A new wellbeing and welfare portal has been developed for people working in construction after it was revealed 27% of all illness in the industry is stress, depression or anxiety.
The portal provides a range of resources for emotional, physical and financial wellbeing and aims to help people recognise when they’re struggling and how to cope.
It comes in light of research that shows two construction workers in the UK take their own lives each day and provides a list of organisations to provide further advice and support in each area.
The portal has been created by The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity partnered with Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Samaritans.
Bill Hill, Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity CEO, said: “We have been overwhelmed by the support from our industry to take on the challenge of improving workforce welfare and wellbeing as a unified force.
“This new portal curates all the amazing free services from various charities in the UK and Ireland and simplifies access for anyone seeking emotional, physical or financial help.
“The CITB has been instrumental in making this happen. There is much more to do but this is a great step forward.”
The portal has been created as part of the industry wide Make It Visible initiative, which aims to make welfare and wellbeing support visible on every construction site in order to reduce stigma around the subject and increase awareness of the support pathways available.
The campaign has also seen a taskforce of people speak to almost 30,000 people at almost 500 construction companies, builders’ merchants, hire centres and sites across the UK and Ireland to get the conversation started and raise awareness of the free resources.
Credit: Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash
The #MakeItVisible portal was created with over £400,000 funding from CITB and Tim Balcon, CITB Chief Executive, said: “We know that there is a huge mental health crisis in the construction industry, and we must do more to support workers and their families.
“The statistics presented by the Lighthouse Charity’s research are truly devastating, I urge anyone who is struggling right now to reach out to the charity’s helpline.
“CITB has been making improvements to ensure employees get the wellbeing support they need, and I feel very passionately about carrying this through to industry.
“The work we are doing with the Lighthouse Charity will help drive long term culture change and promote fairness, inclusion, and respect across workforces.
“There is a great selection of resources online, and I hope that this will make support more accessible to the wider industry. When all workers can access support, without fear of stigma, lives will be saved and attracting new entrants will be easier.”
The portal is currently encouraging visitors to take part in the world’s biggest mental health check-in, One Million Lives.
The free tool has been developed by mental health professionals to help users assess their current state of mind and better understand the complexities of mental health.
This guide, written by Heather Beach, Founder of The Healthy Work Company, serves as a go-to resource to help managers support team members who may be experiencing stress or struggling with their mental health, including warning signs, duty of care and top tips.
