Scots charity offers mental health support amid cost of living crisis

As the former associate dean for Hospitality and Tourism at City of Glasgow College, he has more than 30 years of experience in education and a deep understanding of the sector's inner workings.

However, it was a devastating personal loss that first compelled him to launch one of the country’s largest support networks for hospitality employees.

Pictured: Hospitality Health chairman Gordon McIntyre (Image: Supplied)

He said: “A very close family friend of mine was a chef.

“Although we knew he had been struggling with depression, he later took his own life which was unexpected and incredibly sad for all of us.

“There are many great organisations like the Samaritans that are dedicated to providing support to people at difficult times, but for some, there is a stigma attached that means they don’t feel able to make that call.

“That’s why myself and a few others decided to create something with hospitality in the title, in the hopes that clearly signposting ways to find help would benefit folk within the industry who are struggling.”

Initially, Hospitality Health aimed to offer a lifeline for those experiencing depression and anxiety while also fighting to raise awareness for the addiction issues that are rife within the industry but often overlooked.

Encouraging individuals to seek help and share their stories meant that walls were being broken down, and important discussions concerning gambling, drugs and alcohol were starting to take place.

One testimonial from a chef read: “I was too macho to speak to anyone or admit that I had mental health problems. Alcohol and drugs are considered too normal, and too accepted in this industry.

“If there had been a charity out there to help, my family life would not have suffered. The stigma surrounding speaking up, especially for men, must be broken.”

Another comment shared by a front office manager said: “I was heavily involved in gambling several years ago. I was at rock bottom and without the support of a few close friends who listened and supported me, things would be so much worse.”

Word of the charity spread fast, largely due to an easy-to-navigate and comprehensive website that Mr McIntyre and his fellow trustees updated dutifully.

There, visitors could find jargon-free advice for wellbeing, resources for help and a light-hearted series of quickfire interviews with leading industry figures who were eager to lend their name to the initiative.

The momentum this created led to a welcome boost in funding, but a new challenge that would forever change the landscape of the hospitality and tourism sector was yet to come.

“Covid changed our focus drastically,” Mr McIntyre continued.

“With businesses shut and staff on furlough, we thought that it would mean a quiet period for us, but it proved to be the opposite.

“We spent a lot of time attending webinars to offer guidance or sitting in on meetings that staff were holding to maintain social and team welfare aspects of work during lockdowns.

“When the time came for businesses to reopen, it became clear that there were increased levels of anxiety amongst staff as they returned to an environment that was nothing like the one they had left behind.”

The introduction of face masks, social distancing and strict guidelines required a huge adjustment for employees, who also began to worry they could be exposing vulnerable family members to the virus by returning to work.

It was then that the Hospitality Health trustees decided funds should be put towards training Mental Health First Aiders from businesses across Scotland, with hundreds signing up to do their part in safeguarding their teams.

Despite almost four years since the first Covid lockdown, the work is far from finished.

“I think a lot of people assumed that the height of Covid would be the worst period they would ever have to deal with, but the reality is it has exacerbated the issues we are currently facing.

“There’s the cost of living crisis, which means consumers are going out less and hours are being cut.

“Then there are recruitment issues because managers can no longer offer the same contracts that they would have.

“It’s a difficult cycle that we are all trying to break.”

Difficult though it may be, Mr McIntyre says there will always be positives to be found within such a resilient workforce.

Recognising this, the charity seeks to reward businesses that are striving for a change in culture and applauds their efforts to adhere to a Wellness Charter.

“The mentality within the industry has always been that the more hours you work, the more people will consider you a superhero.

“You’d say you had worked 70 hours that week only for someone else to say ‘Well, I’ve done 80’.

“There are many businesses who should be praised for re-evaluating the way they work post Covid, for example, offering a four-day work week or making sure that they are paying staff the National Living Wage to encourage them to stay in their roles.

“There’s more awareness of the importance of a work-life balance, and things are changing for the better.

“But we’re not out of the woods yet.”

Over the next three days, The Herald will bring you three interviews with industry professionals who have spoken of the importance of Hospitality Health as they prepare to face the pressures of a New Year.

From a renowned restaurant chef who says he has never encountered a more challenging set of circumstances to the managing director of a Highland hotel who says her employees are still bearing the brunt of changing attitudes towards hospitality staff in the wake of the pandemic, we hope that sharing their stories will encourage others to seek help when it is needed.

For more information on Hospitality Health click here.

To contact the Samaritans phone 116 123 or click here.