Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing in NZ Construction Industry.

14 Oct

It is well known that the construction industry has the highest suicide numbers for any single sector in New Zealand. It is an industry where working hours are long, there are financial stresses, tight deadlines, expectations from others can be high, it’s heavily male dominated and 99% of those that we lose to suicide in our industry are our men. An initial BRANZ scoping study suggested that a "macho" or "harden up" culture was one of the key factors behind high rates of suicide in construction. Life stresses happen in most people’s lives, however coupled with stresses created at work, means we are often more vulnerable than others. The added current circumstances of COVID-19, creating uncertainty and disruption for people is stressful and unsettling – it’s completely understandable that people are living with poor mental health.

Like physical health problems, mental health problems are very common. Nearly half the population will meet the criteria for a mental illness diagnosis at some stage during their lives, and one in five of us will experience depression in any given year. It is important to look at your mental health at the same level of importance as your physical health.

What can we do to change behaviours, to reduce stress and ultimately save people’s lives in the construction industry? The demand for work is not getting smaller and there are personal and external stresses we sometimes can’t avoid. What we can do is utilise the tools and organisations that are available, create a culture and environment where people feel comfortable to talk and encourage people to ask for help whenever they need.

MATES in Construction, an organisation dedicated to supporting mental wellbeing and safety in the industry, offer suicide prevention programmes for the construction industry workplace. The MATES programme builds and strengthens communities in the workplace and across the industry – helping our people to be supportive and provide an environment that encourages positive wellbeing. The impact of this community-based approach then goes beyond the workplace and into our every-day lives.

MATES engage with workers through on-site training and provide those identified as at risk with case management support that connects them to suitable professional support. MATES Field Officers are trained in suicide intervention skills and have experience with the Building and Construction Industry.

Darrell Trigg, GM of Trigg Construction and NZCA Northland partner, recently presented MANERS, a Psychological First Aid ‘tool kit’ to the alliance members. Darrell has used the tool kit extensively in his role as a Chief Fire Officer with Fire and Emergency New Zealand to help the crews cope with the impact of what they face on the front line of emergencies. Darrell has since adapted the ‘tool kit’ for the NZ Construction Industry. The MANERS model is a set of tools that allows you to have an informed discussion with someone and to help you look after yourself*.

It is intended as a first aid tool to begin the discussion. Briefly the letters can be summarised as follows:

M - Minimise Exposure
A - Acknowledge the event
N - Normalise Reactions
E - Educate as required
R - Review, Restore or Refer
S - Self Care

During the whole month of November MATES in Construction will be raising awareness of the importance of talking about mental health and suicide prevention across our industry. Flying the MATES Flag shows your support and raises awareness of suicide prevention in the industry. It is a display to the broader community that the construction industry is actively involved in the prevention of suicide. NZ Construction Alliance fully endorses and supports this cause, and encourages anyone to organise an event to talk about mental health and wellbeing and to share stories.