In hospitality, it's the people who make the experience. From front-of-house to back-of-house, bar teams to boardrooms, it's the care, passion and hard work of hospitality professionals that shape each guest interaction. Yet too often, those very teams are running on empty. 

According to Hospitality Action’s 2024 Taking the Temperature survey, 76% of hospitality workers have experienced mental health challenges at some point in their careers - a 20% rise since 2018. Nearly 49% have faced such issues in just the last two years, as lingering effects of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis continue to impact day-to-day life. 

Painting a picture of an industry under sustained stress, the biggest concerns from the 2024 survey were: 

• Mental health (44%) 

• Financial strain (42%) 

• Workload pressure (35%) 

For bar teams, chefs and restaurant staff, the story is even more acute. Long shifts, unpredictable hours and relentless customer demands often leave little room for balance, recovery or support. It’s no surprise that 60% of hospitality workers anticipated work/life balance to be their biggest personal challenge heading into 2025. 

Awareness has increased, but stigmas persist 

While the industry has made strides in destigmatising mental health conversations - with 74% of workers saying they feel more comfortable discussing mental wellbeing than in previous years - barriers persist. A concerning 64% of respondents still worry that opening up could damage their career prospects. For many on the floor or behind the bar, making space for vulnerability remains a daunting task. 

This is why initiatives like Taking the Temperature are imperative. Relaunched during Mental Health Awareness Week this May, the 2025 survey findings will again provide an essential snapshot of how hospitality professionals are truly feeling - whether they’re serving drinks, managing bookings or leading operations. 

“Taking the Temperature has become the industry’s definitive benchmarking tool for understanding mental health and wellbeing in hospitality,” said Mark Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Hospitality Action. “We want to understand what’s important to the industry, the challenges hospitality professionals face and what respondents would like to see change to make our industry a better place to work in.” 

These findings don’t just raise awareness, they directly inform the services and support Hospitality Action offers, from counselling and financial aid to crisis intervention and management training. 

Technology supporting the people behind the experience 

We believe technology should do more than streamline operations, it should support the people using it. That’s why our partnership with Hospitality Action is grounded in empathy. Together, we’re working to improve not just how hospitality businesses operate, but how they care for their teams. 

Whether it’s behind the bar or in the back office, operational inefficiencies often become stress multipliers. That’s where intelligent tools can support: 

• Predictive staffing solutions align workforce supply with demand, reducing last-minute scrambles and chronic overwork. 

• Mobile POS and kitchen display systems smooth front- and back-of-house workflows, giving teams space to focus on the guest and each other. 

• Flexible scheduling options allow staff to take more control of their time - boosting autonomy and helping improve balance. 

“These systems aren’t about replacing people, they’re about supporting them,” said Kathrin Cockhill, Senior Business Development at Agilysys. “When your team’s running on empty, every operational inefficiency is felt tenfold. Our goal is to ease that load - giving staff the space to perform, recover, and stay connected to why they do what they do.” 

Wellbeing is a 24/7 commitment 

Workplace wellbeing shouldn’t be confined to a single week or initiative, it must be woven into rotas, systems, leadership strategies and the very culture of hospitality.  

That’s the heart of our collaboration with Hospitality Action: combining human compassion with thoughtful technology to create environments where teams feel genuinely supported, safe and valued. In an industry where staff turnover is high and expectations never stop, embedding wellbeing into every shift, every tool and every conversation isn’t just ethical - it’s essential for long-term resilience and success.  

The 2025 Taking the Temperature survey is now live for industry participation.  

We encourage all hospitality professionals to take part in this survey. Your input will help shape better policies, inform smarter decisions, and ensure the people who power our industry are seen, heard, and supported: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90823932/5f0c71730a4e