Monday 14 May marks the beginning of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Led by the Mental Health Foundation, the focus of this year’s campaign is stress. Research shows that two thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetimes, and that stress is a key factor in this.
This is particularly true of the construction industry, where some of the aggravating factors include heavy workloads, long working hours and travel away from home. This affects many of us across the industry – whether office or site based.
The UK construction sector currently has approximately 2.1 million workers (constituting 6% of the overall UK workforce). Of these 2.1 million, some 350,000 people are experiencing a mental health issue at any one time.
In an industry where Health & Safety best practice is prioritised, the reality is that construction workers are 10 times more likely to die by suicide than from on-site accidents.
Mates in Mind
Far
rans and Northstone have been working closely with Inspire and Mates in Mind for the past year. These are two charity organisations committed to the promotion of workplace mental wellbeing.
As the first construction company in Northern Ireland to become affiliated with the Mates in Mind programme, Farrans and Northstone are proud to be involved in a genuine strategy for improving mental wellbeing and support facilities in the workplace.
Tools and Resources
Inspire is a charity and social enterprise which focuses on promoting wellbeing in the workplace, operating across Ireland and the UK – additional information is available here.
Mates in Mind is a charity committed to addressing the stigma of poor mental health and improving positive mental wellbeing, specifically within the UK construction industry – additional information is available here.
There is also a wide range of valuable information, including stress-tests and coping techniques on the Mental Health Foundation website, available here.
