Mental Health Awareness Week 15th - 21st May 2023

Every working day, two construction workers take their own life. It is important to educate everyone in our industry to recognise the signs and symptoms of our colleagues that are suffering from stress, anxiety or depression and start the conversation to assist in their recovery.

At Kingerlee we feel that having Mental Health First Aiders available to all is important for well-being and reassures our team that someone is always available to speak to for support.

We interviewed our Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) to get their opinion on what mental health awareness means to them and the impact of having MHFA within the business.

From Left to right - Debbie Taylor - Head of People, Nick Millin - Senior Quantity Surveyor, Vicky Penn - Reception & Marketing Assistant, Keith Shackleton - Health, Safety & Environment Manager, Scott Lambourne - Bench Joiner and Connor Stowe - Special Projects Manager.

Vicky Penn, Reception & Marketing Assistant:

1. Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important?
   "It is important to recognise mental health within the workplace as we spend a lot of time at work and it is important to always feel comfortable and happy within your environment. Mental health is just as important as physical health and therefore should be treated equally."

2. Why were you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider?
   "I am quite passionate about mental health and as a sufferer of anxiety myself, I wanted to be able to be there for others to relate to. I find that speaking to someone who has been through the same as you can be easier and I find that I can open up more to someone who understands on a personal level."

3. How do you hope the attitudes and behaviours around mental health will evolve in the future?
   "I think that we are already seeing a huge change in the stigma towards mental health and I hope this continues. Mental Health awareness is so important not only to assist others in need but for yourself as an individual. Recognising the signs of poor mental health can help you indicate when to seek professional assistance to avoid a crisis."

4. Was there anything that shocked or surprised you in your Mental Health First Aider training sessions?
   "I think the thing that shocked me the most was how open everyone on the course was about their mental health. It was so refreshing to hear that you aren’t alone when it comes to mental illness."

5. How would you explain Mental Health First Aid to others?
   "Seeking first aid for mental health is the first step in the right direction. Some people see reaching out for help as a negative, but this is the bravest thing you can do. Even if you don’t need to guide someone to a professional, just being a listening ear is sometimes all someone needs."

6. What do you think the benefits are of having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace?
   "I think it makes people feel at ease. Knowing that you have someone within your place of work to reach out to when you aren’t feeling yourself, is the biggest comfort – in my option." 

Keith Shackleton, Health, Safety & Environment:

1. Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important?
   "Everyone’s mental health is important wherever they are. We all have it and it plays a major part in determining who we are and how we are. We should be just as concerned about our colleagues’ mental health as we are about their physical health and do whatever we can to help if things in their lives are causing them stress or anxiety."

2. Why were you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider?
   "As I am the company’s health and safety manager, I need to concern myself with my colleagues’ mental health issues as well as other risks to their physical health. It’s part of my job."

3. How do you hope the attitudes and behaviours around mental health will evolve in the future?
   "Gradually we seem to be starting to destigmatise mental health but, we need to do more so that people are not afraid to talk about the issues that are troubling them. Often, all that is needed is to lend a listening ear and to show that we care."

4. Was there anything that shocked or surprised you in your Mental Health First Aider training sessions?
   "There was nothing in the training that concerned me, but I was totally shocked later on when I found out that, on average, two construction workers a week are taking their own lives. Something that really spurred me on to want to do all I can to spread knowledge and guide people to possible options of support."
   
   
5. How would you explain Mental Health First Aid to others?
   "Mental health is how we feel and how we think and, together with our physical health, contributes to our overall well-being. In the same way that a first aider can help an injured person by applying a bandage to a wound and encouraging them to visit a doctor, a mental health first aider can support someone with poor mental health by showing that we care and signposting them to professional people who can provide advice and assistance, if needed."

6. What do you think the benefits are of having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace?
   "Qualified mental health first aiders in the business are a positive sign to those inside and outside the business that we care about our people. However, just in the same way that we try to prevent injuries to people at work, and so should not need to use the qualified first aider, if we all show that we care and listen to our colleagues’ concerns, we can all be mental health first aiders. No course is needed, just be a good human being."

Nick Millin, Senior Quantity Surveyor:

1. Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important?
   "The impact of poorly managed Mental Health in the workplace affects everyone within the business not just the individual affected. At a personal level, you of course don’t want to see anyone suffering, and I think it’s human nature generally to want to help because it’s the right thing to do. From a company perspective, poor Mental Health also leads to unproductivity/absence/poor morale to the individual and to those around who may not know or appreciate the issues an individual is experiencing, all of which have an emotional, time and financial impact on all involved."

2. Why were you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider?
   "With the Covid Pandemic and seeing the impact on colleagues who were furloughed and those struggling to adjust to working from home, I could see first-hand how there was a decline in their Mental Health and well-being and wanted to try and help if possible."

3. How do you hope the attitudes and behaviours around mental health will evolve in the future?
   "I think there is already a greater understanding and appreciation around it, but I would hope this continues and further proactive training and processes are put in place to avoid poor Mental health developing in the first place. Avoiding an issue from developing is always better than trying to manage it once it hits a crisis point."

