More than 50 per cent of construction workers say they have struggled with their mental health, according to software provider Causeway Technologies.<\/p>\n
The survey was carried out by Causeway\u2019s mental health ambassador, former England footballer Trevor Steven. Steven spoke to more than 1,400 workers over 18 months at construction sites across the country.<\/p>\n
Of the construction workers interviewed, 56 per cent reported that they were currently experiencing or had experienced a mental health issue.<\/p>\n
The main problems reported were anxiety (40 per cent), depression (37 per cent), fatigue (28 per cent), lack of self-confidence (25 per cent) and feeling overwhelmed (25 per cent).<\/p>\n
More than one in ten (12 per cent) of the respondents said they were experiencing or had experienced suicidal thoughts.<\/p>\n
Steven said: \u201cThese figures are frankly shocking and really highlight the need for intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n
The biggest factors cited as contributing to poor mental health were long and irregular working hours (59 per cent), financial pressures (50 per cent), lack of job security (45 per cent), tight deadlines (43 per cent) and site culture (41 per cent).<\/p>\n
The vast majority \u2013 80 per cent \u2013 thought that companies have a responsibility to support the mental health of workers. Despite this, 35 per cent said their workplaces were not doing enough to protect employee wellbeing.<\/p>\n
One respondent said: \u201cIn 10 years of working in construction, I\u2019ve never experienced a site that seems to really care about your mental wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The release of the survey results coincided with the launch of Causeway\u2019s lobbying campaign calling for mental health provision to be included in construction contracts. The company is also asking businesses to sign up to a pledge to support better mental health in the workplace.<\/p>\n
Causeway chief executive Phil Brown said: \u201cMental health is the true health and safety crisis in the construction industry today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe industry\u2019s mental health crisis still shows little sign of abating, so we cannot afford to stop pushing forward on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 50 per cent of construction workers say they have struggled with their mental health, according to software provider Causeway Technologies. The survey was carried out by Causeway\u2019s mental health ambassador, former England footballer Trevor Steven. Steven spoke to more than 1,400 workers over 18 months at construction sites across the country. Of the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141524,"featured_media":490589,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[577],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n