{"id":4990,"date":"2022-04-20T12:44:52","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T12:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/?p=4990"},"modified":"2022-04-20T14:54:09","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T14:54:09","slug":"mending-mental-health-in-manchesters-hospitality-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/featured\/mending-mental-health-in-manchesters-hospitality-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Mending Mental Health in Manchester’s Hospitality Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I was working 60-70 hours a week, taking a hell of a lot of drugs, not eating a lot and I did that process for 10 years of my life. I suppose to some people I seemed successful because I was always in a new city, in a new venue. I wasn\u2019t though, I was running away. I was hoping that if I changed to a new environment, to a new city, that my reality would change. But it didn\u2019t, because I had these destructive habits that I would take with me.<\/em><\/p>– Paddy Howley, So Let’s Talk<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To the overwhelming majority of hospitality workers, the above quote will, unfortunately, feel all too familiar, whether it applies directly to them or one (or several) of their friends and colleagues. As passionately as many champion the industry, there is also the growing recognition that an overhaul in its approach to mental health and wellness is drastically needed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publicly, Covid has pummelled restaurants, bars and pubs in a manner akin to Ivan Drago slaughtering Apollo Creed in the opening round of Rocky IV. The takings that have been lost coupled with the lack of monetary support from government an obvious, non-stop battering played out before a nation’s very eyes in the news and on social media. Yet behind the scenes, the emotional drain has been exacerbated beyond breaking point, with already very fragile workers leaving the industry in droves, unable to withstand another series of body blows in a sector that, even during the golden periods, demands an ungodly amount from those who serve within it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paddy Howley spent 16 years in hospitality, from glass collecting in a working men’s club in his hometown of Burnley to successfully managing and consulting for a number of venues across the country. His expertise was constantly in high demand and he earned well because of it. Yet his earnings brought him no stability or security. Quite the opposite, in fact. Instead Paddy bounced between rented accommodations while using his pay packets to finance the purchase of the substances that fuelled every single one of his 12-16 hour shifts. Unsurprisingly, it was not a lifestyle built for longevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucked into a booth at the rear of Albert Schloss’ sprawling, Bavarian influenced beer hall, Paddy is accompanied by documents on his screen and on the table in front of him. He sips a ruby red mocktail and, though his current workload is clearly still mountainous, it is one that evidently provides him with a great deal more contentment than his decade-and-a-half in the trade. This is because his work now is helping those within the industry, the people he once worked with. The people he once was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by So Lets Talk (@soletstalk___)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>