Mental Health in Hospitality: Returning to Work After Lockdown

Sarah Kettel00:00:10

Welcome to our podcast, Timothy Put the Kettle On, part of the Talking Hospitality series. I'm Sarah Kettel and this is Timothy R Andrews. Hello.Timothy, Put the Kettel on is a podcast looking at issues within hospitality solutions and inspirational stories within the sector. The podcast is shared on all major platforms iTunes, Google Play, SoundCloud, YouTube and will soon be available on Audible.

Timothy R Andrews00:00:38

Some of our regular listeners will have noticed our new theme tune this episode. This was made by our friend and follower, Pawel Sikorski, a listener in Poland.

Sarah Kettel00:00:47

Thank you, Pawel.

Timothy R Andrews00:00:48

We love it. Welcome to today's special episode. Mental health in hospitality and returning to the workplace.With an estimated 20% of hospitality businesses yet to open in the UK and many more not yet fully operational, a third of hospitality jobs are expected to be made redundant by the end of the year. These are difficult times for hospitality workers and mental health is now a major concern.The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health reports that there are two pandemics. The first is coronavirus, the second are issues with mental health.

Sarah Kettel00:01:28

So to help us lift the lid on some of the issues, how to recognize them and how to address that, we're all delighted to welcome Susan Grandfield, mindset Coach from Susan Granfield.com and Dan Grandfield, Hospitality Consultant from BlueCragsConsulting.com hello.

Timothy R Andrews00:01:44

Welcome to the show.

Susan Grandfield00:01:45

Hello. Hi.

Sarah Kettel00:01:47

Hello, Susan. Welcome to the show. Tell us about yourself.

Susan Grandfield00:01:50

Hi, Sarah. Yeah, so I am a mindset coach. Prior to that I worked in the hospitality industry, so I worked for Hilton Hotels for a number of years.I've been working with people one to one as a coach, working with teams and groups within organizations as well. And it's all around creating a mindset that enables us to achieve what we want to achieve in life, in our business, in our work.So it's all about helping people turn their attention inwards and show up in the world the way they want to show up in the world.

Sarah Kettel00:02:22

Amazing. Hi, Dan, tell us about yourself.

Dan Grandfield00:02:26

Hi, Sarah. I am a hospitality consultant, presently doing career coaching, recruitment and project management.Prior to that, I was in the hotel industry for 25 years, laterally as general manager of a hotel in the city centre of Glasgow.

Sarah Kettel00:02:43

I have a question for you. I'm interested in your thoughts on this pause that's been forced upon us this year. Lockdown was not a choice for any of us.How do you think that's affected people?

Susan Grandfield00:02:54

I think people, when they have a job or a career, that is really part of who they are. It's a real vocation.The pause, I think, has been challenging for people So I think particularly in hospitality, where there's really not been any option about can I work from home or not, that pause has maybe felt like there's a bit of a void and it's like, what do I actually do with my days? Who am I if I'm not doing what it is that I do to serve guests or customers?

Timothy R Andrews00:03:23

I think one of the hardest things for a hospitality person is that they're so busy all the time, they're always interacting with, whether it's the team, customers, there's always something going on, there's a lot of reactivity and then suddenly it was stop. There was no sort of scaling down, it just was stop.And I think that's been exceptionally hard for so many people because everything they've known, and particularly if you think about the hours that people have been putting in and that's what they know, what do they fill that gap with? And I think that's been incredibly hard.Which leads me to question, Dan, what do you think are some of the mental health or health issues that hospitality workers are facing at the moment?

Dan Grandfield00:04:09

Quite, quite a lot at the moment, to be honest. From a hospitality workers perspective, I think the lack of social network.I know when I started out in the industry, my work was also my social network.So if we just start, you know, from, you know, speaking to people, having fun, having banter, et cetera, your workplace for a lot of hospitality people, due to the long hours worked and the weekends worked and the evenings worked, is also your social network.So if you're taking that away, as well as the threat of redundancy, things like that, that can lead to quite a powerful impact on someone's mental health. The threat of redundancy, unfortunately is prevalent.So losing one's job, especially if you've already had your hours reduced, if you're on a zero hour contract, for example, is going to put a lot of mental pressure, pressure on people's mental health. Uncertainty, lack of social kind of interaction and also the fear that the business they've been working for might very well go bust as well.So everyone involved in it might lose their jobs.

Sarah Kettel00:05:19

That can have a huge effect on your stress levels, can't it?

Susan Grandfield00:05:23

Yeah, absolutely.I think the main reason why the uncertainty has such a big impact on stress levels is because the amazing mind that we have is fantastic, great imagination, which is wonderful. We're very creative, but that means we can actually create the worst possible scenario, the worst possible outcome to a situation.So when there's uncertainty, we tend to create a future that's not the best. You know, we tend to be prepared, be preparing ourselves for the worst that can happen. I think the uncertainty is unsettling for a lot of people.And if. If people haven't maybe had that before or maybe haven't created their own sort of ways and techniques to deal with that, then it can feel really.They can feel really out of balance and your stress levels elevate and then you get into a bit of a perpetual cycle of being stressed and that then reduces your ability to deal with, you know, situations.

Sarah Kettel00:06:22

I understand how somebody going back into work in a restaurant or a publisher would feel a lot more at risk because we may go there, see 10 people and leave. They're going to be seeing 100 people that day and it's constantly revolving. And they have the pressure of keeping the place clean.They have the pressure of keeping up with all the COVID rules and then controlling people, especially if they've been drinking, perhaps as well. So what can we do to help ourselves to be in the right mindset to deal with that?

