MENTAL HEALTH
Keeping up appearances Aidan Cropper, Director of IPSUM UK Ltd in Nottingham, says the challenges change as you grow in your career. “When you’re starting out, there’s pressure not to show weakness. You’ve just got to crack on. But then as you move into running a business, it becomes financial pressure. That can be awful.” Cropper recounts how a difficult time coincided with a deeply personal moment: “We were expecting our first child, and I was getting messages because something had gone wrong on site. The client wasn’t happy. I couldn’t focus on the moment. It all comes home with you.” Bolton calls this “vicarious trauma” – and what she describes as “the drip effect.” “You’re listening to other people’s trauma all the time,” she says. “Your emotional cup only has so much capacity. It’s often the tiniest thing that tips you over, something you’d normally shrug off.” Some people are lucky, and have support at home or from their friends, but for many others, the feeling of isolation can be profound. This is why, Bolton, says it’s so important to bring about change in the industry, helping those who feel that they can’t speak up. Seeing the signs One of the hardest parts is being able to spot when someone at work is struggling, especially when so many are skilled at hiding their emotions. Gutierrez recounts when he first realised something was off in himself. “I felt numb. The first person I opened up to was my wife. That was the biggest step. And then I found a therapist who specialised in construction. It wasn’t cheap but it was worth every penny.” The outcome of receiving mental health support has been significant, with Gutierrez bringing the soft skills he learnt in therapy to work. “We talk a lot more now on site,” he says. “Previously, I needed a disaster to happen before something successful could come of it. Now we’re more open. We talk about our bodies, our heads, how we’re feeling.” At Gutierrez’s company, a culture of connection is taking root: “We’ve got a guy called James – one of our foremen. People ring him in the morning just to talk.
We go out as a team, we check in. It feels like a family.” Cropper points out: “Sometimes you don’t realise you’re on a slippery slope into depression. You think it’s just you. Then you hear others share and you realise this is normal. That’s when you can get help.” Cropper has also implemented a culture of sharing and connection at his business. “We all meet on a Friday afternoon at the pub,” he says. “It brings together people from different sites. “But I also realise that some people might not be comfortable talking in a group so I need to focus more on one-to-ones too.” Free training and actionable help The Lighthouse Charity offers Mental Health First Aid awareness training, which Bolton encourages companies to sign up for. “You don’t need to be a counsellor. It’s not about having all the answers – it’s about human contact,” she says. “Sometimes, someone just needs you to listen.” The charity sends people with lived experience to sites across the UK to speak directly to workers. “Last year, we spoke to over 28,000 people,” Bolton says. “We did 89 active rescues – people who approached our teams and said they were planning to take their own lives. We got every one of them into counselling and into positive solutions.” While there is a lot more to be done to improve the mental health of construction workers, the success of these interventions cannot be overstated. For anyone working in construction, the following free and confidential resources are available from the Lighthouse Construction
as their families – including physical, financial, and emotional support, all accessible through a 24/7 helpline and live chat in 120 languages. Bolton adds: “If someone’s working away from home, we’ve got our Beacons network of which there are more than 400 across the UK and Ireland. If they don’t have a network, they can talk to someone completely free of charge. We also offer six free counselling sessions, with access to therapy within 24 hours.” Employers need to make it known that there is help available, Bolton says. “A lot of the big tier one companies are doing great things,” she explains. “But subcontractors often think those services aren’t for them. We hear it all the time: ‘We’re not directly employed, so that’s not for us.’ But actually, it is.”
Industry Charity: ● 24/7 Helpline ● Live chat in 120 languages ● Beacons network ● Six free counselling sessions ● Mental Health First Aid training.
Find out more This article is based on a recent episode from the FMB podcast, Build Up. Scan the QR code to see all of the episodes.
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