The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) is undertaking an extensive survey into mental health within the construction industry
Mental health within the construction industry is becoming increasingly critical. The CIOB is responding to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS)* which found that men in the UK construction industry are almost four times more likely to take their own lives than men on average.
Professor Charles Egbu, president of the CIOB, said of the survey: “This is an incredibly important issue and one that aligns with the theme of my presidency. For over 20 years I’ve been looking into the area of mental health and wellbeing and there is much research out there which sets out the scale of the problem and shows that it is complex.
“My hope for the outcomes of the survey is that although there’s no one solution that addresses these issues, we can gather data which will point to practical support and solutions that will work.”
The results from the mental health within the construction industry survey will be analysed to establish the primary pressures on construction workers at different levels (e.g. director, site manager, site worker etc.) and whether there are any other patterns across the responses.
Depending on the analysis, this information is then likely to be used to:
- Develop recommendations for both the construction sector and policymakers to help reduce the pressures identified
- Draw the above recommendations, if legislative change is required, into a policy paper to discuss with parliamentarians
- Gather case study material to exemplify the primary issues raised in the survey and demonstrate the impact that these issues can have on individuals
- Shape a detailed report outlining the findings, sharing the case studies and summarising any policy recommendations.
It is anticipated that the CIOB’s report with the analysis of the survey will be available later this year.
Anyone currently working within the industry is being invited to complete the survey, which is now open. CIOB members and non-members are being asked to provide their insight into this important topic. All responses will be anonymous. However, there is the option of leaving an email address to be entered into a draw to win a £100 Amazon gift voucher.
The link to the survey can be found here: https://mentalhealth2019.questionpro.com/.