Dan Grandfield00:06:50

I think it's just remembering that customers are human beings the same as yourself. And the things that you've learned about COVID 19 is the same thing that customers have learned about COVID 19 as well.So when someone comes in, we may have a bit of a negative mindset about these rules. It is just to protect everybody, both customers and members of staff. It's not just to protect the members of staff.Also, leadership is going to be really key here, you know, from management and supervisory level in the way that members of staff are encouraged to deal with customers. Especially if there is the odd flash point related to Covid rules, things like that as well. I think that's going to be very, very important.People on holiday where we live in Crief is a tourist town. There'll be people walking into restaurants going, can I have a table? Even though they would have stipulated it's bookings only.But those people who've traveled into the town won't have seen those rules on the website.So it's how that interaction is going, how those rules are put across in a positive manner or in a, you can't do this, you're not wearing a mask, you know, that kind of, you know, go away basically because you're not obeying the rules or what can we do to help that customer come into our business, enjoy their stay, and therefore have harmonious relationship between the number of staff and customer.

Sarah Kettel00:08:17

I know a lot of people who haven't returned to work in hospitality yet who've been, you know, colleagues or former colleagues of mine are actually feeling more anxious about going back to work.

Dan Grandfield00:08:27

Yeah.

Sarah Kettel00:08:28

And I wonder what we can all do to adjust our mindset.

Dan Grandfield00:08:31

There's quite a lot of organization involved in bringing people back in since the place has been closed.And again, it's about making sure that those members of staff are comfortable with the risk assessment that you've done and the measures that you've put in as well, and make sure you involve them. You know, it's all about involving people and making them feel empowered.It's important to do that with the members of staff as well, with the solutions that you're providing to bring customers back in, because if they're not engaged with the solutions that you're using, then that's going to cause them undue pressure.

Susan Grandfield00:09:11

Yeah.I think your question's an interesting one, Sarah, because unlike a lot of industries and the people working in hospitality, it's almost that sense of, I don't have a choice. I either go to my place of work to get paid or I don't, and I don't get paid. There's no working from home options.So the real threat of the virus itself and catching it is at a very basic level. Human beings want to protect themselves.And if there's a virus out there that we might get, you know, we might get ill from, then clearly that's going to be playing on people's minds.So in terms of mindset about going back to work, when you've got this sense of, I have to because I need to earn money and maybe I want to because I want to do my work again, there's definitely something about having the courage to really engage in a dialogue with your employer. You know, if you are a member of staff, if you're. If you're in management, you make the decisions.But to say whether you feel safe or not, because actually your employer has a duty of care to make sure you're safe in all respects of that. Not just, you know, from things falling from the roof or slipping on a floor, but actually your welfare as well.So I think the key thing is that is to open up that dialogue if you feel unsafe. And I'm sure many, if not all, certainly a lot of employers are going to do absolutely everything they can.But if you feel unsafe, then they definitely say something, because you won't be the only one who's feeling concerned, guaranteed.

Sarah Kettel00:10:44

Of course, yeah. No, that's really good advice. Have you been approached, Ann, by anybody from a managerial guidance point of view with regards to that.

Dan Grandfield00:10:53

I've had some conversations with colleagues who is still working for the hotel company that I used to work for and we've talked about both the way staff kind of mental health is monitored.

Sarah Kettel00:11:07

Right.

Dan Grandfield00:11:08

They should be doing it anyway whether there's a pandemic or not. These days especially.So, you know, one of my concerns about mental health, first aid, which I think is fantastic and is a great thing, but it's all levels, management supervisor, member of staff.So when you appoint someone responsible for keeping an eye out for people's mental health, if they're a junior member of staff and they can see that their general manager's falling apart, are they going to be able to do anything about that? So we need levels.So talking to who manages a hotel in Livingston, not far from Edinburgh, and we were talking about, we need people who are aware of that in all levels of the hotel's kind of hierarchy. So supervisors seems to be a little bit off. Then the manager can help them with it.And instead of just having one person, which is a tick box exercise in my view, it needs to be part of the culture of community of the business.

Susan Grandfield00:12:09

I think in all industries and all organizations that I work with and have worked with, there's one thing that's quite a common theme, which is there's a perception that the people at the top of the organization are okay. You know, they're getting paid the bigger salaries, they get to make the rules to a certain extent.Actually it's a really lonely place to be a lot of the time.And they are human beings just like anyone is who has their home life, which, you know, we've all got our own variations of challenges we've had in our own home lives in this situation. Absolutely up and down and across.

Timothy R Andrews00:12:45

You know, it's a really good point in that not all one way down. Your managers, your owners could be suffering as well.

Susan Grandfield00:12:54

If we can remember, we're all human beings and, you know, just really be looking out for each other.

Sarah Kettel00:13:00

I think we all have a big responsibility in hospitality actually to almost be the unifying force between. Well, for the whole country really to start obeying the rules about going out and about wearing masks.Because it really is up to us as an industry to bring back the fun factor to life.No one's been out and we all want to go out, but it's how we approach that is that we can be, yeah, just this huge tool to bring people back together outside of their own homes, but also have a great time.

Timothy R Andrews00:13:28

This is the end of this week's podcast. We hope you join us for part two next time.

Sarah Kettel00:13:33

So if you are struggling with your mental health right now and you do need some help, you can contact Samaritans. You can call them free on 116123.

Timothy R Andrews00:13:41

You can also call Hospitality Action 0808 802 2111 and the website is hospitalityaction.org.uk.

Sarah Kettel00:13:56

Remember, you are not alone. Thank you for listening. Please share, subscribe and like.We look forward to you joining us in the next episode of Talking Hospitality is available on iTunes, SoundCloud, Google Play and YouTube.