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The Risk of Suicide among site-based construction workers is three times the national average.

A Chartered Institute of Building survey carried out in 2020 found that 26% of construction workers who responded to their survey had experienced suicidal thoughts; 97% had experienced stress over the past year.

Industry culture still perpetuates poor mental wellbeing.  Factors include working away from home, heavy workloads, long working hours and job insecurity. Poor management practices and understanding can exacerbate the problem, but some exemplars do a great job of looking after their workers – this inconsistency needs to be tackled.

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has backed the research having already prioritised mental health in its recovery plan and is now pulling industry together to agree a plan to address it.

CITB’s new research highlights a growing number of good initiatives but finds that their impact is currently held back by the lack of a coherent aim and message. Given the growing need to tackle mental health, developing a joined-up approach has become more urgent.

It identifies opportunities for industry to address shortcomings and improve wellbeing for workers.