Stress Management in Construction

April marks Stress Awareness Month, recognised each year as a way of helping people cope with and manage their stress. This year’s theme from the Stress Management Society is Little by Little, highlighting how small changes can make a big impact in our lives. It’s a good way to take stock of how stress management in construction can help the mental health of everyone in our industry.

Steps to Managing Stress

Stress can pop up anywhere. Whether it’s at work, home, or even while you’re out and about, stress has a way of regularly making its way into our lives, whether we like it or not. But it’s how we deal with that stress that has an impact on our overall health.

The Stress Management Society has shared that taking small steps to help manage stress can, “yield significant improvements in mental health over time.” They included things like connecting with others, prioritising sleep, exercising, and spending time in nature.

They’ve compared their theme for the year of Little by Little to building a house. While laying down each brick or installing each item may not seem like a big deal at the time, it all adds up and serves as “the foundation of your mental wellbeing. Each brick represents a conscious choice to prioritise and build your mental health and resilience.”

Tips From Our Team

Many of our team members have become i-act for Positive Mental Health & Wellbeing Managers, as well as one member who has become a Mental Health First Aider through St John Ambulance. They’ve shared some top tips for you to try when stress takes over.

“We all experience stress differently in different situations. Try to focus on making manageable adjustments to your daily routine, doing things like going for a walk at lunchtime to breathe in the fresh air, set limitations on your screentime, and most importantly speak to people. A sense of community can have a great boost on your mental health. While the impact of small actions on their own may seem little, the cumulative effects of these habits can end up being profound!” – Megan Parr, Sentinel Coordinator

“My top tips for reducing stress would include…

• Going for a walk.
• Journaling.
• Reaching out and speaking to people in your workplace to make sure you get the support you need.
• Taking breaks when you need them.
• Talking positively and kindly to yourself.
• Eating foods with nutrients.
• Getting enough sleep.” – Kate Brownley, Major Projects Senior Account Manager

“Making a little bit of time for yourself each day to do something that you enjoy can help to reduce stress and boost your mental health. That could be anything like reading, listening to music, watching your favourite show, or going for a walk.” – Sarah Ainsworth, Operations Manager

“When it comes to stress, being able to identify the causes is a big part of staying on top of and managing those stress levels. If you can identify the cause you can work around the problem to find a long-term solution rather than short term fixes or stop gap measures.

Stress can come from many different aspects of life, either work related, personal, or financial. I have two pieces of advice I would give to anyone suffering with stress management:

• Find someone you can trust to talk to about the things / issues causing stress. Having someone you can speak to about stressful matters or overall stress management is a huge benefit as you don’t feel like you are on your own. It also opens you up to ideas or ways to solve issues you may not have thought of on your own.
• Take breaks from the situation causing you stress. Ensuring that you take breaks from stressful situations gives you clarity to approach any problems with a fresh mindset, making sure you are not trying to think your way out of over thinking.” – Thomas Spike, Construction and Engineering Account Manager

“In order to help someone that might be struggling with stress, I would suggest…

• Take the person to a safe quiet space or time out room if available.
• Let them talk and really be present and listen.
• Sign post to relevant helplines if applicable.

Personally, I find if I have had a stressful day at work I will go for a longer than usual walk with the dogs as soon as I am finished. This helps me to switch off from the day and reset so that tomorrow is a new fresh day with a fresh head space.” – Yasmin Lobb, Industrial Services Senior Account Manager

When Stress Becomes Too Much

Every job brings with it a different kind of stress. But sadly, we’ve found that in the construction industry, that stress can lead to big mental health issues, with our industry seeing the highest rates by occupation for suicide.

The theme and idea of Little by Little may not be for everyone. You may be at a point where you need a lot of support, and that’s ok. We’ve compiled a list of places that can help you get the help you need to turn things around. Recently we have also rolled out our own Mental Health Support scheme, giving our team members the right tools to help you when you’re in need of a confidential discussion or want further information on how to get help. If you’d like to schedule a call with one of our team members, you can do so by emailing us at talk@psi-gsr.com.

NHS Crisis Team: The team is available all year to offer advice, support, and an assessment if required.
0808 196 9127

Mind: Their information line is available from 9am-6pm, Monday to Friday.
0300 123 3393

Legal Line: Legal information and general advice on mental health-related laws, available Monday to Friday from 9am-6pm.
0300 466 6463

Samaritans: Whatever you’re going through, the team is there to help any time for free.
116123

Gambling Anonymous: Multiple lines are available to call across the UK.
National: 0330 094 0322
North-East: 07771 427 429
North-West: 07974 668 999
Ulster: (028) 7135 1329

Citizens Advice: An adviser can be contacted through their national phone service.
Adviceline (England): 0800 144 8848
Advicelink (Wales): 0800 702 2020

Relay UK: If you can’t hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say to the team on 18001 then 0800 144 8884.