First established in 1990, Mental Health Awareness Week has become a well respected and much needed calendar event. At Connaught we are fully behind this initiative as while the construction industry is rewarding, it can still be very challenging. Anxiety, stress, depression, and suicidal thoughts are all too common in the industry and it is time for change. As a society, we need to start seeing mental health within the workforce and our colleagues as a priority. We often can focus too much on our physical well-being and so begin to neglect our mental health well being. The construction industry is a male-dominated arena and men’s mental health is still a relatively unspoken topic, this has been going on for far too long.
According to a report created by the Chartered Institute of Building, they said that ‘males in the construction industry are three times more likely to commit suicide than any other sector’ it is with these types of statistics that encourage Ecofill to support such a movement.
This years theme of Mental Health Awareness Week is “Nature” and research has shown that ‘45% of us reported being in green spaces had been vital for our mental health.’ To this end, our industry can be rather fortunate allowing us to work in the open air allowing our workers to reap the benefits. We still however acknowledge there is a need for change, initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Week creates a platform to highlight key issues and raise awareness. This is why Connaught decided to produce a short video of support. Pat Concannon, director of Connaught Construction Ltd had this to say about the video “It was created with hope. We would like all our employees and colleagues to know that there is help available. We are a team and are there to help one another in any way possible. If our video helps one person today, then we have succeeded”.
Mental Health Awareness Week aims to inspire people to connect with their mental health, which is why creating content in support is so important. The video entitled ‘It’s time to change. It’s time to talk.’ can be viewed here or on any of our social media platforms.
Resources:
Do not be afraid to reach out you can find help and resources at The Construction Industry Helpline on 0345 6051956 or via the app found on Google Play and the App Store. As well as the Samaritans helpline on +44 116 123.
