Who Looks After the Leaders?
Ask a hospitality general manager who they turn to when the pressure builds and you will often get a pause, followed by a joke. Usually it is the same person everyone else turns to.
Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day. This year's theme from the World Federation for Mental Health, Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change, is a timely prompt for an industry that has become far better at talking about wellbeing on the front line than at the top of the organisation.
The people everyone leans on
Hospitality Action's latest Taking the Temperature survey, carried out this summer with 639 respondents, puts numbers on something most operators already sense. Almost two thirds (65%) of managers who have experienced a mental health issue say it was triggered by work. Six in ten managers (61%) were asked to support a colleague through a mental health challenge in the past year, compared with 40% of hospitality professionals overall. And 47% of respondents want more training to help leaders recognise and respond when someone is struggling.
Managers named work-life balance and protecting their own wellbeing as the two biggest challenges they face over the next twelve months. High workloads and consistently working beyond contracted hours were far more likely to be cited by managers than by anyone else.
Separate research from Vitality, published in September, found that 48% of hospitality employees are struggling at work because of their mental health and almost one in five report frequent burnout. Fewer than half feel comfortable raising a mental health concern at work, against 57% of UK employees overall.
There is real progress in the same data. Around two thirds of Hospitality Action's respondents say their workplace lets them talk openly about mental health, and 54% feel their wellbeing is supported by their organisation. The challenge is no longer awareness. It is whether the people providing the support are being supported themselves.
Why this is a business risk, not just a welfare issue
For owners and operators, leadership burnout rarely appears as a line in the accounts. It appears as a strong general manager who resigns eighteen months into a three-year plan, a head of department whose judgement slips in the busiest quarter, or a deputy who decides they never want the top job after watching what it costs.
That last point deserves more attention than it gets. Succession depends on the next generation looking at senior roles and wanting them. If the job looks unsustainable from the outside, the pipeline thins long before anyone notices.
This year has been relentless. Leaders have absorbed a higher National Living Wage, higher employer National Insurance, rising utility costs and a heavy programme of employment law change, while being asked to protect both margin and guest experience. From January, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal falls to six months, which puts even more weight on how well a new senior leader is supported in their first months in post.
What we are hearing from senior candidates
Last month, writing about flexible working, we noted that senior candidates are asking much earlier whether a role has been designed so they can perform well for years, not months. Wellbeing is the other side of that conversation.
The questions we hear are practical. Is there a deputy structure that means a day off is genuinely a day off? Who does the general manager report to, and how often do they actually speak? Is there a realistic view of what can be achieved in the first year? What happens when the operation is short-staffed for a sustained period?
The strongest candidates are not looking for an easy role. They are looking for evidence that the business understands what the role demands and has thought about how to sustain the person doing it. Owners who can answer those questions clearly are securing better leaders, and keeping them.
Five things owners and operators can do
- Train the people who are expected to listen. If managers are the first line of support, equip them. Mental health awareness training, clear signposting to an Employee Assistance Programme and simple guidance on difficult conversations cost little and achieve a lot.
- Give senior leaders someone to talk to as well. An owner, regional director, mentor or external coach who checks in regularly and is not simply reviewing the numbers.
- Design roles that are sustainable. Look honestly at span of control, deputy cover and availability expectations, particularly for general managers and heads of department.
- Protect time off. Holidays and days off that are routinely interrupted are not really time off. Senior leaders set the tone for everyone else.
- Make wellbeing part of the hiring conversation. Be clear with candidates about the support that exists. It signals a serious employer and attracts leaders who intend to stay.
Support that already exists
Hospitality Action, the industry's own charity, offers an Employee Assistance Programme with a 24/7 adviceline and access to counselling. Its Walk for Wellbeing runs from 10 to 25 October and is an easy way for teams, senior teams included, to take part together. If you are finding things difficult yourself, the adviceline is there for everyone who works in hospitality. Find out more at hospitalityaction.org.uk or call 0203 004 5500.
How we can help
Every senior search we run involves understanding not only what a role requires, but whether it is set up for someone to succeed in it. If you are reviewing your leadership structure, planning a senior appointment for 2027 or would welcome a confidential conversation about building a more resilient team, please contact Guy Lean, Managing Director, on +44 (0)20 8600 1180 or at guylean@madisonmayfair.com
