Free mental health program launched for Smart Serve certified workers

The hospitality industry was among the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening an ongoing mental health crisis in the sector.

As a result, many have left the industry leading to staff shortages and further strain on those who have chosen to stay.

“We have an industry that has neglected workplace mental health and psychological safety for centuries. I always say there was an epidemic before the pandemic. The rates [of poor mental health] were already high before there was COVID-19,” says Hassel Aviles, executive director of Not 9 to 5, a non-profit mental health advocacy group for the hospitality industry.

“I describe it as like there was a pot on a stove and someone cranked the heat. So instead of a simmer, it became a boil and it’s overflowed and as a result, businesses are feeling it, employers are feeling it, employees are feeling it.”

“Not only are we seeing skill shortages of staffing, I think the pressure on servers today since COVID [have increased], the demands of customers, rudeness levels have increased,” adds Richard Anderson, Executive Director Smart Serve Ontario.

“Servers are feeling the pain — the financial pain and the stress. And it’s just elevated from previous times.”

To address the growing needs for support, Smart Serve Ontario is collaborating with non-profits Not 9 to 5 and GreenShield Health to offer a suite of free mental health services for those who have their Smart Serve certificate, called Smart Serve Cares.

Through GreenShield’s online platform, the program provides three hours of free counselling, digital cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and a host of online resources.

“Some people feel something but they don’t really know what it is and they don’t want to take that first step to go and get help. So scanning through resources and trying to identify with what you are feeling or what you’re thinking is also very important and that is the first step to actually going to seek counseling,” says Harriet Ekperigin, Vice President of Clinical at GreenShield.

Aviles says the program will be a vital resource for hospitality workers who often avoid seeking help because it’s usually unaffordable, even though they may desperately need it.

“Our industry survey participants have shared with us that they experience symptoms of burnout at rates of 87 per cent, anxiety at rates of 84 per cent, depression at rates of 77 per cent. These are alarmingly high rates when you compare them to other sectors,” says Aviles.

Industry workers CityNews spoke to echo those statistics with their personal experiences.

“When you work in restaurants, there’s a great deal of emotional and physical labour to go in every night, smile at strangers,” says sommelier Jaby Dayle.

“Every plate is a work of art. Every moment you hit a table is something new to experience and to share with another. And oftentimes people look down on this profession, it’s not seen as a ‘big kid job.'”

“I have to always be on. And if I’m having a bad day, I can’t really show it,” adds chef and server Sonia Mondino.

“There’s so much that you have to give. You’re putting everything out there.”

“We’re required to show up and put on a happy face. We work while others play, and it’s our jobs to show people a good time, and that inherently comes with its challenges,” says Mandie Murphy, co-founder of Left Field Brewery.

Murphy adds that as a small business owner, she’s seen an increase in need for mental health resources among her team, but they are not able to provide the levels of support required.

“We offer a modest benefits plan for our employees, it’s just simply not enough. Therapy is expensive and so more support is better because it will better enable our teammates to get the help they need, access the resources, gain the knowledge they need to take better care of their own mental wellness, which is just going to make us a stronger workforce,” she says.

“[Smart Serve Cares] offers tools and resources and access to therapy and counseling that they have been asking for.”

The program was developed following consultations with focus groups comprising of industry professionals.

“We picked random owners, licensees and servers throughout Ontario,” explains Anderson.

“We asked them how can Smart Serve give back? And that was the resounding request – it wasn’t about giving them points or giving them gift cards. It was all about mental health.”

The services are accessible directly through the Smart Serve website and users only need to enter their certificate number and basic information. Dayle says easy access is key when it comes to mental health resources.

“It’s really hard to access these things when you have to click this link and go behind this and fill out this form and wait for this callback. And when you’re in a situation where my mental health is faltering, generally I kind of need help in that moment,” they say.

Mondino is hopeful that the program is the first step in the journey towards making the industry a healthier place to work.

“I think change, no matter how small it is, is a positive step forward. So I think this is gonna be a huge step in the industry.”

“We’re going to be able to see less turnover in our workplace when people are more well taken care of,” adds Murphy.

Ekperigin says they hope to create an industry wide shift that will make it a healthier, more positive space and also prevent the high rates of attrition in the hospitality sector.

“Many people are leaving the hospitality industry, especially since the pandemic, and they’re going to other industries, ones that can provide health benefits to deal with their mental health challenges. And we hope that through awareness of this program, we’ll see hospitality workers taking the opportunity and actually staying within the hospitality industry. Because when they do, we all benefit.”