Use #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek as a reminder to focus a bit more on the wellbeing of your staff.
Building a supportive culture around mental health should be of top priority across all sectors. Studies have shown that people that work within the built environment are even more likely to struggle with ill mental health.
In fact, an astonishing 91% of workers said they often felt overwhelmed at work in a recent study, while 48% of absences were due to chronic stress. Making sure your team feels comfortable reaching out for help is therefore more important than ever. To find out how you can offer support as a manager in the built environment, carry on reading.
Provide training
Acknowledging that there is a mental health crisis in construction is the first step to building a more positive environment in your workplace. The next step is doing something about it! Providing all staff, from employees to supervisors, with mental health courses will promote an open-culture around mental health and equip staff with the skills they need to recognise when someone may be struggling and how to help. Training on how to manage your own stress at work is also a must.
Have a support structure in place
It’s all well and good promoting mental well being at work, but what use is it if there are no tangible solutions in place? According to research by McKensie, only 39% of businesses have a designated member of staff in charge of managing the organisation’s mental health portfolio. Make sure your employees know who to talk to and let them know what further support is available before they even have to ask - whether that’s in the form of benefits, support programmes or offering adjustments at work.
Create a culture of acceptance
Help reduce the stigma around mental health in the built environment by talking openly about the importance of wellbeing so people feel comfortable asking for help. Using positive, non-marginalising language can also help colleagues feel safer in their work environment and may even encourage them to speak out about any issues or conditions they may be dealing with behind the scenes.
Instilling parity in your workplace by increasing access to mental health resources and eradicating stigma can help create a more positive environment where your employees feel safe opening up about mental illness and seeking the support they are entitled to. Here at Pillar Partnerships, we want to help improve the mental health of workers across the built environment sector - we hope you found this article of use in doing so.
For further guidance or enquiries, do not hesitate to reach out to our team via email at info@wearepillar.com.
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