HOSPO HEOROES: Craig's Story

I fell in love with hospitality when I left college and initially found myself working in fast-paced environments and big venues. Having started out as a personal assistant in theatres in the West End, I went on to manage larger music venues, before overseeing hospitality and event operations at the London Eye. I worked days, evenings, and weekends – at times holding down multiple jobs and often working six or seven days a week.

Working in such amazing venues meant I had a great social life that revolved around London’s entertainment scene - I definitely lived my life to the max at times. I was young and loved my work, so having little time off never really bothered me. Switching off was unthought of and I didn’t look after myself as well as I could have. Was well-being even a thing
back then?!

It’s fair to say there have been two or three occasions throughout my career when I was close to ‘burnout’, though I didn’t realise it at the time.

The first was during my mid-twenties - those six or seven-day working weeks, a hectic lifestyle and little downtime eventually led me to a place where I needed a career break. I remember taking advantage of a beautiful hot summer one year just to rest, recuperate and ready myself for the next chapter.

The second occasion came years later. I moved into the world of recruitment in 2012 and worked agency-side for six or seven years. Recruitment, like hospitality, is fast-paced and high-pressure – particularly when you’re working toward targets in a competitive environment. During those years I was probably at my most unhealthy, both physically and mentally. Sometimes when you combine passion, commitment and the expectations of others, it’s very easy to forget about looking after yourself.

At my worst, I would be at my desk from 7 am with a six-shot latte in hand (without which I felt ready for nothing) and work long hours, often socialising and attending events in the evening. Sitting at a desk for most of the day, poor food choices and a constant supply of snacks and sweets, made me feel worse. It also didn’t help that the social side tended to revolve around alcohol – it was completely normal to crack open wine or beer after work. When Friday evening arrived there were only two routes into the weekend: I would either hit a wall, head home and eat fast food - washed down with a bottle of wine - or want to be super sociable and head out for the night. There was no middle ground or balance.

At the time I had no idea how pressure and stress was influencing the choices I made – choices that were impacting my health and well-being.

The third time I came close to burnout was four years ago, after the unexpected passing of my nan and mum - within five months of each other. They were the two most important women in my life and losing them hit me hard, but I hid what I was going through from everyone. Slowly, I retreated from family and friends and generally began making bad choices. I wasn't looking after myself, which, naturally, had consequences.

Finally, I reached out to a friend for help. That was the beginning of the turnaround.

What did your turnaround look like? How did you get from there to where you are now?

Being honest with myself, going easy on myself and understanding why things happened the way they did. Life is all about learning. I try to keep it simple and take the good and bad from everything that happens as a lesson for self-improvement.

I am who I am because of my life experiences. We all are. I believe it’s important to share life experiences (good and bad) if you have the chance – it really can help others. Because I’m fortunate enough to have a bit of a platform, I’ve experienced first-hand how powerful sharing can be.

The biggest thing is surrounding myself with good people who contribute positively to my life.

Aside from that, the biggest day-to-day change I’ve made is switching off from anything that makes me feel rubbish. For me, during the pandemic, it was the news, spam emails and certain social media accounts. I disconnected, unsubscribed and unfollowed anyone or anything that negatively impacted the way I felt.

I’m also careful about my time. If I let myself, I could be talking to people all day, every day. But as much as I love meeting and speaking with people, I know I have to prioritise and say no sometimes. Blocking out free time is also important. I love walking with my dog and getting out and about with friends, but having plenty of downtime, rest, and good quality sleep is also vital.

Most people I know who work in hospitality absolutely love it, but given the hours we work and the commitment we put in, we need to make sure we look after ourselves and each other.

On top of that, I don't think we can go wrong with promoting and providing more positive working environments for employees. It starts with intent: business owners, leaders and managers need to have genuine intent to look after people. It’s all about starting small and evolving.

I would never have dreamed of being so open but I know it's important to talk, to share and most importantly to take action. What I've shared today brings so much more purpose to what I do. It brings everything to life.