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‘Spotlight on… mental health’ aims to raise awareness of how mental health can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, religion or ethnicity and can cause both personal and work-related stress, anxiety and depression.

The World Health Organisation defines ‘mental health’ as “a state of wellbeing in which the individual realises their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and are able to make a contribution to their community.”

The workforce is any organisations biggest asset, so it is important to look after your team’s wellbeing as poor mental health can result in low morale, poor timekeeping, lack of motivation, poor productivity and decision making. Employees who suffer from work-related stress may also suffer from anxiety, depression, increased illness and absence from work.

This is an issue which can have a considerable impact on the industry, with pressures such as the stress and demands to meet project deadlines and the risks involved in completing jobs quickly, increasing the likelihood of mental health issues. A Construction Manager article from 2012 advised that “the image of the tough male who doesn’t show emotion is certainly a factor, with one third of men saying they would be embarrassed to see a GP for feelings of depression. It can be incredibly hard for men in this industry to come forward and discuss stress and mental health with their boss.”

Work related stress can not only have an impact upon work performance and personal lives, but also impact people physically through poor health including high blood pressure, stomach ulcers and increased risk of heart attack as well as result in drug and alcohol abuse. In the construction industry, this work-related stress can often develop from heavy workloads, long working hours, travel, family separation, fear of redundancy and job insecurity, financial and budgeting pressures, tight deadlines and high risk activities. All of these issues affecting the construction industry can potentially lead to poor mental health.

It is important for employers to recognise the problem and support their employees in offering guidance, raising awareness and ensuring that people do not feel ashamed or embarrassed to seek help.

The Good Day at Work Annual Report for 2014/2015 focuses on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. The report discovered that:

• 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem in any year – poor mental health affects anyone
• 9 out of 10 people who experience mental health problems say they face stigma and discrimination as a result
• Stigma is a huge challenge in the workplace; 40% of employers view workers with mental health problems as a ‘significant risk’
• 8 in 10 employers have no mental health policy
• Stress has forced 1 in 5 workers to call in sick; 90% did not feel able to tell their boss the real reason why

HSE statistics for 2012-13 established that 428,000 out of 1.8m new work-related illness conditions in the UK were down to stress, anxiety or depression and that the average amount of days lost per year due to mental health was 24 days across all industries.

Here are a number of best practice examples that show what you can do to raise awareness of this issue: