Bedfordshire contractor Neville Joinery a part of the Neville Trust Group of companies, is calling for a wider focus on poor mental health in construction, ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week 2023.
According to the Institute of Government & Public Policy, construction workers are six times more likely to die from suicide than falling from a height at work. This awful fact shows the severity of the mental health epidemic that is taking place within the industry. To tackle this, Neville Trust has sent a significant number of team members from across the group to two-day Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA) courses run by MHFA.
As part of their ongoing commitment to our staff wellbeing and in preparation for Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, which runs from 15 to 21 May with the theme of ‘anxiety’, Neville Special Projects and the wider group now have 14 fully trained and qualified mental health first aiders equipped to support those around them with basic mental health guidance.
Construction & Health & Safety Director, Mick Carpenter shares: “Professor Charles Egbu, the President of CIOB (Chartered Institute of Building), attributes the current mental health crisis in construction to time spent away from families, lack of HR support, and long working hours. Together, all of these factors can contribute to feelings of low motivation, depression and anxiety.
“As a local construction employer, Neville Special Projects understands the significance of support for one another and encourages those who may be struggling to speak up when they need to. We have many resources in place to tackle this, including regular refresher training for our mental health first aiders, extra on-site safety precautions and partnerships with online mental health platforms.”
When asked about the precautions in place to offer support for employees, Vicky Trumper, Director of Neville Trust, said: “For example, all employees have access to TogetherAll, an online mental health community where people can anonymously share thoughts and get support from peers, and professionals. This platform is available for all team members at Neville Trust, including those at Neville Funerals and Neville Joinery. We have been a partner of TogetherAll for the last year and have committed to a further three years membership and will continue to promote the platform amongst the team.”
“Not only are we providing the support and training, but we are also working incredibly hard to build a supportive, safe, and strong workforce for all of our teams, and contribute to eliminating this epidemic, and make a difference in the industry.”
TogetherAll, is a safe online community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing.
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