Mental health in construction

Recently, Sewell Construction Joint Managing Director Mark Boothby spoke to clinical psychologist Dr Katie Jackson about mental health best practice in construction, and what organisations can practically implement to support individuals at all levels in the industry. Here’s her article on the subject.

A little while ago, I sat down with Mark Boothby, Sewell Construction Joint MD, to discuss all things mental health in the construction industry and gain a unique insight into what is being done, on all levels, to support workers’ emotional health.

We started with the statistics – in 2020 a Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) report called ‘Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment’ found that 97% of construction workers had felt stressed in the past year. This is not necessarily a shock, given that stress is a natural human state, especially in an industry that largely relies on the mass co-ordination of multiple, highly skilled and complex processes coming together seamlessly, often in a landscape of high uncertainty and unpredictability –we’ve all watched those episodes of Grand Designs where Kevin McCloud’s eyebrows nearly extend past the top of his forehead when a couple has an unrealistically fast deadline for their grand project!

However, the same report stated 87% of workers had experienced anxiety and 70% had experienced depression over the past year. Furthermore, 26% of over 2000 people surveyed disclosed suicidal thoughts, yet only 56% said their workplace had a policy for ‘mental health’. In addition to that, suicide rates are said to be more than three times higher in construction workers than the national average, with the latest CIOB report ‘Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment 2025’, referencing Office of National Statistics (ONS) data of 355 deaths in construction workers by suicide in 2024 alone. That’s when my eyebrows were raised, and it got me wondering, how are construction companies approaching this, and what can be done to tackle these issues? Mark was more than happy to walk me through some of Sewell’s initiatives that are having an extremely positive effect on mental wellbeing at Sewell Construction.

Firstly, Mark’s view on mental health was refreshingly accepting, noting that we all have a mind and we all have mental health that will inevitably fluctuate due to life events and stress levels. He put this down to life and professional experience, but it was a helpful, general premise that everyone will undoubtedly struggle and thrive at varying times. There was no sense of divide or judgement, but an openness to the topic as a whole and a willingness to prioritise mental health and wellbeing in construction. Mark then went on to share that given the extreme risk involved in many of the day-to-day operations on a construction site, having a team that genuinely wants to look out for one another is key. He rightly said that no-one goes to work expecting not to come home, which is why a safety culture that is woven into the fabric of everything and everyone in the organisation really matters. Mark further described this by saying that, we [at Sewell] then choose to do the right thing and choose to look out for each other, extending past the day-to-day work or task in hand, but also into the relationships that are formed in teams and generally with each other.

A systematic review of the literature conducted in Australia in 2022, to support with mental health decision-making in construction and best practice guidelines identified a 3-level strategy focusing on – the individual level, the work-group level and the organisational level (Tanvi Newaz, Giggins & Ranasinghe, 2022). Interestingly, this is absolutely in line with what I found brought to life at Sewell.

Individual level

This focuses on individual beliefs, attitudes, lifestyle and distinct responses to unique life circumstances. Mark informed me that Sewell Construction have a network of Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA), consisting of over 20% of the team and made up of people willingly volunteering for the role. Additionally, as their construction workforce is predominantly male, they have historically invited well known charity ‘Andy’s Man Club’ to the company who focus on peer-peer support for men. Mark highlighted that hearing other’s stories of personal struggle, vulnerability and recovery helped resonate at that individual level and encouraged more personal openness, acceptance, and steps towards normalising male mental health in conversations.

We also explored the formal professional / technical support that the MHFAiders needed to be able to be effective in their roles, rolling them up into a unique team of their own and supporting them at a work-group level.

Work-group level

The work-group level focuses on things like team design, team bonding, communication, having a manageable workload, recognition and appreciation. In terms of focusing on the effectiveness of a team of MHFAiders, Mark has initiated professional clinical supervision at this work-group level acknowledging the requirement for both peer-peer support but also the limits of that, and the need for qualified, trained professional oversight.

Mark shared that at the work-group level, lots of additional dynamics come into play on site, such as external contractors being mixed into the team at various stages of the project. This means that whilst you do everything you can to influence your team’s culture i.e. behavioural safety, doing the right thing etc, it is constantly challenged by the potential dilution of contractor’s beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. Mark said Sewell Construction overcomes this by empowering their people at all levels to take ownership of their sites, welcoming
contractors into their set of values, practices and culture whilst on site.

I reflected that you must need to really reinforce these values, the culture and practices, to ensure that occurs. This leads on to what can be done at an organisational level, to support with the overall aim – having people that fundamentally care about each other.

Organisational level

This level focuses on culture, career development, reducing stigma around mental health etc. Mark shared that from the organisational level, firstly you hire people who share your company values. As a company, Sewell care, so they have and want people in their teams who also care because they are more likely to check in with each other and notice if someone isn’t quite themselves. You can do this by ensuring your job adverts, and interview process tease out qualities you’re aiming for and that your policies and procedures are also in line with your company values – consult an HR professional for further advice.

Mark added that Sewell heavily invest in their managers and leaders with training and education, with himself being promoted internally over a number of years, resulting in his position as Joint MD. Research and clinical practice maintain that the line manager has an essential function related to workplace mental health and wellbeing. Therefore, the way that managers view mental health and wellbeing plays a huge role in influencing the team, particularly when it comes to ‘help offering’ and ‘help seeking’ behaviours.

Summary and Recommendations

When thinking about your organisation’s mental health and wellbeing strategy, it can be helpful to break it down into interventions for a three-layered approach. It pays to invest in your people, particularly management training, ensuring they confidently lead with the kind of open culture you want role-modelling, when it comes to talking about mental health issues at work. To open up and talk about your mental health takes courage and vulnerability, it needs to be met with compassion, empathy and a willingness to listen and collaborate.

About Dr Katie Jackson

Dr Katie Jackson is a clinical psychologist and founder of The Wellbeing Collaboration (TWC). A HCPC-registered clinicial ‘practitioner psychologist’, with over a decade of training and post-qualified experience, Katie developed her skills initially working for the NHS, with skills in trauma therapy, group interventions, clinical supervision and service development.

Katie founded her company TWC to support businesses to ensure they have clinically based, proactive tools to support employee mental health and wellbeing. Find out more at: www.thewellbeingcollaboration.com