4. Was there anything that shocked or surprised you in your Mental Health First Aider training sessions?
   "I found it surprising that the focus was very much on just listening and signposting rather than solving the issue yourself. Working in Construction I think we are all trained to problem solve on a daily basis, and so we generally feel like we have failed if we haven’t resolved a problem. With Mental Health there isn’t always a quick fix, and we aren’t always equipped to be able to resolve, but being able to listen well, be understanding and know where to signpost for more specific and professional help can often make all the difference."
   
   
5. How would you explain Mental Health First Aid to others?
   "The support you give to someone who is suffering from poor or deteriorating Mental Health, be it work or home life related, the impact tends to affect both."

6. What do you think the benefits are of having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace?
   "Having trained staff who can recognise the early signs of an issue and help to avoid it reaching crisis point is important from every perspective."

Debbie Taylor, Head of People:

1. Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important?
   "There shouldn’t be any stigma surrounding mental health and the more open we are in the workplace and the more we understand it, the easier it is for employees to discuss the issues they are having and the quicker, we as a business, can take the appropriate action to hopefully stop it from getting worse."

2. Why were you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider?
   "With mental health issues affecting so many people, it was important to understand the different forms of mental illness and how to signpost individuals to the organisations and resources available. I suppose I thought that the course would make me an expert – that is not what it is there for - the course really makes you understand the impact poor mental health can have on individuals and gives great insight."

3. How do you hope the attitudes and behaviours around mental health will evolve in the future?
   "Unfortunately, in construction, there is still a bit of a stiff upper lip attitude to poor mental health, and stress is really an issue. I hope that as an industry in the future, it becomes as commonplace to talk about mental health as easily as it is talking about physical health. It will take time of course!"

4. Was there anything that shocked or surprised you in your Mental Health First Aider training sessions?
   "I think the number of people who were experiencing mental health issues themselves or had been affected by the mental health of those close to them. It seemed everyone had a story to tell."
   
   
5. How would you explain Mental Health First Aid to others?
   "Basically, it is the equivalent of physical First Aid – it gives you the tools to better understand poor mental health and the confidence to offer and provide guidance and signpost  people  to the appropriate organisation."

6. What do you think the benefits are of having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace?
   "Knowing that there is someone you can talk to if you are experiencing poor mental health and perhaps, more importantly, knowing that there is someone there who will not be judgemental."

Scott Lambourne, Bench Joiner:

1. Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important?
   "I think it is important to have positive mental health in the workplace as we spend a large proportion of our time here. Positive mental health means we are more relaxed, focused and energetic, and helps to improve our physical health as well."

2. Why were you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider?
   "Being a mental health first aider appealed to me as I and people close to me have experienced the effects of mental health. Because of this, I understand how important having someone to talk to and confide in, can be."

3. How do you hope the attitudes and behaviours around mental health will evolve in the future?
   "I would like the attitudes and behaviour towards mental health to change for the positive. The more we openly discuss and create opportunities for employees to seek support, the less likely people will suffer in silence."

5. How would you explain Mental Health First Aid to others?
   "In simple terms, Mental health first aid is all about listening to others, non-judgementally, offering advice and guidance where needed, and most importantly, having someone to talk to."
6. What do you think the benefits are of having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace?
   "It can only be beneficial to have mental health first aiders at work. We all need someone to talk to when the going gets tough, so having someone close by, who has had the relevant training to help us can only be a good thing."

Connor Stowe, Special Projects Manager:

1. Why do you think mental health in the workplace is important?
   "The workplace has changed quite dramatically in recent years and with ongoing pressures like the cost of living, it is important to have people in the workplace that are able to assist anybody that is facing any challenges in life."

2. Why were you interested in becoming a Mental Health First Aider?
   "It is widely known that the construction industry is one of the most stressful industries around often with tight deadlines and strict budgets; as such I think it is really important that we all have at least a basic understanding of how to identify and assist with mental health issues to ensure we are looking after ourselves as well as our friends and colleagues. Mental health is a subject that is getting more exposure as time progresses and having people within the business that can provide advice, assistance or just a listening ear must be seen as a positive step."

3. How do you hope the attitudes and behaviours around mental health will evolve in the future?
   "The stigma around the term ‘mental health’ still seems to exist, but I think it is much less common now. Particularly in our industry, people need to understand that it’s not seen as a weakness to want to talk about whatever issues they are facing."

4. Was there anything that shocked or surprised you in your Mental Health First Aider training sessions?
   "The biggest shock to me was the statistics for our industry – we all have a rough idea of the numbers but when they are shown in black & white, it hits home."

5. How would you explain Mental Health First Aid to others?
   "A Mental Health first aider is able to provide support and guidance to anyone facing mental health challenges – even in the simplest form of just a conversation to get someone to open up rather than bottling everything on their own."

6. What do you think the benefits are of having Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace?
   "Work is often one of the biggest stresses in life, but having someone that you can turn to about work or personal issues is a positive step to promoting a happy workforce."