Heatwave Wellbeing Tips for Hospitality Teams: What Managers Need to Know
Working in hospitality during a heat wave is no joke - research links hotter days and heatwaves with more mental health emergencies, including anxiety, depression, and self-harm presentations, and multiple studies associate higher temperatures with increases in suicide or suicidal behaviour. These effects show up across industries and age groups, with higher mental health related visits to A&E recorded visits during extreme heat.
These four tweaks can make the biggest difference on shift and after.
Hydrate and cool with intent. Take small, frequent sips and add electrolytes on long shifts; schedule 2–3 minute cool‑offs away from the pass or grill each hour. Cooling towels on the neck and wrists and a spare dry shirt can reset your body and calm heat‑driven irritability, helping you think clearly under pressure.
Heat‑smart workflow. Rotate the hottest stations more often and batch oven/grill prep earlier in the day. Trim menus or simplify dishes during peak heat to lower cognitive load. Check in with your team, and make it explicit that anyone feeling dizzy, confused, or overwhelmed can notify management (safety over speed prevents errors in the long run when service gets hotter.)
Protect recovery and name support. Prioritise sleep over exercise at this time, and leave your sleep space in a condition while you’re in service that you can return to it in its coolest format (curtains closed and invest in that fan), lighten late caffeine and alcohol, and choose light, salty foods to stabilise mood.
Talk about mental health. Talk about any mental health support your team may be able to access if they are experiencing poor mental health. This might include an EAP like Hospitality Action, a local support service in your borough or an organisation like Cameron’s Companions that provides free therapy to men in England and Wales experiencing suicidal thoughts...Ensure that helplines and resources are posted up in site.
If suicidal thoughts arise, seek urgent support:
Samaritans at 116 123,
NHS 111 and select 2 for mental health, or 999 in an emergency.