Lockdowns highlight importance of mental health awareness for foodservice workers

Foodservice workers were among those hardest hit by Covid-necessitated lockdowns, with many casual staff stood down as business owners faced an uncertain future. These pressures, along with the usual foodservice concerns of unsociable work hours, job fatigue and stress, have fuelled mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, resulting in an increased number of calls from hospitality workers to mental health hotlines such as those operated by Beyond Blue and Lifeline.

“There’s plenty of reports around the mental health of Australians generally having been affected, and certainly we’ve heard from our members that they or their staff have been utilising these services,” reports Wes Lambert, Chief Executive of industry body Restaurant & Catering Australia. “Given how hard our industry was hit, one can make an educated guess that foodservice industry workers would have had mental health challenges during this time.”

Dr Grant Blashki, Lead Clinical Adviser with leading national mental health organisation Beyond Blue, acknowledges that foodservice has been doing it tough – so much so that Beyond Blue has compiled a return-to-work health guide for hospitality business owners.

“The foodservice sector is a high pressure environment to begin with, and Covid has really amplified a lot of the stress – there’s been a triple whammy, in that people are not only worried about their jobs and the viability of their business, they’re also worried about contracting Covid, and thirdly they’ve been trying to get their heads around all the new rules and regulations under which they now have to operate,” Dr Blashki points out. “And to cope with all that while still having to manage the expectations of customers is a big job.”

With customers now returning to dining out post-lockdowns, he offers a number of practical suggestions: “For employers it’s important to make sure you’ve ticked all the boxes around regulatory requirements, everything from contact tracing to social distancing and Jobkeeper issues needs to be bedded down as best as you can. The second thing is to try to look after your staff – this is always a good principle to follow, but right now there are extra levels of stress around job security and adjusting to the new environment. A very useful document to consult is the Covid-19 Safe Workplace Principles. You should make sure you’re keeping the lines of communication open with staff so that if there’s an outbreak or a staff member has to take stress leave you are across those issues.

“It’s also important to be transparent with your customers – be upfront about what you are and aren’t offering. Most people are excited about being able to eat out again and are keen to support their favourite food businesses, so there’s a lot of goodwill out there, but as we know there are restrictions around what you can offer and how many customers you can seat and serve.

“Put your phone on flight mode a few times a day and get off the social media juggernaut – it just exhausts you. Exercise is very important at these times as is a regular sleep pattern – try not to stay up too late when you’re home after a shift, and lay off the alcohol. A lot of people in hospitality have easy access to it, and it can be tempting if you’re out of your rhythm, but try not to overdo it.”

Dr Blashki adds that if you’re worried about a particular staff member, try first to cut them a little slack – “people’s productivity and mood is going to be fluctuating a bit at the moment, so if someone’s pulled a sickie because they’re just exhausted, try to give them a little more rope than usual and look out for how they’re performing. They might be being uncharacteristically short, they might not seem depressed but may be agitated or snappy. If you’re worried about them, pick a good time to talk to them – don’t be intrusive, don’t do it while there are other people around. Just see how they’re doing and ask if there’s anything you can do.”

He points out there is a lot of support material available online at beyondblue.com.au, including a whole minisite devoted to Covid which has content about managing every aspect of the pandemic.

Bear in mind also that Medicare provides Australians with a mental health plan under which you can get up to 20 subsidised visits to a psychologist after a consultation with your GP. And for those under financial pressures, Beyond Blue has partnered with Financial Counselling Australia to provide free financial advice via its website. Another recent initiative from the organisation is its NewAccess for Small Business service – where you can speak to experienced small businesspeople who are also trained mental health coaches and as such are able to empathise and provide sound advice.

Beyond Blue also has a dedicated Covid helpline 1800 512 348 where you can speak to mental health professionals 24/7 for free.

“It has been a really hard few months and there’s been a lot of doom and gloom,” Dr Blashki acknowledges, “but it’s important to remember that in time we will get to the other side of this. Scientists are working hard on vaccines and better treatments, and we’re now starting to see how things will look post-Covid – there’ll be other business opportunities, other ways of working, and we’re already seeing some of that innovation as people begin to think laterally and come up with new ideas which will benefit the industry.”