We hear from blu-3 about the construction industry’s battle with mental health issues and how one app is taking a proactive approach to psychological health and wellbeing
The stigma surrounding mental health has begun a significant shift in focus, as more businesses across a range of industries rethink their staff support strategies when it comes to treating mental wellbeing with the same conviction as physical health.
The construction industry however is still falling behind other sectors in critical areas of mental health, with men in the sector being three times more likely to commit suicide than the average UK male. This shocking statistic is a vivid reminder that there are still significant difficulties faced by those working in the building industry every day.
Physical health is very much at the forefront of the industry’s efforts, with on-site safety being the best it’s ever been. Unfortunately, the same cannot be as easily said for mental health awareness and management. A fifth of all ill-health cases in the sector stem from mental health issues, resulting in around 400,000 working days lost every year.
Alarmingly, data from the Office for National Statistics found that just over 13% of the recorded 13,232 suicides (by occupation) between 2011 and 2015 were those in skilled construction and building trades, despite the construction industry accounting for only 7% of the UK workforce.
According to government statistics, the construction industry is essential to the UK economy contributing around £113bn a year. It is therefore vitally important that mental health is drastically improved among workers. But what is causing the spike in mental health issues?
Why is the construction industry so susceptible?
Several factors make the construction industry lifestyle undoubtedly challenging and stressful for employees. Demanding and long working hours, working away from home for long periods, and the underlying job security unease following the collapse of Carillion in 2018, are all drivers of anxiety and stress. Couple these issues with the typical ‘tough guy’ image, which tends to be widespread in the industry, and it becomes easy for mental health problems to take root and overwhelm those suffering.
The physical nature of the job can also leave workers out of work due to injuries, which again creates stress, anxiety and the likelihood of periods of depression. Added to this is a lack of paid sick leave, appropriate holiday provisions, or access to health programmes from some organisations, making it harder for those suffering to get the help they need.
Across wider society, the awareness surrounding mental health is increasing. Still, it takes time to filter through to the industry – asking for help and opening up about feelings is not natural for a lot of people employed in the sector.
Is there a ready-made solution?
In short – yes. Shaking off the stigma attached to talking about mental health won’t be an easy task, but we are starting to see the industry wake up and act. Ownminder – a new training solution and app that has been built by and for the construction industry to help tackle its mental ill health issues – has recently been launched.
The app, part-founded by blu-3 Chairman & CEO Danny Chaney, is the first industry-specific proactive psychological health solution created to help address the sector’s stark mental health situation that sees a suicide rate three times more than the national average. This equates to two people per day in the UK construction industry taking their own lives (ONS).
Ownminder enables organisations within the construction industry to provide their employees with a set of accessible tools and strategies to take a positive, proactive and preventative approach to their psychological health and wellbeing. It provides them with a deeper understanding of the factors underpinning their psychological health and enables them to take ownership of their mental fitness, which reduces the risk of poor mental health in the future.
Importantly, the app can be accessible for every worker, offering industry-tailored on-demand modules and personalised tools, strategies, and techniques that can be easily incorporated into everyday life to help strengthen mind fitness.
Anonymised reports, including user engagement levels and regularly updated mental wellbeing scores to validate progress, are also generated for businesses to create benchmarks and insight to the workforce mental health situation. They also provide businesses with the evidence required to demonstrate compliance with the various health and safety regulations, public procurement and other ESG factors related to proactive psychological health within the sector.
Moving forward
It is clear that physical health and safety are taken extremely seriously in the construction industry. However, statistics show that the most dangerous aspect of a building site is in the mind. Employees are at the centre of risk and poor mental health can exacerbate the issue, whether human error or intentional action.
Suicide is killing more people in the industry than on-site accidents. So, it only seems reasonable to treat mental health in the same way, ensuring the same amount of time, thought, and investment goes into building awareness and management of its impact on employees.
Leading figures in the industry are taking steps to help reduce the stigma around mental health and improve the support available. However, there is still a long way to go, and we must encourage more engagement and discussion on the topic if anything is ever going to change.
Thank you for sharing this article.
Sadly many people still believe suicide to be illegal, it’s why many won’t speak about it or reach out for help.
Suicide was decriminalised in 1961, yet we’re still using the language which insinuates it is.
Using the word “commit” can add to a persons pain, especially those who are bereaved by a suicide loss.
Suicide is an act, a verb, a doing work. A person suicides or ends their life by suicide.