Construction industry facing mental health crisis as 7,000 workers lost to suicide

More than 7,000 construction workers in the UK have lost their lives to suicide in the last decade, according to new figures.

According to On the Tools – an online tradespeople community group – the equivalent of 150,000 homes, 80 schools, and three hospitals will never be built due to deaths.

Research shows construction workers are four times more likely to die by suicide than the national average.

Absences last year relating to mental health are said to have cost the industry around £2.74bn – with around 150,000 people in Scotland working in the sector.

On the Tools’s the Lost City campaign aims to tackle the issues and create funding for therapy as nearly three quarters face mental health challenges.

Sarah Buchanan systems engineering manager at University of Strathclyde STV News

Sarah Buchanan, systems engineering manager at the University of Strathclyde, said the figures are “not surprising”.

She said: “Construction, like a lot of industries, can be really stressful. The nature of the work is you’re often away from your family. It can be very short term contracts and always moving on to new sites, meeting new people.

“The environment is always changing. Sometimes it can be quite dangerous working conditions.”

She added: “I’m glad to say there’s a lot of positives already happening within the construction industry.

“There’s mental health first aid training, which a lot of companies are ensuring that a large percentage of the staff go through.

“We have suicide prevention training happening on site. Within toolbox talks, mental health is discussed as a as a topic regularly.

“You know, construction is a typically male dominated industry with a lot of workers.

“The culture on site is maybe you don’t talk as much about how you’re feeling. We’re seeing trends where that is changing and shifting.”

Reece Reid, a painter and decorator, told STV News: “Building sites can often have a tough guy mentality.

“Not a lot of people might want to open up and speak about how they feel. It can be tough.”

When asked about the figures, he added: “Yes, I’m surprised, as anyone would be by, those numbers but at the same time I’m not because I know how tough it can be and there’s not enough help in the industry.”

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