Why does the stigma around mental health in construction persist? Sam Downie, managing director of Mates in Mind, examines the causes behind it and how we can break it down
As November marks Men’s Health Awareness Month, International Stress Awareness Week (4-8 November) and National Stress Awareness Day (6 November) it is a poignant time to stop and question why the stigma that surrounds mental health persists.
Spoiler alert! The answer to the stigma conundrum starts with culture, communication, coaching and conversation.
Stigma of mental health in construction
According to the University of Cambridge Dictionary, stigma is “a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about something, especially when this is unfair”. So why is it that even though we all acknowledge that mental ill-health is prevalent in the construction sector, do we let it prevail?
A recent survey found that 94% of ‘hard hat’ workers experience stress, anxiety, and depression. Resulting in four out of 10 workers taking time off work due to it.
“One-quarter of respondents said they would never discuss their mental health with peers, and of those who did, nearly 29% reported feeling uncomfortable doing so,” the report said.
Below are some possible things that reinforce the stigma. Do any of these apply to how you work, or what is happening in your organisation?
Demographics: For example, a study published in Occupational Medicine found that “older workers were seen to be particularly unreceptive to open conversations about mental health, compared to their younger counterparts”.
Culture: This can be personal, ie, in some cultures mental health can be a taboo subject, or it can be organisational.
Language: Whether intentional or not, some words or expressions can reinforce the stigma. For example, “afflicted by”, “suffers from” and/or “victim” of mental health; “man up”, “leave your problems at the door” etc.
Education: Some people may be unable to identify mental ill-health in themselves, or others – for example, people may not associate their lack of sleep or drinking/eating/gambling excessively etc with stress. Therefore, they may lack the skills and tools to identify the root causes and/or the confidence to support someone in need.
Management: A study found that “interviewees referred to a lack of understanding about their roles and responsibilities as an employer or manager related to mental health at work”. This is despite it being a legal duty of care to ensure the health (including mental
health) and safety of their employees.
Mismatch: Another study found while “47% of employers said they offer regular workload reviews to their employees, but just 14% of employees said they receive this”.
Change: It could be because unsupportive, exclusive and inappropriate language and/or culture are so ingrained that people do not see the need for change, or because they are resistant to it because they fear the unknown.
Trust: Over half of UK employees do not feel comfortable disclosing mental health or psychological conditions. This could be because they fear they may receive a negative reaction, or indeed because of the stigma itself.
Fear: Particularly of saying the wrong thing if someone opens up to you and/or if you spot the signs that they may be experiencing ill-health.
Nature of work: Time away from home and/or working on short-term contracts can make it hard for workers to build supportive networks with temporary colleagues and/or to access consistent support.
Time: Some people may feel they do not have enough time to start a conversation.
What are the solutions?
Some organisations are already doing great work in this area – transforming their workplaces, raising awareness, addressing the stigma and empowering their supply chains.
However, too much variation and inconsistency remain, with support focused on when someone reaches crisis rather than identifying and mitigating the contributing factors.
Back to the spoiler alert I mentioned earlier, the solutions lie in:
Culture: The senior team needs to lead by example through building a culture of prevention, one which supports positive mental health in and through work, so that everyone is supported and no one reaches crisis point.
Communication: This needs to be two-way. As we saw earlier, there is often a discord between what the organisation believes their employees think and want, and what they actually do. Undertaking staff surveys and individual stress risk assessments; sharing the organisations policies, such as mental health policy; and using awareness days to start conversations through displaying posters, training sessions and including the topic in team meetings will all help workers to realise the issue is taken seriously and that they are not alone.
Coaching: Educate, train and support employees across the whole workforce (starting with leaders being role models as well as advocates for change and cascading throughout the organisation and, if possible, supply chains) to ensure there is a continuous and comprehensive solution in place so that no one reaches crisis point – and mental health awareness becomes everyone’s issue. You can find out about training options and download free resources from the Mates in Mind website.
Conversation: Create a new habit, check in on your colleagues each day in order to normalise the conversation. It really is as simple as asking “Are you okay?” Remember to always ask twice.
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