Travel still isn’t placing enough focus on the mental health of its workforce, new TTG research suggests, despite it being some two-and-a-half years since the issue was first laid bare.

In late-2020, as the sector fought tooth and nail to stay afloat during the first year of Covid upheaval, a TTG study highlighted the shocking state of mental health within the industry, with almost 90% of workers admitting their mental wellbeing had deteriorated.

A lack of support within businesses and a need to challenge the stigma around raising mental health concerns or struggles with colleagues and bosses were also highlighted as vital barriers to tackle.

But what – if anything – has changed since then? A new TTG survey has re-examined how far the industry has come since the dark days of 2020, and as the sector looks ahead with confidence in 2023, asks: what more could – and should – be done? 

“There has been a lot of talk but still not much action in my workplace,” was one damning, and far from uncommon, assessment from one of the 450 respondents who took TTG’s new mental health survey between 31 March and 20 April, with the statistics painting a frustrating picture.

Limited progress

Only 19% of respondents told TTG they felt the travel industry had placed a “greater emphasis” on mental health since the onset of the pandemic, while more than two-thirds (67%) said they believed there had been “some focus” (37%) or “little focus” (30%) to improve mental health.

Exploring people’s openness around mental health in the workplace, 65% of respondents told TTG they “sometimes” (39%) or “rarely” (26%) discussed their mental health with colleagues, but only when “there is a real issue brought to our attention”, describing discussions as informal chats rather than a formal policy driven by management.

Just 14% said they “frequently talk about mental health” and are encouraged to by company leadership, a mere 1% improvement on the same question when asked in October 2020.

There were other slight improvements from the 2020 figures, such as in the number of people telling TTG they “never discuss mental health at work” falling from 26% to 22%. 

Asked if their employer had “actively tried” to look after their mental health since October 2020, respondents were divided; 35% said it was “one of the main concerns” for their business, while 26% said mental health was mentioned during the pandemic “but seems to have been forgotten about now”.

Nearly four in 10 (39%) said the issue had “never been on the agenda”. 

More training

“Mental health is still a taboo [and] comments like ‘we’re all in the same boat’ have held me back from actually saying how I am feeling,” remarked one respondent. 

“Being part of senior management, I found myself letting colleagues lean on me but without a similar support system for myself in turn,” said another, while a third revealed they would soon be leaving their job due to a lack of mental health support. “I have no job to go to so what does that say considering the current climate?” they said.

Asked what improvements they would like to see to boost mental health in their workplace, one respondent called for “all travel businesses to have compulsory mental health training for staff”, akin to fire safety or first aid requirements.

The latest data revealed the need for greater mental health training and resources, with almost half (49%) of the 450 respondents telling TTG they had been approached by a colleague to talk about mental health worries since the previous survey.

Six in 10 respondents (60%) said they felt “partly” able to support their colleagues but “not able to offer the best advice I could have given”; 13% said they needed training to be able to feel more comfortable and give more thorough advice; while 28% said they had received training and were able to offer effective support.

Asked how important an issue they believed improving mental health was for the industry and its leaders, only 11% said they felt it was a “key issue”, with 25% saying they felt the focus on the subject “seemed to have died down since the pandemic”.

Four in 10 (40%) said they felt it was not currently considered a key issue.

Respondents called on their leaders to “focus less on profits and more on pastoral care”; consider people’s vulnerability and promote “open and honest discussions”; safeguard employees from verbal abuse from clients; and “ensure mental health remains on every agenda and kept front of mind”.