Half of hospitality workers in the UK are struggling due to their mental health with a quarter rating their mental state as poor during the past six months, Vitality has discovered.
A survey of 1,000 hospitality workers suggests that they could be particularly vulnerable with a fifth (18%) reporting frequent burnout in the past year.
Long hours and consistently needing to please customers make this a mental and physically demanding industry.
The survey suggests that some employees could be reluctant to discuss health concerns at work with 48% of respondents in hospitality feeling comfortable raising a mental health issue, compared to 57% of all employees in the UK.
It seems that employers in the hospitality industry are not convincing enough of their staff about wanting to improve the effectiveness of their workforce’s health and wellbeing.
Indeed, only a third (31%) are confident that their employer will improve its approach to health and wellbeing support in the next 12 months, well below the 48% national average.
Vitality Health’s director of corporate Gary Impett (pictured), said hospitality is a people-focused industry, but many employees face significant pressures without feeling fully supported.
“The findings highlight a clear opportunity for employers to create environments where employees feel comfortable speaking up about health concerns and can access support that meets their needs.
“Getting this right matters not only for employee wellbeing, but also for engagement, retention and productivity,” he added.
