Mental health

Can buildings improve mental health?  

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Darren Brooks is head of technical and design at offsite manufacturer Premier Modular The national picture of mental health remains concerning, with one in six people in England experiencing a common mental health problem in any given week. Increasingly, the impact of the built environment on mental health is becoming…

Achieving excellence in health and safety

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Lisa Kerford is managing director of Aptus Our industry is an inherently dangerous one, which means adhering to the highest possible health and safety standards is of paramount importance. Every day, organisations across our sector are dealing with sites, schemes and projects that require rigorous protocols to ensure tasks are…

If you care about profit, take wellbeing seriously

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Richard Stockley is the managing director of health and safety consultancy RRC International The Factories Act of 1833 kickstarted a culture of health and safety in the UK, and this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Health and Safety at Work Act. But construction workers aren’t just risking their…

Shake-up at the top of construction charities

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The leadership of three of construction’s biggest charities is changing as two industry stalwarts announce their retirement. Lighthouse chief executive Bill Hill will retire at the end of this week, after more than a decade at the helm of the wellbeing support charity. CRASH boss Francesca Roberts, in charge since…

Council introduces mental health scoring in procurement

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A council has announced it will consider the mental health policies of construction companies during procurement, in a bid to tackle the industry’s high suicide rate. Halton Borough Council, near Liverpool, will now require main contractors to outline in their bids for jobs how they will look after the mental…

Should construction contracts include mental health support?

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The industry’s high suicide rate is prompting calls for mental health to be written into construction deals While working as a quantity surveyor, Marc Preston once witnessed a fire that caused millions of pounds of damage. Yet it was not the sight of the dramatic blaze that stuck with him…

Construction workers can sue for stress

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Simon Harris is senior director of operations for recruitment firm Randstad’s construction and property team in the UK Construction employees who suffer work-related stress may sue their employers for disability discrimination – even if they have not been diagnosed with a mental illness by a doctor. That’s what a recent…

Survey uncovers impact of retentions and late payments

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More than four in five specialists say that late payments from main contractors have impacted their mental health, according to Construction News’ payment survey. The figure is revealed today in the the results of a major survey by CN of construction subcontractors’ experiences of retentions and payment practices. The survey,…

Half of builders have struggled with mental health

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More than 50 per cent of construction workers say they have struggled with their mental health, according to software provider Causeway Technologies. The survey was carried out by Causeway’s mental health ambassador, former England footballer Trevor Steven. Steven spoke to more than 1,400 workers over 18 months at construction sites…

Managing mental health risk in the industry with AI

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Sarah Baldry is vice-president of people and marketing at artificial intelligence-based healthcare service Wysa The construction sector has some of the worst rates of mental health among business sectors in the UK, with men in the industry three times more likely to die from suicide than the average male. Yet,…