Julia Shervington of Mates in Mind shares an update on the charity’s recent work and a wake-up call for the construction industry on world suicide prevention day
There have been some big steps forward in the last year or so on how we approach mental health in construction and wider sectors. These include the Construction Leadership Council’s Mental Health in Construction Joint Code of Practice; BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace; construction worker research; and most recently the launch of Mates in Mind’s free digital training for sole traders and self-employed construction workers. Two things worth noting at this stage.
First, Mates in Mind has been involved in developing all of them.
Secondly, and more importantly, the message is clear – we’ve raised awareness, we’ve talked about it, we all know the statistics around work-related mental ill-health, and that they remain stubbornly high; we also know the issues that have been identified as causes. We also have evidence on how to design out workplace practices that cause mental ill-health.
Therefore, now is the time for ACTION.
Based on this, my first question to you is: What are you doing to build psychosocial safety into your everyday working practices? Are you doing enough to build a mentally healthy workplace?
And I’ll hazard a guess that your questions back to me are: How do we do that? How do we know if what we are doing is ‘enough’? Where do we start?
Working at Mates in Mind, of course I’m going to say ‘come and talk to us’; we are, after all, an award-winning charity (in the suicide prevention space), but first I will provide some guidance (based on the recent developments I mentioned earlier), and share where to access free resources and training.
CLC’s Mental Health in Construction JCOP
The JCOP provides a roadmap to create a “Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) … [where] people believe psychological health and safety genuinely matter in their workplace. It has been dubbed the ‘cause of the causes’ of work stress.”
Action should be focused on eliminating the risk, reducing the risk and/or reducing the harm across the five hazards identified in the JCOP:
- Working patterns – long working hours, shift patterns, long-distance travel, working away from home and flexible working.
- Operational demands – unachievable deadlines, poor planning and poor communication.
- People factors and environment – limited praise or support, poor quality welfare facilities, and bullying and harassment.
- Financial issues – issues with payment, job insecurity, low financial literacy and disputed payments.
- Support factors – stigma, low mental health literacy, and low help-seeking.
Discover how Mates in Mind can help you make, communicate, and embed the necessary adjustments: Mental Health in Construction JCOP | Mates in Mind
BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace
The BSI’s BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace is the UK’s first British standard dedicated to addressing the risk of suicide and its impact in the workplace. “It provides guidance on creating and sustaining safe, supportive work environments where people can thrive and survive in life and through crises. Avoiding the human tragedy of suicide through suicide prevention strategies, systems, policies and practical actions is always preferable to responding, unprepared, to a person in crisis or to a death by suicide.”
The BSI’s five first steps guide provides small, achievable steps that organisations of any size can apply:
- Recognise the issue and commit to action.
- Build awareness and understanding.
- Share clear support pathways.
- Be prepared to help.
- Plan for support and recovery after a suicide.
As a result of our involvement in creating this standard, a construction-specific version is now in development.
Please see the section further down this article to access our suicide prevention and post-suicide response resources and videos.
Construction Worker Research
Key themes identified in the University of Warwick research were:
- The voices of young construction workers are often overlooked.
- Perceptions and experiences of the construction industry.
- Challenges impacting health and wellbeing.
- Negative consequences of challenges to workers’ lives.
- Disclosure of mental health concerns and limitations of support.
The findings contributed to those identified in the JCOP. Therefore, in addition to the ones above, actions include:
- Involve young workers in conversations early on, seek their opinions, consider their needs in decisions.
- Ensure you train their line managers to understand their specific needs as they enter the industry.
- Include mental health and wellbeing training during inductions and on an annual refresher basis thereafter.
If you employ apprentices, you may be interested in our Let’s Talk Mental Wellbeing Programme which provides guidance for your organisation and training for apprentices and new starters.
Free digital training
Mates in Mind, in partnership with the Baton of Hope, recently launched two free digital suicide awareness and prevention training modules. The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales funds the project as part of its National Suicide Prevention Network.
Designed specifically for sole traders and self-employed construction workers, this prevention-focused digital training has been designed to address the challenges of this hard-to-reach group of construction workers who are often most at risk of mental ill-health and who might otherwise be unable to engage with mental health interventions.
Access the training and learn more about World Suicide Prevention Day: https://bit.ly/MinM-WSPD26
Mates in Mind Support
And this leads me nicely back to Mates in Mind.
Resources
In order to support your organisation to take action we have created a suite of resources (infographics, guides and factsheets) as well as short videos covering topics such as stress, anxiety, neurodiversity, spotting the signs, suicide prevention and post-suicide response guides, a mental health quiz and much more.
Download and watch: Workplace mental health & wellbeing resources | Mates in Mind
Blogs
Our blogs can help you find practical tips and guidance on suicide prevention, as well as how to manage stress in the workplace, create a culture of prevention at work, eradicate the culture of silence, and end the stigma around mental health in the workplace.
Membership
This programme is designed for organisations of any size who want to improve the mental health and wellbeing of their workforce. Starting with an assessment, your tailored recommendation plan, along with support from our Programme Managers, guidance, templates and resources will empower you to create work that is good for workers’ mental health.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that everyone has mental health. It can vary from good to poor and be anywhere in-between. It can fluctuate over an hour, day, week, year. It can be impacted by our work, past experiences, and our life outside work, often a mix of all three.
What the construction focused initiatives have also demonstrated is that within work, mental health can be impacted by physical, financial and geographical considerations, along with working conditions and working practices.
We also know that every organisation is different.
This is why, at Mates in Mind, we have been working with organisations of all sizes to create a culture of prevention since 2017. By focusing on evidence-informed primary and secondary interventions, we empower them to build positive mental health in and through work. We recommend that organisations educate, train and support all employees across the whole workforce (whether directly employed, or working under contract) to ensure everyone has the skills, clarity and confidence on how to raise awareness, improve understanding, implement effective interventions, end the stigma of mental ill-health, and to ensure there is a continuous and comprehensive solution in place so that no-one reaches crisis point and mental health becomes everyone’s responsibility.
Speak to us now to find out how we can help you: 020 3510 5018 or email: support@matesinmind.org
References:
- CLC Mental Health in Construction JCIOP: CLC-Mental-Health-Code-of-Practice-V1.pdf
- BS 30480:
- BSI Standard publication: BS 30480 Suicide and the Workplace | BSI
- BSI’s first steps guide: Suicide and the Workplace A Practical First Steps Guide to Support | BSI
- Construction Worker Research: Read the report: Understanding the experiences of ‘on-the-tools’ construction workers in England
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