The Construction Leadership Council’s Joint Code of Practice on Mental Health has created an important moment for the construction industry. It has given public voice to something many people in the sector have known for a long time: poor mental health in construction is not only an individual issue. It is often connected to the way work is procured, planned, managed and delivered.
In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by co-host Stuart Mace to discuss what the code means, why it matters, and what the industry may need to do next. The conversation follows a Construction Health and Wellbeing network meeting where the code prompted strong discussion, as well as a supply chain event where awareness of the document appeared to be much lower.
This episode is available as both a podcast and video. If this blog is useful, the full conversation is worth listening to or watching, as Jennie and Stuart explore the detail behind the code and what it could mean for clients, contractors, SMEs and the wider supply chain.
Why the code matters
Stuart describes the Joint Code of Practice as a prevention-led document focused on the root causes of mental illness within construction. It looks at clients and contractors, but its central message is that the industry needs to take psychosocial risk management seriously.
As Stuart Mace says: “We have got to start looking at psychosocial risk management as the way forward.”
That is a significant shift. For many years, workplace mental health in construction has often been discussed through the lens of awareness, support, signposting and individual resilience. Those things still matter, but the code asks the industry to look further upstream. It asks what is happening in the work itself.
Stuart describes the code as “letting the genie out of the bottle” because it says, in public, what many people have already been thinking. The problems are not always personal. They can be organisational. They can sit in working patterns, programme pressure, payment issues, job insecurity, bullying, poor communication and the way work is designed.
That makes this code more than another wellbeing document. It gives the industry a framework for prevention.
Moving beyond individual blame
One of the strongest points in the episode is that the code challenges the idea that poor mental health can be solved by focusing only on the individual. Jennie and Stuart discuss how this aligns closely with the work Construction Health and Wellbeing has been trying to do.
The industry has become more comfortable talking about mental health. That progress matters. But the next stage is harder, because it means asking whether the work itself is creating harm.
This is where psychosocial risk becomes important. Construction already understands physical risk. Sites are used to thinking about hazards, controls, procedures and evidence. Stuart’s point is that mental health risk now needs to be treated with the same level of seriousness.
If long hours, poor planning, unrealistic deadlines or inadequate welfare are affecting people’s health, they cannot be dismissed as just part of the job. They are risks. They need to be identified, assessed, managed and monitored.
That is why the code feels important. It moves the conversation away from simply asking people to cope better. It asks the industry to look at the conditions people are being asked to cope with.
The five hazard clusters
Jennie and Stuart discuss the five hazard clusters highlighted in the code. Stuart explains that they cover much of what the industry already knows to be problematic.
The first is working patterns, including long hours, shift work, long-distance travel, working away from home and flexible working. The second is operational demands, which Stuart highlights as one of the biggest areas of concern. This includes unachievable deadlines, poor planning and poor communication.
The third cluster covers people, factors and environment. This includes limited praise and support, poor quality welfare facilities, bullying and harassment. The fourth looks at financial issues, including payment problems, job insecurity, low financial literacy and disputed payments. The fifth focuses on support factors, including low mental health literacy, low help-seeking and stigma.
Jennie makes the point that the code may not solve everything, but if every company started doing something meaningful across those areas, the industry would move forward. That is a useful way to look at it. The code is not a magic solution, but it gives organisations a practical starting point.
Awareness is still uneven
One of the most telling parts of the episode is Jennie’s reflection on recent industry conversations. At the Construction Health and Wellbeing network meeting, the code sparked strong debate and was clearly on people’s minds. Yet at a separate supply chain event, with around 50 people in the room, only one person had heard of the Joint Code of Practice.
That contrast matters. The people already engaged in health, safety, wellbeing or LinkedIn discussions may be aware of the code, but many in the wider industry are not there yet.
Stuart suggests that this may be partly because the code is still new and may be intended as a slow burn. It is version one, and the industry will need time to understand and apply it. Even so, the episode makes clear that communication will be a major challenge.
This cannot remain a conversation only for specialists. If the code is going to create change, it needs to reach the people making decisions about projects, procurement, budgets, programmes and supply chains.
Clients cannot sit outside the conversation
A major theme in the episode is responsibility. During the Construction Health and Wellbeing network meeting, Jennie and Stuart asked who needs to be responsible for making the code successful. The word that came up most strongly was clients.
As Stuart Mace says: “The JCOP does call out clients… before you even get to putting the spade in the ground, we haven’t got it right.”
This is one of the most important points in the episode. Many of the pressures that affect people on site are created before work starts. If programmes are unrealistic, pricing is too tight, planning is poor or expectations are unclear, pressure is pushed downstream.
That means the answer cannot sit only with the people delivering the work. It has to involve the people setting the terms of the work.
Jennie raises the risk of finger pointing. Clients may say contractors need to act. Contractors may say clients need to change. Health and safety teams may try to drive progress, while commercial teams continue making the same decisions. The danger is that everyone recognises the problem, but no one changes the way work is actually set up.
That is why leadership matters. This cannot be left only to passionate health and safety professionals. They will play a critical role, but they cannot carry it alone. Senior leaders, managing directors, chief executives and commercial decision-makers need to be part of the conversation.
The commercial argument may be the turning point
Stuart talks about the moral argument and the commercial argument. The moral argument is clear: the industry should not be harming people through poor work design, unmanaged pressure or avoidable psychosocial risk.
