'Take an interest in what's going on, ask how I'm feeling’: Improving mental health and wellbeing in the events industry

Abstract

This collaborative study between Stress Matters UK, the University of Hertfordshire, UK and Walters Research and Consulting, New Zealand aims to gain a more nuanced understanding of the mental wellbeing of event professionals working in a very stressful and deadline-driven industry. Over the last five years, the Stress Matters team has endeavoured to investigate the relationship between pressure, stress and the events industry in the UK. In 2017 and 2019, research was conducted to assess how the industry’s reputation as being ‘inevitably stressful’ could be improved. For the 2021 study, we build on these findings, but place more emphasis on policies, practices and the crucial role of employers in how employees experience stress, and how it impacts their productivity and health. We present findings from a large-scale online survey, with respondents from across all sectors of the UK events industry, including a range of employment status and job level. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with several industry professionals provide further insights into recent changes in attitudes and approaches to stress and wellbeing across the industry. By taking a Critical Management approach, we investigate a) how employers in the events industry actively try to reduce stress for their employees, and b) how company culture significantly contributes to employees’ mental health. Based on these findings, we present a set of practical implications and recommendations for best practice. These will help event professionals and businesses to focus on their organisational culture to achieve positive change and provide adequate mental health training and support for their employees.