Blog. Promoting Better Mental Health in Hospitality.

March 20, 2025 | Author Guest Blogger

In hospitality, the entire customer experience depends on personal interactions and team commitment. How team members are feeling on a given day can shape how customers view (and review) your brand.

The mental health, wellbeing and happiness of your team is critical - both customer-facing ‘superstars’ and the teams who provide vital support behind the scenes.

It can be hard to measure up to customers’ expectations all of the time if we’re not in great shape mentally. Yet we also know that working in hospitality, while fun, stimulating and personally rewarding, comes with plenty of pressure.

Thought Leadership

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Being Confident Is the First Step.

There are two key questions for line managers. First, how confident do you feel about spotting the signs of poor mental health in one of your team (or, indeed, yourself?) And second, would you know how best to support, signpost effectively and look after your own wellbeing while avoiding taking the accidental counsellor role?

This isn’t just a question of supporting poor mental health. There’s a huge advantage to be gained from providing support and empowering team members to take charge of their own wellbeing and to feel happier and more positive. To perform like a superstar, you need to feel like one.

Employee wellbeing is a huge and important topic. We summarise the main points here but there are plenty of places you can go for additional guidance and support, including your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP).

Many businesses offer an EAP to support employees. They can use the scheme to access professional and independent support for a range of issues that could affect employees’ mental health and wellbeing, including work-related stress, relationships, financial concerns, bereavement and illness.

Early intervention often prevents issues escalating and can help ensure matters are resolved quickly and effectively. This is a better outcome for the employee and your business helping them to lead happier, healthier lives, improving productivity and reducing time off work.

Spotting the Signs of Poor Mental Health.

Effective managers are tuned-in to changes in behaviour that could mean somebody is struggling with their mental health. We’ve listed some of the typical signs and symptoms below. But it’s worth stressing that these indicate there might be a mental health issue. A key skill as a manager is to practice active listening: to help you identify the issues they may be facing and signpost them to services and resources that can help improve their mental wellbeing.

Signs and Symptoms:

  • Mood swings or feeling sad
  • Lack of interest or low motivation
  • Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
  • Being withdrawn and not interacting with colleagues
  • Tiredness
  • Irritability

If you notice these behaviours, it’s important to follow up quickly and sensitively. They might be down to some temporary personal issues, or they might be warning signs of deteriorating mental health. Well timed, appropriate interventions will help to stop issues from escalating.

Where issues are more severe or not addressed early enough, behaviours could include:

  • Anger, aggression or violence
  • Self-harm
  • Suicidal thoughts or behaviour
  • Increased dependence on alcohol, drugs or medication
  • Detachment from reality or hallucinations

Clearly, a manager would have to intervene urgently in these situations and follow workplace guidance about how to access appropriate emergency assistance, for example via the on-duty psychiatrist at the Accident & Emergency department. An EAP can also provide guidance to managers who may have concerns that a team member is at risk of harm to themselves or others.

Priorities for Managers.

One in five hospitality employees report being concerned that their mental health issues could affect their employment. Two thirds believe that their mental health has worsened in recent years. Mental health and wellbeing are clearly significant issues in hospitality.

If you think a member of the team might be struggling with their mental health, what should you do? Here are some general points. But remember, each individual and their circumstances will be unique. You have to listen carefully with an open mind.

Two thirds of hospitality employees believe their mental health has worsened in recent years.

Source: The Employee Mental Health and Remote Working Report (Wildgoose)

Remember too - if your business has an EAP, you can get more specific advice, support and signposting to help you respond sensitively to the situation.

The Hospitality Action EAP includes an advice line for managers and access to a managers’ support hub containing a range of articles on a range of issues, including addictive behaviours and mental health crises as well as details of training and support services to help you act in a prompt, helpful and appropriate way which may include arranging a wellbeing check-in.

Wellbeing Check-in good practice:

  • Find a quiet, safe space to talk.
  • Stay calm and avoid making assumptions.
  • Listen carefully and don’t rush to judgement.
  • Ask open questions such as ‘how are you feeling’ and don’t feel you need to fill the silence by talking.
  • Aim to discover what would help the individual - such as taking a break from work or a temporary change of duties.

Confidentiality.

For an individual to open up about their mental health they need to be confident that the conversation is confidential and that your priority is to help them. Managers can encourage employees to take advantage of mental health support available through an EAP, by stressing that it’s fully confidential and their manager needn’t know that they’ve asked for help, unless it’s via a Managed Referral with the consent of the employee.

65% of employees said they were concerned that speaking up about a mental health issue would affect their career progression.

40% of employees have considered leaving the hospitality sector because of the impact on their mental health.

(HA Mental Health Survey 2024)

There may be circumstances where you would have to breach confidentiality and you will need to explain what those are. If, for example, there is a risk to self or others then this could lead to having to breach confidentiality with the appropriate safeguarding wellbeing service.

The Hospitality Action EAP lets employees access the support on offer without their employer knowing. The service is completely confidential so team members can be certain of anonymity if that’s what they prefer, which removes a significant barrier to seeking help.

Usage reports provided to managers typically cover the number of employees who requested support, the type of support provided, the number of interactions and the top issues that team members were facing. This helps employers identify areas that may need improvement in the workplace providing data led insight for the development of wellbeing strategies and relevant training.

Creating a Culture of Positive Mental Health.

So far we’ve focused on what you should do if you’re concerned about the mental health of one of your team. Let’s look now at what you can do proactively to help boost positive mental health in the workplace and what team members can do to take better care of their mental health and emotional wellbeing.

  • Encourage open discussions and make work an environment where it’s OK and positively welcomed to talk about mental health and how people are feeling.
  • Develop a work culture where harassment and discrimination are never tolerated.
  • Nip gossip and negative behaviour in the bud by reminding people ‘that’s not how we do things’.
  • Encourage people to make good use of their free time by improving their physical fitness or perhaps trying meditation or mindfulness.

The Hospitality Action EAP offers a helpline for managers to help you address mental health issues positively and professionally. Employees can also access support and counselling as well as the wider wellbeing programme that includes self-guided mental health e-learning and a library of webinar content discussing key wellbeing themes and issues

The programmes and support we offer are designed specifically for the hospitality sector. As well as being highly affordable, they’re also built around the realities of how the sector works and the jobs people do.

Positive wellbeing support available with the Hospitality Action EAP:

  • Fitness and nutrition
  • Digital gym
  • Self-guided mindfulness and meditation
  • Soundspace wellbeing podcasts
  • Wellbeing seminars (live and on-demand)

Invest in Wellbeing

The cost of doing nothing will impact wellbeing for you, your employees and your business.

The value of doing something is far greater than the cost. You can calculate it here at: EAP ROI Calculator.