Tool Theft Biggest Strain on Tradespeople’s Mental Health Research Finds

A quarter of tradespeople have said that tool theft is one of the biggest drivers of negative mental health and stress – with many even forced out of the industry, new data has found.

New research from commercial insurer NFU Mutual shows the scale of the issue with the actions of criminals inflicting more than just monetary damage. In fact, over one in 20 admitted to seeing people driven out of the industry, and 4% have personally contemplated leaving the tools.

Living in constant fear of tool theft is something tradespeople have sadly become accustomed to and impacts considerably on the stress suffered by workers. Two in every five surveyed said one of their biggest concerns was becoming a repeat victim of crime.

Other concerns raised among the industry was the increased cost of replacing stolen equipment (53%), a lack of work leading to irregular pay (29%) and organised criminals targeting sites and vehicles (26%).

Severe Impact

Jade Brady, Commercial Insurance Expert at NFU Mutual, said: “Tradespeople can often work alone, long hours and in a demanding job, and the impact of crime can be devastating.

“This can severely impact on the stress and mental wellbeing of our tradespeople and, as our research shows, more than one in 10 say one of their biggest concerns around security of their business is working along and feeling isolated.

“Stolen tools isn’t just an attack on tradespeople’s equipment, it will often result in them losing work and subsequent income which can have such a damaging impact. We would always urge tradespeople to take any safety precautions they can to try and deter thieves, and have proper cover in place to protect themselves should the worst happen.”

Extra Security Measures

In order to combat the issue, tradespeople have revealed the raft of security measures they are taking.

Of those surveyed, CCTV (46%) is the most common, while alarms (36%), locks and bolts (35%) and locked containers (33%) also featured highly.

One in 20 even said they have guard dogs to protect their equipment.

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