IFTM Comments is a partnership between Macau News Agency and Macao Institute for Tourism Studies
By Mary Eddy-U
Mental health is a hotter topic now than it ever was before the Covid-19 pandemic. Although society’s attitudes toward mental health problems and therapy had begun changing before the pandemic, the virus, and associated online study and work patterns, job losses, travel bans and social restrictions fast-tracked mental health awareness to the forefront. People worldwide began opening up about anxiety, depression, burnout, loneliness and a host of other mental health challenges that the pandemic exacerbated. And this trend will persist in the coming years.
Some argue that mental health should have been an important topic years ago and that it’s unfortunate that it took a global pandemic for schools, businesses and families to acknowledge that life can be stressful, and we need to be patient with ourselves and others as we find ways to deal with stress in healthy ways. Others believe that this new-found focus on mental health is “over the top”. They feel that an undesirable impact of focusing on mental health is reduced productivity. Their biggest question is how students and staff can be effective and productive when they are taking so much time out for their mental health. This divide is in part (although not completely) generational.
Regardless of where you personally stand on this issue, this new-found openness to discussing mental health and well-being means that young people entering university and the workforce have some different expectations than young people did a few years ago.
In the classroom, students may expect that everyone is as open to talking about mental health problems as they are. Teachers, who are not usually trained in guiding students through anxiety, depression, or suicidal thoughts, are finding themselves having uncomfortable discussions and carrying extra emotional burdens from their students. As therapy is becoming normalized, some students may openly discuss mental health problems they are receiving treatment for, while others are unwilling to seek help despite realizing that their mental health problems are negatively impacting their studies. Dealing with someone’s mental health issues requires confidentiality and caution. Having a broken leg is still more socially acceptable than dealing with psychological problems, and those struggling with mental health might tell their teacher or supervisor but not want their peers to know.
Young people going into the workplace may not realize that mental health problems are often seen in a different light by people of older generations. A university student I spoke with recently felt it was perfectly acceptable to request to change a job interview date due to “mental health reasons” or “personal reasons,” not realizing that such a request could lose him the interview chance completely.
Research shows that achieving a work-life balance is more important to millennials (those born between approximately 1980 and 1995) than it was to their parents. Generation Z (born between approximately 1996- 2010) is continuing this trend, and their own well-being is frequently more important to them than the company’s finances or goals.
More mature professionals may find this insistence on having enough time for their own mental health, well-being, and personal goals to be unreasonable and frustrating. However, these young people are the future of the industry, as well as the current and future guests. Human Resources and Training departments need to keep in mind how important mental health and well-being are to their young staff members. Service providers can consider ways to promote the well-being, mental health, and acceptance of their guests in broader ways. And finally, remember that “it takes one to know one”; don’t forget to listen to Generation Z team members in corporate brainstorming and planning.
