Four in five UK tradespeople experience mental health problems due to work

More than four in five (82%) UK tradespeople experience mental health problems due to work-related issues, a new study has found.

The research was commissioned for Mental Health Awareness Week (9th-15th May) by IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, and the results have been published in its annual industry report.

It found that almost two-thirds (64%) of tradespeople experience some form of mental health problem, such as stress, anxiety or depression, every month, and sadly, one in eight (13%) feel symptoms every single day.

Finances remain the number one cause of stress, with over a third (34%) saying that money worries play on their mind. In fact, the top five reasons are the same as last year, with customer tensions (24%) taking second spot once again.

The most significant change from 2021 is the impact of customer abuse, with almost a fifth (18%) saying they struggle with insults or threats, which is treble the figure from the previous report (6%).