A content warning. We’re talking about mental health. This journal contains reflections and highlights from our recent panel discussion ‘Mind, Body & Barista: Conversations on Mental Health for Coffee People’ where we discussed a wide range of topics including mental ill-health, anxiety, depression, suicide and eating disorders. We also discuss the positive impact working in coffee and the service industry can have on mental health and inspiration for ways to improve our industry for the better.
Thanks to our panel and audience for taking part in this conversation and sharing your reflections and experiences in our industry. We hope these events can become a springboard for change for those working in coffee. We are always looking to improve our practices and took plenty of inspiration away from our experienced and knowledgeable panel guests.
Read on for our key reflections from the event. You can also hear the full conversation on YouTube here.
Meet the Panel
Rachel Kerr-Lapsley: Managing Director at Kelly's Cause, a hospitality charity started in response to a young chef called Kelly who sadly took her life at 23. Kelly’s Cause recognised the conditions in kitchens and the industry as a whole as exacerbating existing mental health conditions and sought change. They now run mental health first aid courses as well as advice and support for coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and bars to help get mental health skills to the people that need them.
Olajide Alabi: Co-Founder of Sisu Equity, Inclusion & Wellbeing Agency. Ola co-founded Sisu 4.5 years ago in response to George Floyd's murder and Black Lives Matter protests across the world. With a background of over 20 years in hospitality and experience leading recruitment for large restaurant groups, Ola started Sisu with the objective to help people thrive not survive in the workplace.
Hans Cooke: Founder of coffee platform ‘Cap N Chino’, a project that began when Hans was signed off work due to mental ill-health and found community and support through a local cafe scene after he began reviewing cafes online. Although he has never worked in coffee himself, he has a unique insight into the lived experience of the coffee industry through his in-depth podcast ‘Flat Whites and Insights’ which touches on industry topics including mental health, work life balance and career progression.
Rebecca Wooden: Marketing Executive at Climpson & Sons, having previously worked in hospitality management at various coffee shops and restaurants including Climpsons Cafe. She now works teaching yoga, breath and meditation alongside her work writing content at Climpsons. She has a unique perspective on the intersection between looking after your mind and body and finding ways to live life fully, both in and out of the workplace.
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The state of mental health in the coffee industry …
According to Well Grounded’s 2024 ‘State of the Coffee Nation Report’ we see 68% of people leaving the industry in less than 2 years, but 70% saying they wish to progress in a career in coffee. Something is at odds here. While an amount of employees will naturally move on to different career paths, we see here that baristas are not always leaving roles because they want to, but potentially because the correct support is not in place, the pressure becomes too much or they don’t see progression and opportunities as being available to them.
In any industry that is customer facing and time pressured, we see a jump of 4 times the national average for anxiety, depression, substance abuse and eating disorders. This means that statistically, those working in hospitality roles are more likely to face these issues. Whether this is in their own experience or that of their colleagues. For business owners and managers in the coffee industry, mental health is something that must be taken into consideration when making decisions and considering training, support and needs of your employees.
So why the coffee industry in particular? Anecdotally, we hear feedback that some people might consider barista roles as less-skilled or less-important than other lines of work. Everyone that works in coffee will inevitably have been asked when they’re going to get a ‘real job’ (sigh). Obviously, we know that working in coffee is a highly skilled job; combining social skills with people management, science and expertise that can ultimately form a fulfilling and rewarding career. As our host Natasha perfectly said, coffee makes the world go round.
What factors in the coffee industry have an impact on mental health?
Through our conversation we considered the factors that are unique to our industry that can have an impact on mental health (for the good and the bad) as well as some simple ways we can improve work life balance for baristas and those in senior roles and management roles.
1. The Service Industry
When we talk about mental health in coffee we need to talk about customer service. Daily life as a barista involves getting up close and personal with the general public, warts and all. While working in a sociable environment can be amazing, especially for extrovert types, there is an energy exchange between customers and employees that can be draining at times too, particularly with customer behaviour that can be described, as best, as erratic.
There is a certain stress involved when dealing with different types of customers on a daily basis. Customers will be going through their own crises and conditions and this can then become your problem to deal with.
There’s also a stress associated with the time-natured role of the barista. The customer is visibly tapping their foot waiting for their coffee. There’s a line of tickets on the machine. And the customers just keep coming. As a barista, even if you’re well experienced at keeping calm amidst the chaos, you’re on high alert for several hours of the working day. Employers need to be considering the effect of this stress on their employees and ensuring their team has the time and financial resources to do the things they need to do to down-regulate at the end of the working day as well as ensuring effective time and places to take a break.
