Construction Mental Health Support on the Rise but Workers Still Struggling

NEW RESEARCH shows the number of mental health support services available to construction workers has ‘drastically’ increased, however many workers are still struggling.

Data from a new report, Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment 2025 published by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), revealed three quarters of those surveyed said they had been encouraged to get involved in support events like Mental Health Awareness Week (12 – 18 May), and more than half said they had access to a mental health first aider at work if they need help.

Despite the positives, CIOB says there is still an ‘alarming’ amount of construction workers struggling with their mental health, including the 28% of survey respondents who said they have experienced suicidal thoughts in the past year.

The data also found:

Nearly one in five (17%) do not have the confidence to approach a colleague they think might be struggling,
Nearly one in four (24%) have experienced stress daily over the past year,
and 20% experienced daily fatigue, most likely due to long working hours to meet looming deadlines.

Daisie Barnett, Policy Development Manager at CIOB and author of the report, said: “This survey follows a similar report CIOB published in 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic. We were interested to see how the industry has responded, particularly in the wake of the pandemic and the data gives us mixed results.

“We know working in construction is not without its physical and mental challenges, so it is incredibly encouraging to see the increase in support available to the workforce. 54% of people we spoke to told us they have mental health first aiders available at their place of work, up from 35% in 2020; more than a third (35%) said they now have scheduled 1:1 meetings with their managers; and 77% have been encouraged to get involved with awareness events.

“In an ideal world, nobody working in the industry would experience any mental wellbeing concerns at all. While that vision might be slightly unrealistic, CIOB believes there is still far more the industry and government can do to support the people working in the construction sector.”

Better Mental Health Support

CIOB has made a series of recommendations, challenging companies to commit to achieving better mental health outcomes.

Daisie added: “Our report sets out some starting points for businesses and the government to consider.

“Firstly, we would like to see more company leaders commit their business to the Mental Health at Work Commitment, which is a simple framework that builds off the Thriving at Work standards.

“More companies need to mandate monthly 1-1 check-in meetings between managers and their direct reports that focus on mental wellbeing, fatigue management plans, and induction processes that promote integration and the importance of wellbeing to new staff.

“Additionally, managers need better training in identifying and managing poor mental health. Even for micro businesses, there are free webinars online to help people better equip themselves with an understanding of mental health issues.”

Recommendations to the UK Government included reducing the financial stress on small businesses by reviewing the Fair Payment Code and considering whether this should be made mandatory for large contractors to stick to.

The organisation also called for an update to the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England drawing experience from Australia’s successful strategy, and recommended Government ensures its Men’s Health Strategy has sufficient focus on mental health in high-risk sectors such as construction to ensure initiatives are appropriate and achieves the outcomes intended.

Free mental wellbeing resources are available here.