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Mental health charity, Mind, have today (1st April) announced the launch of a new online toolkit, to allow all types of employers and employees access to advice on how to start the conversation surrounding mental health.

In a partnership with a range of construction organisations, the toolkit is said to include mental health first aid training and five steps to building a positive and supportive culture in construction.

Mind is also said to have invited colleagues from Building Mental Health to put together the resource, as well as receiving support from The Royal Foundation, Heads Together and eleven other organisations.

A recent study into workplace wellbeing by Mind revealed that poor mental health at work is widespread, with half (48%) of all people surveyed saying they have experienced a mental health problem in their current job.

The survey of more than 44,000 employees also revealed that only half of those who had experienced poor mental health had talked to their employer about it, suggesting that as many as one in four UK workers is struggling in silence.

Emily Garnett, 30 from London, works at Morgan Sindall – a leading UK construction and infrastructure company.

Emily, who has generalised anxiety and was diagnosed with depression in 2017, said: “It’s great to see a toolkit specifically designed for the construction industry.

“Over the past few years I have seen the positive changes within the industry towards health and wellbeing, although I believe there is still a long way to go, particularly in the construction industry where suicide rates are the highest of any sector.”

“We will all experience mental illness directly or indirectly at some point in our lives, so the more we seek help and talk about it the better.”

Faye McGuinness, Head of Workplace Wellbeing Programmes at Mind, said: “We are pleased to launch this sector specific toolkit to the construction industry, in partnership with Building Mental Health.

“It brings together resources from a range of expert organisations, many of which are free.

She added: “We know that suicide rates are a much larger cause of death than falls from a height in the construction industry.

“We hope this toolkit encourages people to open up the conversation on mental health in construction and to utilise the resources to help them get started.”