Canberra hairdressers divided on whether it's time to stop talking about COVID-19 - The Canberra Times

Some Canberra salons are asking clients not to discuss COVID-19, in an attempt to reduce the strain on hairdressers grappling with the weight of heavy conversations. COVID-free conversation zones are in place at Kundalini's in Barton as well as Eden Hair Energy in Dickson, though salon owner Emma Mahar said it's not so much a ban as it is a prompt towards sunnier themes. "We've just tried to create a space where people don't feel that they need to talk about COVID and where we can try and have more uplifting conversation instead," Ms Mahar said. "[It's] mostly for the mental health of my team." Messaging at each of the salon's stations guides patrons to avoid COVID-19 in their discussions, a direction that she said has generally "been very well received". A remarkable amount of people have taken up gardening as a hobby, staff have learnt as a result of the pivot towards some the positives of lockdowns. Ms Mahar is mostly focused on providing a buffer for staff, who are often thrown into the role of on-the-go therapists. For younger staff especially, setting boundaries has become increasingly difficult to navigate during the pandemic, she said. "If ever anybody is sort of sitting at our chair who is clearly distressed and ... they really want to talk about it, we're not going to draw a really firm line in the sand, and say, 'Hey, we don't want to talk about that!' "It's more about just creating a framework that makes it easier for my team to not feel that they need to have those conversations," she said. READ MORE: When it comes to the topic of COVID-19 vaccines though, the salon has "tried to avoid that altogether", Ms Mahar said. Meantime, Kundalini Hair advises patrons ahead of time via email that the salon is a haven from pandemic chat. "During your appointment we ask you don't discuss COVID, vaccinations, politics or lockdowns with our team," communication from the salon reads. "We have a relatively young team who do not feel comfortable or qualified to have those conversations. "This last 18 months hasn't been an easy one in many ways for our team, many of our clients and the broader community - we believe it's important to maintain a space where people can decelerate from outside stressors and everyone feels safe and welcome." Not all salons are redirecting the conversation though, with management at Cataldo's in Civic saying it won't "shy away from the conversation about COVID". "I think where we're lucky that we're in a position to have these special relationships with clients that not a lot of people do," manager Michael Cataldo said. "A lot of our clients might not have had interaction with a lot of people face to face for quite some time. "And now that they're allowed to come and see us in the salon, they can actually have a chat to us and they can talk about some of their challenges of COVID and also some of the positive things that the lockdown might have brought them." Mr Cataldo said the salon understood the significance of relationships between staff and clients, and didn't want to "suffocate them with not talking about a certain thing". Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Some Canberra salons are asking clients not to discuss COVID-19, in an attempt to reduce the strain on hairdressers grappling with the weight of heavy conversations.

COVID-free conversation zones are in place at Kundalini's in Barton as well as Eden Hair Energy in Dickson, though salon owner Emma Mahar said it's not so much a ban as it is a prompt towards sunnier themes.

"We've just tried to create a space where people don't feel that they need to talk about COVID and where we can try and have more uplifting conversation instead," Ms Mahar said.

"[It's] mostly for the mental health of my team."

Messaging at each of the salon's stations guides patrons to avoid COVID-19 in their discussions, a direction that she said has generally "been very well received".

A remarkable amount of people have taken up gardening as a hobby, staff have learnt as a result of the pivot towards some the positives of lockdowns.

Younger staff feel the pressure 

Ms Mahar is mostly focused on providing a buffer for staff, who are often thrown into the role of on-the-go therapists.

For younger staff especially, setting boundaries has become increasingly difficult to navigate during the pandemic, she said.

"If ever anybody is sort of sitting at our chair who is clearly distressed and ... they really want to talk about it, we're not going to draw a really firm line in the sand, and say, 'Hey, we don't want to talk about that!'

"It's more about just creating a framework that makes it easier for my team to not feel that they need to have those conversations," she said.

READ MORE:

When it comes to the topic of COVID-19 vaccines though, the salon has "tried to avoid that altogether", Ms Mahar said.

Meantime, Kundalini Hair advises patrons ahead of time via email that the salon is a haven from pandemic chat.

"During your appointment we ask you don't discuss COVID, vaccinations, politics or lockdowns with our team," communication from the salon reads.

"We have a relatively young team who do not feel comfortable or qualified to have those conversations.

"This last 18 months hasn't been an easy one in many ways for our team, many of our clients and the broader community - we believe it's important to maintain a space where people can decelerate from outside stressors and everyone feels safe and welcome."

Not all salons curb COVID conversations

Not all salons are redirecting the conversation though, with management at Cataldo's in Civic saying it won't "shy away from the conversation about COVID".

"I think where we're lucky that we're in a position to have these special relationships with clients that not a lot of people do," manager Michael Cataldo said.

"A lot of our clients might not have had interaction with a lot of people face to face for quite some time.

"And now that they're allowed to come and see us in the salon, they can actually have a chat to us and they can talk about some of their challenges of COVID and also some of the positive things that the lockdown might have brought them."

Mr Cataldo said the salon understood the significance of relationships between staff and clients, and didn't want to "suffocate them with not talking about a certain thing".

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2021-12-05 18:30:00Z
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