Steve Willis is a manager at SunDemolition<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Mental health is one of the biggest hidden challenges in construction and demolition, especially for men. Blokes often leave home at 5am, spend all day knee-deep in high-pressure work, then come back through the door at 7pm or 8pm. They’re expected to be strong, dependable, and provide for their families. Then, when they start to crack, they get told to \u201cman up\u201d. And far too many of them are taking their own lives.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne of the biggest barriers is blokes thinking they have to choose between their health and a day\u2019s wages\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the past decade, more than 7,000 construction workers have died by suicide. That\u2019s around 700 per year \u2013 one of the worst rates of any industry in the UK. <\/span>To put that into perspective, 51 workers died in onsite accidents last year, meaning the mental health crisis in construction is claiming more than 13 times as many lives.<\/span><\/p>\n And yet we still talk like it\u2019s just something to grin and bear. We need to stop pretending we\u2019re fine.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou need to man up, mate!\u201d It’s meant to be tough love, but it can be incredibly damaging. It tells men that if they\u2019re struggling, they\u2019re weak; that they should just shut up, push through and deal with it like a \u201creal\u201d man.<\/span><\/p>\n I spent 10 years in a bad place, emotionally and mentally. It broke me down. I thought it was all my fault. I thought I was the problem. When I tried to talk about it, what did I get?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s have a few pints, you\u2019ll feel better!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n And for a while, you might. But then you wake up the next day with the same problems, and now your work life\u2019s even worse because you\u2019ve been out all night.<\/span><\/p>\n Talking about how I felt didn\u2019t make me weak. It made me human. And I genuinely believe it saved my life.<\/span><\/p>\n At our company, I want our team, whether they\u2019re full-time, agency or subcontractors, to know that their mental health matters. If someone\u2019s struggling, we\u2019ll support them. We\u2019ll give them the time to get help, without docking their pay or making them use holiday allowance. That\u2019s one of the biggest barriers for blokes: they think they have to choose between their health and a day\u2019s wages, so we take that pressure off.<\/span><\/p>\n We do regular toolbox talks on mental health and everyone on site is invited. We open the floor and most of the time it sparks really honest conversations. You\u2019d be surprised what comes out when someone feels safe to speak.<\/span><\/p>\n Construction and demolition can sometimes breed a macho culture. That can be a good thing in some ways: strong teams, hard workers. But when it stops us from looking after each other, it\u2019s toxic. We\u2019ve got all the right PPE for dust and noise. But what about the dangers we can\u2019t see?<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s time we recognised that resilience isn\u2019t about bottling things up. If you\u2019re struggling, talk to someone. If you\u2019re a manager, make space for those conversations. And if you\u2019re in a position to change how your company handles mental health, do it. No one should have to suffer in silence \u2013 not in this industry, not in any.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Steve Willis is a manager at SunDemolition Mental health is one of the biggest hidden challenges in construction and demolition, especially for men. Blokes often leave home at 5am, spend all day knee-deep in high-pressure work, then come back through the door at 7pm or 8pm. They’re expected to be strong, dependable, and provide for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":526564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[577,567],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-526632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mind-matters","category-opinion"],"yoast_head":"\nOpening up isn\u2019t a sign of weakness<\/span><\/h3>\n