October 10th was World Mental Health Day 2020. Mental health is an important issue for Gaysha, especially as there is a real issue with mental health in the Construction industry.
A new report from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) highlights mental health issues in the construction industry. It found that 26% of construction industry professionals thought about taking their own lives in 2019 – before the COVID-19 pandemic had hit the industry.
The report found that 97% recorded being stressed at least once in the last year. Job insecurity, long hours, time away from families, lack of support from HR and late payments all contributed to the ‘silent crisis’, says CIOB President Professor Charles Egbu.
“The results show the worrying prevalence of mental health difficulties, with 70% of respondents experiencing depression and 87% experiencing anxiety over the past year.
“It’s encouraging that employers are embracing opportunities to build their mental health literacy, but clearly more needs to be done.
At Gaysha we have launched our own mental health program ‘Talking through the Stigma’ to encourage employees to discuss mental health issues and seek help where necessary.
This years World Mental Health Day is the more important than ever. The months of lockdown have had a huge impact on the nations mental health.
According to research by Mind, who surveyed over 16,000 people, we know that more than half of adults (60%) and over two thirds of young people (68%) said their mental health got worse during lockdown.
If you are struggling to cope please see the link below for some advice on how to seek help: https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/world-mental-health-day-2020/
Gaysha employees can email help@gaysha.co.uk for confidential help and advice from our Mental Health First Aider.