But Stuart also recognises that the commercial argument is often the one that changes behaviour in construction. If poor planning, high turnover, absence, low morale or unmanaged pressure create waste and performance problems, then there is a business case for doing things differently.
As Stuart Mace says: “If we continue to do what we’ve always done, we’re going to get what we’ve always got.”
This is where the code could become especially important. It may not be legislation, but it could still shape expectations in tenders, procurement and supply chain management. Stuart discusses how the code may sit alongside ISO 45001 and ISO 45003, particularly as organisations are increasingly expected to evidence how they manage psychosocial risk.
For larger contractors, this could become part of demonstrating good governance and responsible delivery. For SMEs and subcontractors, it may become something they are asked to evidence in order to win work. That does not mean every small business needs a complicated system. It does mean the industry will need to find practical ways for organisations of different sizes to show they are managing risk properly.
Avoiding the tick-box trap
Jennie raises a concern that will feel familiar to many people in construction. There is a risk that the code becomes another tick-box exercise. A company might say it follows the code, produces the right documents and still fails to change what people actually experience on site.
That would miss the point completely.
The episode is clear that evidence matters, but evidence cannot mean paperwork alone. Organisations need to understand what is really happening in their workforce and supply chain. That means consultation, conversation and a willingness to hear difficult feedback.
Stuart makes the point that organisations need to talk to their workforce and subcontractors. They need to understand what is causing stress at work, what risks are present and what controls are in place. A document sitting in a drawer will not be enough.
This is where the code could become powerful. It gives people a language for raising concerns about psychosocial risk. It may help workers, subcontractors and supply chain partners ask whether an organisation is doing what it claims to be doing.
What should organisations do first?
When Jennie asks what organisations should do next, Stuart’s starting point is practical: ask when the organisation last carried out a stress risk assessment.
That question matters because many construction businesses carry out physical risk assessments as part of normal operations, but do not apply the same process to stress or psychosocial hazards.
Stuart explains that a psychosocial hazard is, in plain English, a stressor. Stress is the outcome. The stressor is the root cause. That means businesses need to understand what is causing stress within the work itself, not only what support is available after someone is already struggling.
The first step may be a formal stress risk assessment. It may involve workforce consultation, open conversations, gap analysis or data gathering. The key point is that organisations need to understand what they are trying to solve.
If they do not know, they need to find out.
The industry needs shared learning
Jennie and Stuart also discuss the need for case studies, examples and shared learning. The code gives a framework, but every organisation will need to work out what it means in its own context.
As Jennie Armstrong says: “No one’s got the answer, and it’s got to be shared wide and far.”
This feels like one of the most constructive messages in the episode. The industry does not need more virtue signalling. It needs honest examples of what is working, what has been difficult and what has made a measurable difference.
Stuart makes a similar point. It is not about waving a flag or claiming to be first. It is about showing how organisations are helping and what others can learn from that.
The episode mentions future Construction Health and Wellbeing network events, including plans to bring in examples and case studies. Tideway is referenced as one organisation that may offer useful learning, particularly around culture and different ways of working.
A different future for construction
Towards the end of the episode, the conversation turns to the future of work. Stuart argues that the old ways are not working as well as they may once have appeared to. He also points out that younger generations will not necessarily tolerate the same workplace conditions that previous generations accepted.
Stuart describes Generation Z as looking for purposeful work and expecting to be treated fairly, respectfully and with dignity. That expectation should not be seen as a weakness. It should be seen as a signal.
If construction wants to attract and retain people, it needs to create work that people can see a future in. That means taking mental health, work design and psychosocial risk seriously.
This is not about making construction soft. It is about making it sustainable.
The final message of the episode is that change is possible. Different ways of working already exist. The challenge now is to learn from them, build on them and stop accepting harm as inevitable.
Key takeaways
- The Joint Code of Practice is prevention-led and asks the industry to look at root causes, not only individual support.
- Psychosocial risk should be treated with the same seriousness as physical risk.
- The five hazard clusters give organisations a useful starting point for action.
- Clients have a major role to play because some risks are created before work begins on site.
- The commercial argument may help move the industry forward, especially around productivity, retention, tenders and supply chain expectations.
- The code must not become a tick-box exercise. The lived experience of people on site matters.
- Shared learning, case studies and honest examples will help the industry make progress.
- The expectations of the future workforce are changing, and construction needs to respond.
Joint Code of Practice: https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CLC-Mental-Health-Code-of-Practice-V1.pdf
Listen or watch the full episode of Build & Thrive to hear the complete conversation with co-host Stuart Mace and host Jennie Armstrong.
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📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEoibJLDuFnnT3qSQw37LKPG6xlyvCj7B
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Thank you to GKR Scaffolding for sponsoring the Build & Thrive podcast and supporting our mission to improve health and wellbeing across the construction industry.
At Construction Health & Wellbeing, we help organisations create healthier, happier, and more sustainable workplaces.
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Learn more about the people and organisations mentioned in this episode:
Jennie Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniearmstrong/
Stuart Mace: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartmace/
Construction Health & Wellbeing: https://constructionhealth.co.uk/
GKR Scaffolding (sponsor): https://gkrscaffolding.co.uk/
