MAGAZINE

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UK charity Hospitality Action (HA) launched its annual Taking The Temperature Mental Health & Wellbeing Survey in May. Designed as a benchmarking tool, it is intended to help industry leaders make sense of mental health and wellbeing within the sector’s workforce. It provides vital insights to help us build a clearer picture of the evolving challenges facing hospitality professionals – and with helpline calls and financial assistance requests at an all-time high, the findings have never been more important.

Last year, the survey revealed a significant increase in the proportion of workers reporting mental health issues in their careers, rising from just over half (56%) in 2018 and 64% in 2020, to more than three-quarters (76%) in 2024. It makes for a sobering read, but the cold, hard fact is that our people, the beating heart of the industry, are struggling – and the crisis is getting worse. While some live hand-to-mouth, carrying the constant worry of how they will make it to the end of the month, others are battling burnout, working so many hours that they’re left with no time to carry out simple daily tasks, let alone decompress.

The first step to making things better is to do all we can to understand the scale of the problem we’re dealing with. Hopefully, you’re reading this in time to participate in this year’s HA survey, which is open until 9 June and is completely confidential. It takes just minutes to complete and your input truly matters, as the responses you give could help to shape future support for businesses to better help their teams.

Head to hospitalityaction.org.uk to ensure your voice is heard.