The UK’s leading hospitality charity, Hospitality Action, has unveiled its latest Step-by-Step guide focusing on Activating Wellbeing in Hospitality.
Created in partnership with its annual fundraising initiative, ‘Walk for Wellbeing’, the guide - the third in the series - highlights the importance of tackling the wellbeing challenges faced by hospitality workers and has been designed to help businesses and individuals across the industry take practical steps to support employee mental health and wellbeing. Now in its sixth year, Walk for Wellbeing is taking place in Birmingham on Sunday 19th October, with entries now open.
The 20km walk is being hosted by recruitment consultancy Tonic Talent and will start and end at Albert’s Schloss in central Birmingham, winding through green spaces such as the scenic Edgbaston Reservoir, and taking in parts of Digbeth, the city's creative quarter and some of Birmingham's historic canal network. Walks for Wellbeing will take place in 12 cities across the UK, with this year marking exciting growth as Cornwall, Edinburgh, Newcastle, and York join as first-time city hosts.
The hosted walks will take place in October, beginning in York on Sunday 12 October, followed by Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Cornwall, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester on Sunday 19 October, and finishing in Newcastle on Monday 20 October. For those unable to attend a hosted walk, the flexible ‘Walk It Your Way’ option runs from World Mental Health Day on Friday 10 October to Sunday 26 October, allowing participants to take part anytime, anywhere.
Walk for Wellbeing is powered by hospitality talent partner mum and supported by Caterer.com, Imperial London Hotels and Sona. Conrad Brunton, Managing Director at Tonic Talent, said: “Hospitality Action’s Step-by-Step Guide highlights the power of walking and talking to strengthen workplace wellbeing.
“Birmingham’s Walk for Wellbeing gives us the chance to live that message, combining fresh air, exercise, and connection with industry peers.” Hospitality Action’s latest Taking the Temperature survey found that while 78% of employees feel more comfortable talking about mental health than they did five years ago, issues such as understaffing, excessive workloads and poor life balance continue to have a negative impact across the industry.
The new guide points to effective solutions such as Hospitality Action’s Employee Assistance Programme, which offers 24/7 confidential support, financial guidance and counselling services to anyone working in the sector. It also encourages employers to put movement and connection at the heart of workplace wellbeing.
From team walks and informal gatherings that strengthen relationships, to simple initiatives that promote balance and openness, the guide shows how small, practical steps can make a big difference. Walk for Wellbeing is a perfect example of how movement and connection can be built into team culture, creating space to support both individual and collective wellbeing.
Mark Lewis, Chief Executive at Hospitality Action, commented: “Hospitality is one of the UK’s most exciting and rewarding industries, but it’s also very demanding.
“Our new Step-by-Step Guide is designed to move the conversation on from awareness to action. It offers practical, achievable ideas that can help leaders and teams improve their physical health, strengthen connections and create a workplace culture where wellbeing is a priority.”
The Step-by-Step Guide is now available to download and offers an essential resource for hospitality businesses of all sizes. To register for Walk for Wellbeing, visit www.walkforwellbeing.org.
