The mental health charity, headed by ex-England and Everton player Trevor Steven, seeks to make mental health more front and centre in the industry
Mindflow’s Construction Mental Health Framework aims to break down barriers to discussing mental health on construction sites.
The framework, called the Mindflow Charter, involves firms signing a commitment to a mental health and wellbeing policy in ten measurable principles.
Two construction workers take their lives every day
The construction industry has a consistently high number of suicides, with research showing two take their own lives every day, and in 2024 the average suicide rate among male construction workers was 29.1 per 100,000, compared to the national average of 9.6 per 100,000.
Trevor Steven has worked with Causeway Technologies (Founding company of the Mindflow charity) to conduct further research in construction sites, surveying over 1,400 workers, and found that over half have said they have experienced mental health struggles.
Mindflow works to address mental health by bringing former football players to construction sites to talk about mental health struggles, having worked with Jason McAteer, David White, Colin Hendry, Chris Kirkland, Paul Stewart, and received support from Gary Lineker, John Barnes, Ally McCoist, Viv Anderson, Robbie Fowler, Peter Reid, and Stuart Pearce.
Trevor Steven said: “With The Mindflow Charter, we’re setting clear standards. We want all construction companies to treat every workers’ mental health with the same seriousness as their physical safety.”
Karl Wiseman, deputy regional chairman of Persimmon Homes, who has worked with Mindflow, said: “It’s an innovative approach to a long-term issue within the industry and using football as an ‘in’ is proving a match-winning formula on our sites. We have received positive feedback, and using football to break the ice has really resonated with our workforce.”
A new suicide-prevention standard is in the works
In June, the British Standards Institution announced that they are working on a new prevention standard for the built environment, BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace.
At the time, the standard was in consultation to receive feedback and public views. It is now taking these views into consideration in its development.
The standard will:
- Provide guidance for putting in place systematic, appropriate and compassionate prevention and support measures.
- Highlight situations where specialist guidance may be needed.
- Offer recommendations on sensitive and responsible communications, including with bereaved people and those dealing with grief.
- Include case studies and examples to illustrate a variety of measures that may be deployed.
The standard will be freely available to all organisations upon publication.
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