WHY HOSPITALITY?

Hospitality looks after everyone. We need to look after hospitality.

Hospitality is where we celebrate, connect, eat, drink, work, gather and belong.

Behind the service, creativity and energy of the industry are people working in fast-paced, demanding and often unpredictable environments.

Healthy Mind Menu exists to make sure the mental health and wellbeing of those people stays on the menu too.

HEALTHY HOSPITALITY HEALTHY
PEOPLE.
HEALTHY
VENUES.
HEALTHY
INDUSTRY.

Hospitality is built on people.

Hospitality is the beating heart of our communities.

It brings people together through food, service, creativity and shared experiences.

But the people creating those experiences can be exposed to intense pressure behind the scenes.

Long and irregular hours. High workloads. Emotional labour. Difficult customer interactions. Financial uncertainty. Work-life conflict. Tight-knit teams. Fast-moving workplaces.

That doesn't mean poor mental health is inevitable. It means our industry needs the knowledge, culture and systems to protect the people who make hospitality possible.

The pressures can add up.

01

High pressure

Busy services, deadlines, competing demands and the expectation to perform under pressure.

02

Emotional labour

Staying calm, friendly and professional regardless of what might be happening internally.

03

Irregular hours

Nights, weekends and changing rosters can make rest, relationships and routines harder to protect.

04

Customer behaviour

Hospitality workers can face conflict, incivility, harassment and challenging interactions.

05

Work-life conflict

When hospitality's busiest hours are everyone else's social hours, maintaining balance can become difficult.

06

Workplace culture

Strong teams can be enormously protective — but unhealthy norms can also make asking for help harder.

The same things that make hospitality challenging can also make it powerful.

GOOD TEAMS
MATTER.

Connection, support, fairness, leadership and workplace culture can make an enormous difference.

Healthy Mind Menu began because our industry lost one of its own.

Healthy Mind Menu was founded in Perth in 2018 following the suicide death of a promising young chef.

The loss brought together people from across Western Australia's hospitality sector who shared a belief that the industry could do more to support the mental health and wellbeing of its people.

HMM was established by chefs Paul Zammit and Stephen Clarke, alongside key figures from Perth's hospitality, business, legal and mental health communities including Wayne Teo, Bradley Woods, Melvin Yeo and psychologist Chris Harris.

What began from loss became a commitment to prevention, education, connection and lasting cultural change.

A thriving hospitality industry starts with healthy people.

Mental health shouldn't only become a conversation once someone reaches crisis point.

We want hospitality workplaces where people can recognise when something isn't right, talk about mental health without shame, support one another appropriately and know where to find help.

And we want leaders and workplaces equipped to create environments where wellbeing is treated as part of good business — not something separate from it.

Change happens at more than one level.

01

Support the individual.

Give hospitality people practical knowledge, skills and pathways to support.

02

Strengthen the workplace.

Help leaders and teams create healthier, safer and more supportive environments.

03

Shift the culture.

Build an industry where mental health is understood, discussed and treated as part of good hospitality.

Wherever you sit in the industry, you can be part of the change.

Hospitality workers

Find practical tools, education and pathways to support for yourself or someone you work with.

Resources for workers →

Venues & employers

Build healthier teams and strengthen your approach to mental health and workplace wellbeing.

Resources for venues →

Industry supporters

Partner with HMM, support our work and help create meaningful change across hospitality.

Work with us →

Put mental health back on the menu.

Hospitality takes care of people every day. Together, we can make sure the people behind the industry are cared for too.

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