We also talked about the joys of working in service. Getting to know the regulars, seeing the puppies and babies grow up and generally being part of the rhythm of our customers' lives. As well as the buzz of working in-sync as a well oiled team. It’s got to be said that making other people happy can make you really happy too and there are plenty of opportunities to feel that every single day when working in coffee.
Customer service can also be an incredible environment for those with neuro-diversity to absolutely thrive. There is a physical aspect to the role that can be incredibly supportive for anyone that struggles to be still. It’s an industry where uniqueness can be celebrated.
2. Instability in the Work Environment
Working in coffee can, at times, be an unstable workplace where unpredictable working patterns and unusual hours can make it difficult to socialise and also have a negative impact on our precious sleep patterns (oh those early morning open shifts). As a barista, you may well find yourself working every weekend and unable to connect with friends and family as regularly as you would like. On the flip side, there is both the blessing and the curse of days off alone during the week. A random Tuesday off is excellent for catching up on your washing, but you might find all the people you would usually socialise with are all at work. In this way, working rotas can certainly exacerbate loneliness which we all know is detrimental to both our mental and physical health.
Rachel gave a simple effective solution to this problem. Plan your staff rota at least a month in advance.
“You could give everyone their rota a month in advance. That will help them. That will give them the space to enjoy their life and connect with people in their life.”
With a regular rota planned in advance, employees can organise their social lives as well as ensure financial security with guaranteed hours and a paycheck they can plan their spending around.
3. Representation in Senior Leadership
A lack of representation is reflected in Well Grounded’s report as a key reason why many individuals leave the industry. When employees don’t see themselves reflected in senior leadership roles it can be difficult to see any opportunities for career progression yourself. With the hospitality industry showing so much diversity at a junior level, it seems easy for those from diverse backgrounds to access the industry, but difficult to progress and further a career.
“Representation is everything. The hospitality industry is so diverse. And we’re constantly talking about needing more diversity but what we really need is more representation. And we need more initiatives to ensure that people from marginalised communities are moving up the career ladder.” Ola Alabi.
A lack of representation can have a significant impact on wellbeing, especially if feeling unrepresented is part of your daily working life. The impacts are knock-on. In a workplace environment where some groups are unrepresented, individuals can feel unsupported. This is when we may become more likely to turn towards addictive behaviours, with both mental and physical health challenged as a result.
We discussed the value of mentorship in the workplace, whether this is an organised programme or a more unspoken structure.
“People are struggling with speaking to their manager about certain topics. Number one, knowing that it will stay confidential. Number two, knowing they will know how to handle that conversation. Number three, knowing that it wont affect the way they are treated at work.” Ola Alabi.
4. Support and Training
This is where our conversation moved into the role of managers in the coffee industry. Often, new managers in our industry are coming into roles with excellent coffee making skills but very little experience in managing people and knowing how to handle difficult conversations. Supporting a team through challenges in mental health is a specific skill set and requires training, as well as support from higher up for the manager themselves. When a company doesn’t invest in these skills for their management, we see problems exacerbated and an increasing rate of individuals leaving the industry.
Rather than managers carrying all the weight, they should be trained to signpost in the right directions with effective resources and support networks through the whole business.
So what training is out there?
There are many qualifications out there to support managers and team members including Mental Health First Aid courses offered by Kelly’s Cause. The more people who are engaged in these conversations and co-creating a supportive environment for their teammates, the better overall mental health will be. However a certificate isn’t always the only answer and Rachel suggested business owners “ask your team what they want. Go to the source.” Often we see a disconnect between what business owners think their employees want, and what will actively improve their wellbeing.
Recognise that needs are different. “I think it’s really important to understand the nuances of individuality. There is no one size fits all. How you have a conversation with me will be very different to how you have a conversation with someone else. I think the language plays such a huge part in saying the wrong thing, or not saying enough.” Rachel Kerr-Lapsley
Should these qualifications be made compulsory in the same way that food hygiene and health and safety are? Sometimes measures to improve wellbeing are seen as an additional extra and get cut when budgets are tight eg right now.
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This conversation was inspiring and heartfelt. We got to voice some real issues around working in coffee (and hospitality in general) and find reassurance in our shared experiences as well as see our industry from different lived perspectives.
Sending thanks to our wonderful panel for sharing your experiences with the group and to our guests for their thought provoking questions and insightful comments.
Get in touch with us to keep the conversation going and share your suggestions for our next panel discussion.
