mental well-being in your workplace.
Recognising the signs of stress and burnout
The long hours and unpredictable schedules can take a toll on the mental and physical health of even the most experienced hospitality professionals. It’s crucial to identify signs of stress and burnout early, especially among your team if you’re in a managerial role. Encourage self-awareness among your colleagues, watch for signs of an unhealthy workplace culture, and seek help when you notice symptoms affecting yourself or others.
With a balanced approach to work and life, a career in hospitality can be incredibly rewarding, dynamic and sustainable.
Follow these tips to ensure you have a long and healthy career ahead of you.
Strategies for managing stress in a Hospitality workplace
1. Build self-care into your schedule
In an industry where taking care of others is a priority, it’s easy to overlook your own well-being. Remember to make time for self-care each day, including getting enough sleep, eating well, spending time with loved ones, and exercising regularly. Consistently practicing these small habits can significantly improve your mental health over time.
2. Effective time management
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and you keep missing important dates or losing track of tasks, you might benefit from the use of some organisational tools and management strategies. Develop skills such as setting realistic goals, prioritising tasks, and learning to delegate when necessary. These strategies can reduce stress, especially if you’re not someone who’s naturally organised.
3. Building a supportive network
Avoid the mindset of handling everything on your own. Reach out to trusted colleagues, managers or peers if you’re struggling. Connecting with others in your field fosters a sense of community and solidarity, and they may offer helpful advice or recommend supportive resources.
Promoting a healthier work-life balance
4. Establishing work-life boundaries
Maintaining clear boundaries between work and personal life is crucial in hospitality, even in demanding roles like Head Chef. While workmates often become friends, it’s important to carve out time for family and friends outside of work. Avoid bringing work-related stress home by creating dedicated moments for relaxation and leisure activities. This separation is vital for a healthy work-life balance.
5. Continuous learning and growth
Choose a career path where you can grow and work towards your own future. It’s important for your mental health to feel a sense of professional and personal development, to have your own career goals and to be working towards these ambitions. Continuous learning not only enhances professional skills but also improves adaptability to changes, reducing the impact of stress.
6. Seeking professional help when needed
Recognising when professional help is necessary is important. If stress and mental health challenges persist over time regardless of your circumstances, reaching out for professional support can be beneficial in managing and overcoming difficulties.
Avoiding or correcting toxic work environments
7. Recognise the ‘red flags’ of a toxic or exploitative working environment
Stress in a toxic workplace is a natural response indicating something isn’t right. In this case, stress is a clear message from your body to leave an unsafe situation, and you should pay close attention to it. No hospitality professional should feel obligated to ensure abusive behaviours from staff, employers or customers, such as shouting or threats, discrimination, withholding or docking of pay, harassment or abuse, personal insults, or the neglect of employee mental or physical health. Recognising these red flags is the first step in addressing a toxic workplace.
8. Leave, fight or fix a toxic work environment
Once you identify a toxic environment, you have options based on your role:
- Consider leaving and finding a healthier workplace. In fact, high turnover rates are often a warning sign in hospitality.
- If you’re committed to a long-term relationship with an employer, but you feel you’re facing unfair treatment, you can approach your employers to discuss improvements directly, consider union support, or organise collectively with other professionals in your industry to fight for better conditions.
- For managers and owners, prioritise creating a supportive work environment. Address high turnover and employee dissatisfaction by improving workplace conditions and pay, as happy employees are more productive and benefit both customers and the business.
The world of hospitality may be fast-paced and demanding, but with the right strategies and a supportive workplace, it’s certainly possible to stay happy and healthy. By recognising the unique challenges, developing effective coping mechanisms and challenging bad workplace practices, hospitality professionals can work together to foster a culture of well-being in the industry that never sleeps.