MENTAL


WELLBEING IN CONSTRUCTION & ENGINEERING WORKPLACES


The construction and engineering industry gathered to tackle mental health at work during October’s MAD World Construction Summit. The conversation reinforced the need for bottom-up as well as top-down approaches, writes Ledetta Asfa-Wossen.


T


hree out of five UK employees experience mental health issues because of work,


according to workforce mental health charity, Mates in Mind. Yet, 68% of managers believe there are barriers to providing mental wellbeing support for those they manage. During a series of panels,


speakers from across industry shared their success stories as well as lessons learnt. Steve Hails, director of business services and health, safety and wellbeing at Tideway London, began by discussing the role of strong leadership and buy in from the top when it comes to prioritising mental wellbeing in the workplace.


He noted that mental wellbeing


must be upheld as an organisational value and priority in order for it to trickle down in any meaningful way; reiterating that a happy workforce makes a productive and efficient organisation with a healthy bottom line. When it comes to building


wellbeing initiatives that work, Steve Hails warned of the need to ensure the right ideas go forward and not be tempted to simply take a top-down approach. “Reach into your workforce


and actively listen to their ideas, experiences and expertise. When you do, you’ll find some real nuggets there and discover the solutions that will really make a difference to your workforce.”


IN IT TOGETHER He also urged companies to connect with different identities and shared the impact of the Tideway Mental Health Working Group (Tideway Tribes). This is an initiative that creates safe spaces for employees to share their experiences, find common ground and work through their challenges together. Tideway Tribes was established


to support different groups, many with their own unique challenges, and was particularly necessary during the height of the pandemic. It helped those struggling with working from home, single parents, those acting as carers or living alone. “We wanted things to be different with Tideway Tribes. We invested in


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GLOBAL LEADERSHIP WELLBEING


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