With the level of COVID alerts in New Zealand growing rapidly, the stress on restaurant workers is continuously increasing. The Association of Restaurant Workers decided to take part in Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) to show that they care about their workers’ moral distress. Within MHAW, they launched an initiative to promote the mental health of their workers through ‘family dinners,’ a shared meal at work.
While having these meals, workers are encouraged to share thoughts about the current situation as well as their concerns and trouble. It creates a bond and a feeling of connectedness between people engaged in the busy restaurant industry, improves relations, and, finally, lets people get to know each other.
Moreover, these meals help a team leader make a quick check on his team regarding their physical health and mental distress. Seeing a low-spirited team member, the leader may take some time to discuss his problems and give a supportive hand when needed.
The other initiatives include holding webinars on mental distress and ways to combat it, creating written content about mental health, and introducing a phone line where any employee may call and share their problems. I believe all these initiatives are timely and necessary, especially in a pandemic, and the Association of Restaurant Workers shows due to concern about their workers’ mental distress.