JANUARY | FEATURE
Black therapists working specifically with performing artists .
The joint venture will provide up to five bursaries of up to £ 3,000 for Black , Asian and minority ethnic performers and professionals in the music industry to undertake training to become a registered counsellor or psychotherapist .
Playing it safe
No matter what ethnicity someone is , nobody would deny that working on major events such as festivals and tours often involves intense pressure and long hours . That demanding environment and lifestyle can have a negative impact on workers ’ mental health and their safety , as has been proven by research carried out by James Cobb , CEO and founder of audience insight specialist Crowd Connected .
Cobb published the results of his Fatigue – Working Hours in Production six years ago but despite a positive reaction from the industry he believes nothing substantial has changed .
After interviewing more than 500 people who were actively working on events , Cobb found 75 % of them were getting less than six hours sleep per night , and 50 % worked shifts of at least 14 hours . Some 26 % of those surveyed had had at least one accident in the past year , while 63 % had experienced a near miss .
“ The outcomes were pretty shocking . There was such a clear correlation between less sleep and more accidents . From that I was able to extrapolate modelling that showed the relation between sleep and accidents and that showed that if everyone got eight-hours sleep it would save lives ,” says Cobb .
Cobb has presented the study at conferences , to industry organisations and leading event organisers , all of whom he says admitted changes were needed .
“ They were willing to do anything apart from give staff shorter shifts . I don ’ t think anything has changed . It all comes down to money ; they said that if workers did eight-hour shifts they would need twice as many crew members and that would not be financially viable .”
Working well
Collection society PRS For Music has for the past two years run an initiative , in partnership with Mental health First Aid England , to train employees as ‘ mental health first aiders ’.
“ Talking about our mental health can be difficult , especially at work ,” says chief financial officer Steve Powell . “ We decided to support 15 employees from across the business so that we could support our colleagues with their
“ Mental health used to be a very , very , taboo subject in the industry and that is not the case anymore .”
mental health in the same way that we have physical first aiders to support their physical health . By letting our employees know that they can get in touch with one of the mental health first aiders for a confidential chat about anything that ’ s worrying them , we hoped to break down the stigma around mental health by making it ok to talk about it .”
The organisation has since launched a winter wellbeing campaign , which will run through to March , that includes a free mental wellbeing app and a confidential 24 / 7 helpline manned by trained counsellors .
Last month the Night Time Industries Association partnered with Getahead and We Are Wellbeing to host its Wellbeing & Mental Health Virtual Festival . Open to members and the wider events and hospitality industry , the online event saw an audience of more than 200 engage with mental health and wellbeing experts .
NTIA head of operations Silvana Kill says , “ We realised that many people in the industry are feeling pretty heavy ; they don ’ t have time to deal with their own wellbeing and as business owners people are struggling to find solutions and support for their staff . That ’ s why we felt it was imperative to focus on it .
“ It was a highly interactive event that provided a safe space for people to ask questions . We are trying to teach people to look after their own wellbeing . If people look after themselves , they will be far stronger and much more able to look after other people .”
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