As well as being director of sales and marketing at the QEII Centre and chair of ICCA UK & Ireland, Diane Waldron is passionate about mental health. We caught up with her to get her take the industry’s attitude to the issue…
You don’t have to scratch too far below the surface to realise that most people are affected by mental health in some way – and people don’t know what to do.
I’m involved in 5asideCHESS, a social enterprise concerned with mental health. I’ve had a lot of conversations with people in all walks of life – workplaces, prisons, schools – and it’s really clear that there’s a disconnection in society at the moment. There’s a whole underbelly in the UK, quite a lot of them in the hospitality industry, and they’re really disaffected and disconnected. If we don’t address this we’re brewing up huge problems for society in general.
There’s an awful lot of talking going on, organisations that say “we’re doing this”, but when you speak to frontline staff it’s a different story… I spoke to a guy on World Suicide Prevention Day in September, he said his employer made all the right noises on social media, but he was a victim of domestic violence and he broke down and they sacked him. So employers may be saying the right thing, but the reality is that they don’t know how to deal with this.
Diane WaldronWe have to get people taking responsibility for their own mental health, in the same way as with their physical health.
At the QEII Centre we’re going to be positive, we’ve got two roundtables in March on the Battling Suicide Bus. We’re going to have full and frank conversations about issues that are leading to mental health problems in the industry and what should be done about it. It’s going to be a really strong image, the bus in Westminster, it’s very powerful. It’s covered with 300 messages written to people lost to suicide.
What can we as an industry do?
We need to make a commitment to real change. Talk about Mental Health First Aid and ‘looking out for the signs’ is all well-meaning, but if the support services aren’t accessible, what’s the point? We’re putting sticking plasters on, we’re not treating the root causes.
I feel strongly you still have people who don’t want to talk to their employers, for all sorts of reasons. There’s a stigma there. We have to get a grip on the root causes, I haven’t seen anything yet that is really trying to do that. I’m not interested in creating more talking shops. I want to be a catalyst for addressing problems – what can we as an industry do?
We have to support people to help themselves, as employers we have a responsibility. You wouldn’t walk around with a broken leg, but people are walking around with mental health struggles.
Are we monitoring how many hours freelancers in the industry are doing overall? There are opportunities within our industry, but there are also opportunities for individuals to do too much. There’s a lack of job security, a feeling that you have to get the money in while you can, whatever the cost. That has knock on effects.
M&IT editor Paul Harvey is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience. He began his career in the local press, working for various titles across the north. Since joining M&IT in 2013, he has become a trusted and respected voice in the sector, championing event professionals and reporting on all aspects of the events industry for the brand.
