A new report detailing research from the Chartered Institute of Building shows that while support for workers mental health is on the rise, the state is still dire for much of the sector
Construction mental health is being supported through measures such as mental health first aiders, which has risen by 19% in the past five years.
However, figures show that there are still many struggling with mental health, with still a large number expressing suicidal thoughts in the past year.
Mental health events have also skyrocketed
Activities during Mental Health Awareness Week for construction mental health support saw the largest increase, rising from 26% of people reporting being encouraged to join, to 77% from 2020 to 2025.
In the past year, however, 28% of respondents reported experiencing suicidal thoughts, and 17% stated they did not feel confident to approach a colleague they thought might be struggling with mental health.
Furthermore, on a daily basis, 24% experienced stress, 20% experienced fatigue, 18% experienced anxiety, 7% experienced depression, and 2% had suicidal thoughts.
“In an ideal world, nobody working in the industry would experience any mental wellbeing concerns at all”
Daisie Barnett, policy development manager at CIOB, and author of the report, said: “This survey follows a similar report CIOB published in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. We were interested to see how the industry has responded, particularly in the wake of the pandemic, and the data gives us mixed results.
“We know working in construction is not without its physical and mental challenges, so it is incredibly encouraging to see the increase in support available to the workforce. Fifty-four per cent of people we spoke to told us they have mental health first aiders available at their place of work, up from 35 per cent in 2020, more than a third (35 per cent) said they now have scheduled 1:1 meetings with their managers and 77 per cent have been encouraged to get involved with awareness events.
Looking at the data, nearly one in four people (24 per cent) working in the industry have experienced stress daily over the past year.
“Twenty per cent of those we spoke to have experienced daily fatigue, most likely due to long working hours to meet looming deadlines, and more than a quarter have felt suicidal at least once over the past year.
“In an ideal world, nobody working in the industry would experience any mental wellbeing concerns at all. While that vision might be slightly unrealistic, CIOB believes there is still far more the industry and government can do to support the people working in the construction sector.”
“Clearly, there is more work to do, and our report sets out some excellent starting points for both businesses and the government to consider.
“Firstly, we would like to see more company leaders commit their business to the Mental Health at Work Commitment, which is a simple framework that builds off the Thriving at Work standards.
“More companies need to mandate monthly 1-1 check-in meetings between managers and their direct reports that focus on mental wellbeing, fatigue management plans, and induction processes that promote integration and the importance of wellbeing to new staff.
“Managers need better training in identifying and managing poor mental health. Even for micro businesses, there are free webinars online to help people better equip themselves with an understanding of mental health issues.”
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