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Mental Health Awareness Week – 15-21 May
Andrew Mann, founder of Clarity Homes and Commercial, is calling on the construction industry to address the problem of poor mental health, particularly anxiety, within the sector as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Mental Health Awareness week runs from 15-21 May (the week before FIT Show). This year the central theme is dealing with anxiety. Mann is keen to raise awareness of high levels of poor mental health, which sees more than 700 suicides a year.
“Having suffered with anxiety myself, I am fully aware of the effect it can have on people and have seen first-hand how some of the dated attitudes within construction can make it a challenging.”
– Andrew Mann
Founder, Clarity Homes and Commercial
West Kent Mind team
“Mental health is hard topic to talk about and difficult for people to find the support they need,” continues Mann. “I sought help from the brilliant West Kent Mind team, with whom I am partnering to shine a spotlight on the staggeringly poor mental health within construction. Their support has helped me develop the tools and strategies to acknowledge and manage the symptoms. Since addressing the issues I was facing, I have enjoyed great personal and professional growth.”
Happily productive
“I’m now keen to encourage other leaders within the construction industry to start positive dialogue about the sector’s culture and how this can be changed to create better outcomes for individuals and businesses – after all, happy teams are productive teams,” Mann adds.
He has led the way by implementing an open and healthy work environment, offering the Clarity team access to West Kent Mind’s mental health awareness training and organising fundraising events.
Charity partnership
To create change further afield, Mann wants to push this important conversation across the whole industry and is partnering with West Kent Mind to help spread the message. Ceri Hodgkiss, training and development manager at West Kent Mind says: “We help local people from all walks of life who are living with poor mental health, supporting them to get well, stay well and thrive. Working with Andrew is a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on the construction industry in particular – especially given the relatively high risk of poor mental health within this sector. We are grateful to have his support and experience to help us to create mentally healthy workplaces within the construction industry.”
An industry issue which needs attention
Mann is urging other industry leaders to recognise that the culture of the industry as a whole, the dynamic between construction workers on sites and the time pressured environments in which they work is not always conducive to a healthy state of mind, so these are elements which the construction industry must address.
Financial cost
National Building Specification has found that stress, anxiety and depression accounts for one-fifth of work-related illnesses, resulting in over 70 million days off sick per year at an estimated annual cost of £70bn-£100bn.
Picture: The Mental Health Foundation green ribbon is the international symbol of mental health awareness. Order yours to raise awareness and support good mental health for all.
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 15-21 May 2023.
www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
20th April 2023