By Hans Stacey 06/07/2022

Under: News and Events / Team Welfare / Health and Safety News

Mental Health in the Construction Industry

This month is ‘Talk to Us’ month and the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is shining the spotlight on the importance of talking about wellbeing with friends, loved ones, colleagues and professionals to prevent mental health issues reaching crisis point.

The results of the 2022 Construction News ‘Mind Matters Survey’ suggest that while there is still a long way to go in meeting mental health needs in the construction industry, there are some encouraging signs of improvement.

In the 2019 survey, 78% of respondents said there was a stigma around mental health issues. In 2022 this percentage remained high at 74%. Of the 1200 people surveyed, 59% said that they did not receive appropriate levels of mental health support from their managers.

More encouraging were the figures relating to mental health transparency. In 2019, 72% did not tell their employers that the reason they needed time off was due to poor mental health. In 2022, this percentage had fallen to 59%. Also encouraging is the significant increase in the willingness to talk to peers about mental health concerns. In total 53% of CN’s survey respondents reported feeling comfortable talking about their mental health with colleagues, compared to just 33% in 2019.

Bill Hill, CEO of the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity said, “Last month, we saw a record 300 calls to our 24/7 construction industry helpline, but the positive message is that people are feeling more able to reach out and talk to someone. We know that all the work we are doing, together with industry efforts is helping to reduce the stigma of talking about feelings and problems.”

In view of the sobering fact that ten times more people in construction die from suicide than from work related accidents it is vital that progress continues and gains momentum.