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Construction Industry Support
Health and Safety is a key aspect of every construction company’s work and policies.
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BUT...
What about MENTAL health and safety?
The increasing suicide rate in this industry...
Focusing on and including mental wellness in every health and safety briefing, policy, training and stand down event can avoide accidents (and those near-misses you are desperate to reduce), illness, absenteeism and ultimately reduce the increasing suicide rate in this industry.
Some terrifying stats
(all taken from Mental Health in UK Construction: The Statistics - 2023)
Hundreds of suicides in this industry every year in the UK
27%
of work related illnesses are due to stress, anxiety and depression
48%
of construction workers have taken time off work due to unmanageable stress
59%
of these absences weren’t reported honestly as due to these reasons
Men don’t talk about mental health issues and are less likely to admit to struggling - as these stats show!
Why are these statistics so grim?
A significant reason is that men don’t talk about mental health (hence the 59%)
We grew up hearing ‘man up, grow a pair, don’t be a girl, don’t be a poof’ (yes, it’s un-PC talk but this was an un-PC belief created in an un-PC era)
Recognise
Recognise the conditioning and challenge it
Allow
Give men permission to talk
Encourage
Learn how to listen for understanding to encourage talking and open problem solving
The Solution
The Impact
The queue of shuffling workers
Speaking events - the queue of shuffling workers wanting a quick chat as i step down off the stage is proof enough to me that i’m hitting a nerve… but here’s the feedback from one of the delegates...
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"Like a lot of my colleagues, I’ve worked in construction all my life. I’ve seen some of my friends and workmates killed and injured, some have killed themselves. Everyone there yesterday listened, nobody there ignored or were uninterested. The problem is more that you very likely hit a nerve and most won’t dare show it or admit it. I enjoyed your talk. You’d be surprised at how many of the guys were asking how their mates are feeling on a scale of 1:10 this morning… Keep doing what you do. You don’t knock a wall down with one blow."
- Kent Baxter, Structures Contract Manager, Ringway.
