Success and why Mental Health First Aid should be your foundation
What does success look like? It’s a question with an answer that is individual to all of us. Hospitality pro and Kelly’s Cause trained Mental Health First Aider, Paris Barghchi, explores more…
For a moment I would like you to think about what success means to you. Picture it. Perhaps you are unsure? Perhaps you have multiple images that amount to what success looks like for you. Are you alone in your imaginings of success? Do you have an emotional relationship with your desires and ambitions? What has influenced these visions? Most of us are influenced by our environment, our cultural references, and our education. It is the people around us that influence our visions of success.
Humans are social beings. And if we ever had any doubts about this, the Covid-19 pandemic erased them. Even those of us who are introverted cannot exist alone. In many walks of business and life, individuals are encouraged to remain singular in their ambitions. We become competitive. Driven by the influence of a capitalist world it can sometimes feel like the only way to achieve is through selfish routes to progression. This social mentality promotes the idea of taking from those less fortunate or successful, in order to achieve. However, history and ecology prove that this model does not work and it is not sustainable. Take the simple solitary act of tying your shoelace. It is influenced by multiple people: the person or people who taught you how to tie a shoelace, the person or people who taught them, the person who sold you the shoes, the person who ordered the shoes to the shop to sell them to you, the person or people who made the shoes, the person or people who designed the shoes…. the simple and independent act of successfully tying a shoelace is not possible without others.
My point is that a person or company cannot achieve success without the support of others and to sustain this trajectory we must work together, not against each other.
My vision and ambition for success is seeing the positive influence of my work, my love and my kindness. Recently I moved into a freelance role where I work a combination of jobs covering topics in wine, HR, compliance, business development, mental health and wellbeing in the hospitality sector. I am ambitious in my targets to grow the hospitality industry to be leaders in people management, setting the example for a healthy working environment. I want the hospitality industry to be leaders in hospitality for their employees. It is a lifelong ambition but one that I am already seeing the benefits of committing to. I have seen the impact of how improving communications through training and assistance with application brings clarity to expectation and secures boundaries. I have seen the benefits of taking time to listen and how this helps with actioning change, better understanding others and reducing stress levels. I have witnessed the growth in confidence when individuals begin to understand their human and legal rights and how this positively impacts the company as a whole – again helping to set clear boundaries, expectations, understanding and a clear path to progression and development. However, I did not always have this fire and thirst for change. It grew.
The Mental Health First Aid training at Kelly’s Cause covers the fundamentals of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Learning about what mental health means to us as individuals, understanding definitions, practicing, and discussing specific conditions, circumstances and how to implement support, is an empowering tool. It equips a person with a better understanding of their own mental health and teaches essential observational skills. It is a training that teaches us to listen more and better. To care about detail. To empathise with others. These are the essential skills required to deliver hospitality. It is a course that has the power to empower individuals to see the value of a healthy workforce/team/community. It teaches humanity.
In a recent research project of my own I came across multiple sources that said in 2023 businesses are saying ‘to achieve success, invest in humanity’. GREAT! I thought. But then I reflected “why has that not always been the goal?”.
I joined the restaurant world because I wanted to use my humanity to bring joy to others. Throughout the years of committing my existence to this job I have experienced hundreds of crushing moments from customers, fellow colleagues, my employers and the lack (at the time) of emotional and practical support from my community and government. I have experienced physical, emotional, sexual harassment and abuse; discrimination, blackmail, threats and also found myself in the position of dealing with all of the above, at points when I was completely under qualified and when that level of responsibility was completely unacceptable for my position. There were many times I felt completely alone, unsure, and extremely anxious as a result of my inability to know how to cope with certain experiences and circumstances or where to go for help. This was what ignited my drive for change. I joined this industry to make people happy and I cannot live in the knowledge that someone else may live through the same things I did and do nothing. I have not stopped looking for ways to learn and empower myself with the knowledge necessary to handle these situations because they will not just disappear. We must educate ourselves and each other to understand why they are there and how we improve them. It’s not as simple as turning on the light – you’ve got to rewire the house! That takes time, knowledge and patience.
These experiences are not individual to the hospitality industry but, I believe that our industry has the power to really instigate change. As soon as I started looking for support, I realised there was more out there than I had felt and that there were other people pushing to make a difference.
There are so many training courses and workshops available to support, equip and empower our employees. However, having been on multiple courses myself, I question if there is a course out there currently that is teaching the power of observation, listening and human kindness better than the MHFA qualification. Delivered in the way that it is, this course will influence multiple areas of your work for the better. Considering the wellness of your customers will improve customer satisfaction which in turn improves sales and repeat custom. Considering the wellness of each other builds a stronger network, supporting reliability and retention amongst a team. Increased awareness through empowering and developing observational and listening skills will lower the risk of accidents, illness, bullying, harassment; additionally increasing the quality of hospitality and care. And because we have all at a point in our lives experienced poor mental health, we can all relate to the content and context of this course. I believe, based on experience, that setting the MHFA course as your foundation for staff not only sets a clear message of your expectations and code of conduct, but it will also enrich any future courses you or your team go on to complete.
So, what does success look like for you? And could improving mental health awareness help you achieve it. I think the answer is clear, don’t you? ABSOLUTELY!
Want to hear more from Paris? Listen to our Kelly’s Cause Podcast, Beyond the Pass!