Building Financial Resilience in Construction: Why Financial Wellbeing Deserves a Place in Health and Safety
In Series 1, Episode 5 of Build & Thrive, we tackle a crucial yet often overlooked part of workplace wellbeing – financial wellbeing. Hosted by Jennie Armstrong, founder of Construction Health & Wellbeing, this episode brings together two passionate advocates for better financial wellbeing in the construction sector: Ryan Briggs, founder of FinWELL and the creator of Financial Wellbeing Month, and Andrew Russell-Day, a senior health and safety leader at Amazon.
Together, they explore the deep-rooted links between money worries, mental health, and site safety – and share actionable strategies for making financial wellbeing a core part of workplace culture.
Why Financial Wellbeing Deserves a Place in the Health & Safety Conversation
“Financial wellbeing is an outcome, not an activity,” says Ryan Briggs, kicking off the conversation. He explains that just like physical or mental health, financial wellbeing is about feeling secure and in control – knowing you can meet your financial needs today, deal with the unexpected, and plan for the future. It’s about confidence, empowerment, and most of all, resilience.
Andrew Russell-Day, who oversees health and safety across Amazon’s global construction portfolio, explains why this matters so much in the construction context:
“As a health and safety professional, we’ve focused on the safety side for too long. But when you look at the stats, it’s clear that the real issues now are mental and occupational health.”
Construction workers, particularly the many who are self-employed, often face irregular pay, late payments, no sick pay, and no training on how to manage a self-employed income. That stress doesn’t just stay at home – it comes on site and affects safety.
“Financial worries are the main cause of stress for 34% of construction workers,” says Andrew. “It impacts people’s ability to be present and safe at work. And we’re not capturing that data well enough.”
The Birth of Financial Wellbeing Month
Ryan shares the story of how Financial Wellbeing Month came to life – after a conversation with Alice Hendy, founder of suicide prevention charity Ripple, and further support from Simon Blake at Mental Health First Aid England. What began as a simple idea turned into a multi-sector campaign with over 100 businesses taking part in the first year.
“We realised that if awareness days or months were a first step for some employers to take action, that made them incredibly valuable,” Ryan explains.
Financial Wellbeing Month isn’t just about one-off webinars or awareness posters. It’s designed to encourage sustained, meaningful activity across three connected themes: financial education, mental health, and suicide prevention.
In its second year, the campaign has a particular focus on construction, with a sector-specific working group led by Andrew. This tailored approach helps address the specific needs, barriers, and opportunities that exist on site.
Construction-Specific Barriers – and How to Break Them
Throughout the episode, both guests speak candidly about the cultural and structural challenges that make financial wellbeing so difficult to address in construction.
“If you’re self-employed, no one teaches you how to manage your money,” says Andrew. “People are travelling for work, covering their own expenses, and then waiting to be paid. The stress is enormous.”
“We talk about going home safe, but we should be aiming to send people home better,” he adds.
Ryan points out that in construction, engagement works best when it’s face-to-face, on-site, and consistent:
“We can’t just come down for a day and expect to fix things. It’s got to be little and often, built into the project lifecycle, and involving the whole supply chain.”
And it’s not just about support for employees on the books. Principal contractors and clients have a vital role to play in ensuring self-employed workers and subcontractors also have access to training and resources.
“It’s too much talk and not enough doing,” says Andrew. “Clients have massive influence. Let’s use it.”
Real Change Requires Investment – and It Pays Off
Both guests passionately advocate for treating financial wellbeing not as a ‘nice-to-have’ but as an essential investment.
“This isn’t about huge costs,” Andrew argues. “When you break it down per person, it’s minimal. But the return on investment – in productivity, quality, reduced absenteeism – is massive.”
“If we were losing two people a day in construction to slips or electrocution, we’d be throwing money at the problem,” he adds. “But we’re losing two people a day to suicide – and the industry is ignoring it.”
To address this, Ryan and his team at FinWELL have developed data-driven, evidence-based models to measure the impact of financial wellbeing activity on-site. Pilot programmes have shown a marked improvement in confidence, awareness, and behaviour among participants.
They also emphasise the importance of linking this work with mental health first aiders and occupational health teams to create a truly holistic approach to wellbeing.
So, What Can You Do?
Here are five key takeaways from this episode for any organisation – especially those working in construction:
- Start the conversation. Tackle the stigma by making financial wellbeing an everyday topic, not a taboo.
- Provide training and education. Equip people with the basic tools to manage their money and support others.
- Make it measurable. Track your efforts and build the case for ongoing investment.
- Keep it site-based and consistent. Face-to-face engagement works best in construction.
- Include the full supply chain. Don’t just look after your employees, support your subcontractors too.
“You’re not alone,” says Ryan. “Whatever you’re going through, others have been there too – and support is available.”
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re an HSE manager, a business owner, or someone working on the tools, this episode is packed with insights that can help make the construction industry not just safer, but fairer, healthier, and happier.
Listen to the full episode of Build & Thrive: Financial Wellbeing in Construction with Andrew Russell-Day and Ryan Briggs wherever you get your podcasts – or watch the video version to hear directly from the voices leading this important change.
And don’t forget to check out financialwellbeingmonth.com to get involved in the campaign and access free tools, resources, and webinars for your workplace.
Let’s stop treating financial wellbeing as someone else’s problem—and start building it into the way we work.
If you found this blog valuable, check out the full episode:
🎧 https://www.buzzsprout.com/2431164 (or search your podcast app)
📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEoibJLDuFnnT3qSQw37LKPG6xlyvCj7B
The more we talk about it, the closer we get to real change. Let’s make mental health a priority in construction.
Join the Conversation!
Do you have experiences or thoughts on mental health in construction? Drop a comment below or share this post to help break the stigma.
Together, we can build a stronger, safer, and healthier construction industry.
And finally, a huge thank you to GKR Scaffolding for sponsoring the first series of the Build & Thrive podcast, we highly appreciate your support!
At Construction Health & Wellbeing, we’re here to help businesses like yours prioritise health and wellbeing. Contact us today to learn how we can support your journey.
Learn more about the people and businesses mentioned in this blog:
Jennie Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniearmstrong/
Construction Health & Wellbeing: https://constructionhealth.co.uk/
Andrew Russell-Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-russell-day-32a54834/
Ryan Briggs: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryandbriggs/
FinWELL: https://www.finwell.training/
R;pple Suicide Prevention: https://www.ripplesuicideprevention.com/
Mental Health First Aid: https://mhfaengland.org/
GKR Scaffolding (sponsor): https://gkrscaffolding.co.uk/
