Mental health in the construction industry: it’s time to act together

Approximately two people in the UK’s construction sector are lost to suicide every day. 

That is three to four times the national average. 

Any life lost is tragic, but to see this happening across a sector that has support systems in place and a strong understanding of mental health challenges is hard to comprehend. 

It’s clear that we need to do something about it. 

A new approach 

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which was established as a convening power in the sector with The Crown Estate as a key voice within it, has launched a new Mental Health Joint Code of Practice. It is a framework for leaders and businesses – both clients and contractors – to help them deliver a working environment that protects the mental health of everyone in construction. 

It might seem like a monumental task, but this new Joint Code of Practice equips us all with the practical tools needed to tackle mental health issues at the earliest opportunity, focusing on prevention rather than intervention. 

It is grounded in a wave of new research, including that from the University of Warwick. In a consultation with 3,000 construction workers, it uncovered the leading five factors that are impacting mental health: 

1. Working patterns (long hours and travel requirements) 

2. People factors and the work environment 

3. Operational factors (commercial pressure) 

4. Barriers to mental health support (underlying stigma and low levels of mental health literacy) 

5. Financial factors (late payment and financial insecurity) 

All these factors present dire challenges individually, but they are also all connected and sadly often unintentionally embedded in business models across the sector. 

But, by undertaking better design, planning and leadership, we can address these underlying flaws and overcome them. 

Working together 

The development of this Joint Code of Practice came through collaboration. Our partners at the CLC – The Department for Business and Trade, Mates in Mind, Heathrow, The University of Warwick, BAM and many other major contractors – have worked alongside Marsh, BCLP and the New Hospitals Programme to deliver something that is designed by the industry, for the industry. 

It challenges the traditional narrative around intervention and individual resilience, instead putting the focus on prevention. It contains guiding principles for specific actors in our industry, including: 

• Designers who can reduce uncertainty that drives pressure later; 

• Contractors who can create safer working patterns and easier routes for their employees to raise any concerns; 

• Trade bodies, insurers, regulators and training organisations to normalise prevention industry-wide 

But it only works if this collaboration keeps up momentum and we all get involved. 

This is a problem that affects us all and we have a collective duty to act. At The Crown Estate, we’re setting the tone, working with our partners at Kier to trial the Joint Code of Practice at our 10 Piccadilly and 33 Piccadilly developments. 

Now we need the rest of the industry to embrace this watershed moment and drive systemic change, making widespread tragedy in construction a thing of the past. 

For more information and to sign up to the Joint Code of Practice, click here.  

Henrietta Frater 

Head of Safety First, The Crown Estate