Mental Health in the Construction Industry Guide lanched
When we are busy, our mental health is put on the back burner. This is partly due to mental health’s supposed imperceptible nature. The construction industry has always presented one of the busiest and most dynamic work environments from project initiation to project completion.
All facets of the industry’s complex system have massive challenges as industry professionals and other stakeholders battle to ensure key performance indicators are delivered, whether time, cost or quality.
Unfortunately, mental health issues feed on our inability to keep an eye on our personal wellbeing. Most people are first drawn to the concept of their mental health during some form of crisis or deterioration. Understandably, friends, family and loved ones will jump at the opportunity to offer support in times of crisis.
They can only offer this support when there are visible signs of distress and this is where mental health presents the biggest challenge. Poor mental health does not show many explicit symptoms and is even more invisible when people are preoccupied especially during busy periods at work.
Construction employees (whether based in the office or on site) spend a considerable amount of time at work and this is where they are also put under immense pressure. As such, the workplace offers an opportunity for us to support one another. More importantly, the work environment offers an opportunity for our attention to be drawn to some of the least explicit symptoms of poor mental health e.g. presenteeism.
Constructing Excellence in collaboration with our partners have thus initiated a process of supporting the industry’s stakeholders particularly on the matter of improving mental health. We present this ‘how-to-guide’ to help all in the supply chain and at all levels.
This includes prompting us of some of the subtle tell-tale signs of deteriorating mental health. We believe everyone in the industry should have equal access to mental support and as such we implore all employers (large, medium, small and micro) to spare no expense in protecting their most valuable asset; PEOPLE.
Introduction by Emmanuel Aboagye-Nimo.
