Does the UK construction industry actually want to support its people?

Why 'speak up' is replacing 'man up' and what employers must do next

Construction builds the world we live in but the industry’s culture and working conditions have historically left men in construction disproportionately vulnerable to poor mental health. Over the last decade the sector has seen a surge of campaigns, charities and corporate programmes championing a “speak up” culture. The question now is not whether the industry is talking about wellbeing, but how seriously companies are embedding employee wellbeing into the way they operate, measure performance and report on sustainability.

The scale of the problem, the data that should make leaders act

• Occupational suicide and mental-health harms in construction are stark. In 2021 there were 507 suicides recorded among people working in construction, a rate that recent analyses describe as roughly three to four times the national average for other sectors. Lighthouse Charity+1
• Independent research and charity surveys repeatedly find high prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress in the workforce; targeted reviews show elevated rates of PTSD, depression and anxiety among construction workers compared with the general population. PMC+1
• Work-related stress, depression and anxiety continue to be a major cause of workplace illness across Great Britain: the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports hundreds of thousands of workers suffering these conditions each year. Tackling mental health in a high-pressure, male-dominated sector must therefore be a major occupational-health priority. HSE

These numbers explain why charities (Mates in Mind, The Lighthouse, others), trade bodies and major contractors now invest in mental-health training, buddy schemes, and awareness campaigns but numbers alone don’t prove the industry has solved the problem.

Are the headlines matched by lasting change?

There is real progress: industry-led initiatives, funded training, and an increase in Mental Health First Aid and wellbeing programmes show a willingness to act. For example, recent charity impact reports show large increases in accredited training uptake and uptake of e-learning modules focused on stress, resilience and suicide prevention. Lighthouse Charity+1

However, persistent high suicide rates and continued survey reports of workers feeling uncomfortable discussing mental health indicate a gap between surface-level activity and systemic change. Common barriers include:

• A workforce that is largely male and often socialised to avoid showing vulnerability.
• Job insecurity, subcontracting, and 'piece-rate' pressures that intensify stress and reduce access to consistent support.
• Site culture, where informal banter can sometimes mask bullying or discourage help-seeking. CITB+1

Why aligning wellbeing with ESG and the UN Goals is business-critical

Wellbeing is not just HR, it sits squarely in the “S” (social) of ESG and maps directly to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as Goal 3 — Good Health & Wellbeing and Goal 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth. Demonstrable action on employee wellbeing reduces absence, protects productivity and protects reputation, all material to investors, clients and tenders that increasingly require robust sustainability reporting. United Nations+1

In the UK, sustainability-reporting regulation is evolving rapidly: the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and related consultations are pushing companies to disclose social impacts, which will increasingly make worker wellbeing and mental-health metrics part of mainstream corporate disclosure. Firms that treat wellbeing as a compliance, governance and performance issue are likely to gain competitive advantage. GOV.UK+1

What “support” should actually look like (practical, measurable steps)

If an employer truly wants to support employees, actions should move beyond posters and one-off workshops to systemic change. Practical steps include:

1. Leadership & KPIs
   Senior leaders must visibly prioritise wellbeing and include workforce mental-health metrics in board reporting and contractor KPIs. (e.g., training completion, absence rates, employee survey scores).
2. Contractor & Supply-chain Responsibility
   Make wellbeing clauses part of contracts and tender evaluations so subcontractors are incentivised to provide consistent support.
3. Training + Psychological First Aid
   Roll out accredited mental-health first-aider training and supervisor coaching so colleagues can spot and respond to signs of distress. Charities have resources and sector-specific programmes to scale this. Mates in Mind+1
4. Practical protections
   Address job insecurity (clearer contracts, fair payment practices), reduce excessive overtime, and provide route-to-care (EAPs, fast referral to NHS/occupational health).
5. Measure what matters
   Publish wellbeing metrics in sustainability/ESG reports (connect them to SDG targets where possible) and involve workers in designing interventions.

A note on culture, “speak up” is a system, not a slogan

Banter and resilience are valuable, but they shouldn’t be the default substitute for safe systems and accessible mental-health care. “Speak up” must be backed by policies that protect people who raise concerns, confidential support pathways and visible, repeated leadership commitment.

Conclusion! Yes, but only if companies mean it

There’s genuine momentum in the UK construction industry: more training, more charity activity and higher visibility of mental-health issues. But the data show the problem is far from solved. Real support means embedding wellbeing into contracts, KPIs and corporate reporting; aligning programmes with UN SDGs and the UK’s emerging sustainability reporting standards; and treating mental health as a strategic, material risk not just a PR campaign. When companies do that, “speak up” will have the structures and protections needed to replace “man up” for good.