Mental Health Epidemic in the Construction Sector could be Heightened by the Cost of Living Crisis

The living costs crisis will be hitting millions of homes across the UK, with inflation leaping to 6.2%, reaching a 30-year record high. In an industry populated by small and medium sized businesses, and sole tradespeople, as well as being characterised by small margins and late payments, the added economic pressure could be detrimental to the mental health of its employees. Financial concerns has been found to be among the main reason for stress and anxiety in the construction sector, with 90% of business owners saying their mental wellbeing has suffered because of late payments – according to the Building Engineering Services Association.

Tragically, the construction industry was in the grip of a mental health crisis last year with the ONS reporting the suicide rate among construction workers was three times the national average for men, equating to more than two builders taking their own life every working day.

For those in the industry being affected by rising living costs, Fix Radio, the leading radio station for builders and the trade, are urging tradespeople to use the free counselling service that has been recently launched by national charity Band of Builders, aimed at tackling mental health and wellbeing in the UK construction industry.

Peter Cape, Band of Builders’ (BoB) founder, spoke on The Clive Holland Show on Fix Radio to talk about their initiative and the importance of raising mental health awareness:

“Last year we created a mental health campaign called the Big Brew, which is about getting people together over a cup of tea to try and break the stigma around mental health in the construction industry.

“Through funds raised at last year’s Big Brew campaign, we have managed to launch a free counselling service for members of the construction industry, and we are going to be offering 150 mental health awareness courses to trade count staff as they are the people most likely to talk to self-employed guys who may or may not be struggling.

“We are continually told that men don’t talk, and my experience is in reality, as soon as people have permission to talk, they will, and I think we need to create environments where people have permission to talk. Certainly, in my experience we have a little support card that says STATS, which is support each other, talk about it, always ask twice, take it seriously and stop the cycle. The always ask twice bit we always say are you alright as a greeting not a question. If you ask again and it’s a question you will get an answer absolutely guaranteed. If you care enough to ask the question, people will talk to you.

“There is a reality, mental health costs the industry more than physical health issues. There are more days off attributed to mental health than physical issues. It costs the industry £37 billion a year. We have to be mad not to address it.”