Ahead of World Mental Health Day (10th October 2021), Construction Health & Wellbeing wanted to look at mental health in the construction industry and, in particular, some of the latent issues around inequality.
There is much disparity on how construction workers feel and are looked after across the world – and many would argue that the rights, responsibilities, conditions, and support for UK construction workers are better than those in many other parts of the world, but there is still a huge amount to be done.
Moves are being made to make mental health ‘first aid’ and mental health training more prominent and accepted in the industry, and it’s important to acknowledge this. But as experts in the field, we wanted to take a look at where exactly the construction industry stands on the issue today.
Systematic challenges facing the industry
There hasn’t been enough attention paid to the systematic challenges the industry faces, which are often the root causes of stress and burnout.
Long working hours, tight and unrealistic project demands, and contractual challenges can give rise to pressure, tension and (in some cases) hostility, both at and among the workforce. Needless to say, the current climate, under which greater demands are being placed on workers, has done little to alleviate this.
Then, of course, there are employment rights – many construction workers are self-employed and so cannot benefit from the same kinds of employment rights as other industries. This can include no sick pay, holiday pay or pension, and compounding this, many workers are responsible for sorting out their own tax, national insurance and other insurances, which can cause further strain.
A single project may involve many different employers, and as such the working conditions can be hugely variable.
Then there are issues of diversity and inclusion, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation, which are all key.
The stark reality
A recent investigation by the CITB via interviews with 500 construction employees, found that 97% had experienced stress over the past year, and more than one in four experienced suicidal thoughts.
Despite this, many organisations still feel that mental health issues are a result of lifestyle/non-work-related causes …and so are not their problem.
This is starting to change, and stress is starting to be managed more effectively, but we have a long way to go. With the right support, employers can play a large part in supporting the society’s challenges.
Construction Health & Wellbeing’s mission
We love the construction industry and want the stats to change – our mission is to work with the industry to make it healthier, more inclusive, and ultimately, happier.
We believe that no matter how big or small, each company should have a mental health plan, and that every organisation can (and should) do something to make the industry ‘healthier and happier’ as a whole.
Solutions for the industry
- The Government has conducted a review of mental health in the workplace called ‘thriving at work’ and one of the recommendations was that each employer creates its own review and has a mental health plan in place. You can read more here.
- Diversity and inclusion need to be part of the plan. The CITB has developed the ‘be fair framework’ which includes pointers on this.
- Clients need to set minimum standards but recognise their supply chain differences and the different stages of their journey and incentivise and empower them to move forward with a shared ethos.
- Adopt standardised training (from Mates in Mind) so there’s a common language found throughout the industry.
- Achieve ISO accreditation – a brand new accreditation which manages psychosocial risk and enables organisations to prevent work-related injury and ill health of their workers. We can help organisations to achieve this.
- Developing, evaluating, benchmarking mental health programmes and strategies – gap analysis exercises and offering improvement solutions.
It’s clear we need to move beyond training and mental health ‘first aid’ (that does nothing more than paper over the cracks) and look at what can be done to prevent mental health issues at work.
We know the issues, let’s work on solutions. Are we really doing all we can?
We would love to hear your thoughts about possible industry solutions.
Have a look at our recommendations above, but also get in touch with us here at Construction Health below if you want to talk about any of the issues raised – we’re very happy to help.
