Construction must maintain focus on mental health support despite pushback

Although the UK is experiencing a mental health crisis, there is growing pushback against mental health awareness campaigns. A recent article from The Times cited several factors for this, predominantly centred on concerns about over-diagnosis and over-medication, as well as suggestions that everyday stress and life challenges are being mislabelled as mental health issues. 

These factors are beginning to create a complex landscape where mental health awareness and support initiatives that are at long last gaining real traction through the likes of Movember, Mates in Mind, The Lighthouse Club and CIOB are now facing resistance. 

This is more than a little worrying, as the need for such efforts is still evident.

Why does mental health in construction still matter? 

The age-old mantra of "Man up" and "tough it out" continues to hold men back from acknowledging, let alone addressing, their feelings. 

This is exacerbated in construction due to financial pressures and the constant risk of job losses for the predominantly self-employed workforce. The scattered nature of construction can also mean thousands of workers spend weeks or months away from home, causing relationship struggles that can lead to loneliness and isolation. This dispersion can also make it difficult to regularly access GP services, often the first point of contact men are directed to when experiencing mental health issues.

All too often, men instead turn to alcohol or drugs as coping mechanisms, which can both exacerbate mental health issues and lead to further challenges. 

Studies of the UK’s construction workforce have found that:

• 97% experience stress
• 87% experience anxiety
• 70% experience depression. 

But the most horrifying statistic is that 7,000 construction workers died by suicide in the last decade. This is nearly four times higher than the national average, equivalent to two workers taking their own life every working day.

How to respond to mental health issues 

First, we should look for the signs that can indicate someone is struggling with poor mental health: 

• Changes in mood, such as prolonged periods of sadness, irritability, or excessive anxiety. Also, extreme mood swings or feelings of hopelessness
• Changes in energy levels and behaviour, notably significant tiredness or lack of energy, withdrawal from usual activities, excessive sleeping, difficulty falling asleep, or changes in eating habits
• Difficulty with thinking or concentration, making decisions, or expressing their thoughts clearly. They may also experience confusion, memory problems, or disorganised speech
• Social withdrawal and loss of interest, where the person is isolating themselves from friends and family, avoiding social situations, or losing interest in activities they once enjoyed
• Substance abuse, such as excessive alcohol or drug use to cope with stress or emotions. 

Next, we need to know how to offer support, using the ALEC mental health model, developed by Australian suicide prevention campaign RU OK?:

• Ask: Show genuine concern by asking how someone is doing, opening the door for a potentially lifesaving conversation ​
• Listen: Give your full attention and let them share their feelings without judgment, providing a cathartic experience
• Encourage action: Suggest steps like seeking professional help, joining a support group, or making small positive changes to improve their well-being ​
• Check In: Follow up to show ongoing support, reinforcing care and connection. ​

Finally, we must continually improve a project’s environment and experience: 

• Develop emotionally intelligent Leaders, hallmarked by their self-awareness, self- regulation, empathy, and their social and motivational skills
• Promote “Adult-to-Adult” conversations, perfect for problem solving
• Creating clean, dry, warm and well-ventilated office and welfare facilities, ensuring they feel welcoming
• Improving natural lighting, steering clear of below ground office and welfare facilities
• Improving inductions, to instil Level One of the Mental Health Continuum: NO DISTRESS on this project
• Procure for optimum production, ensuring the project is on time, on budget, fit for purpose, and causes no harm
• Implementing robotics to handle dirty, dangerous, dull jobs, to raise the construction sectors use of cutting-edge technology
• Developing diverse, vibrant project communities and optimising the space for cordial working relationships, as well as continually developing male and female health and wellbeing awareness support programmes
• Enhancing resilience, ensuring people feel stretched and developed, not stressed
• Moving away from survival bias, instead moving towards disruption of the status quo
• Instilling black box thinking, learning from errors rather than being threatened by them.

The central tenet is to develop and sustain open, honest and respectful two-way communication. All levels of the hierarchy need to be involved with no individual or group feeling excluded, and no subject too “taboo” to broach. 

Construction must develop people, places and processes that allow mental health and wellbeing to flourish.