CHAS calls on construction firms to take mental health pledge 

CHAS is joining Causeway Technologies to ask construction businesses to pledge greater support for mental health. 

The organisation has also committed to developing new tools for assessing mental health provisions within construction supply chains and will work to establish these as a standard element of the prequalification process. 

This follows the publication of a Causeway survey of 1,439 construction site workers that reveals over half (56%) of workers are presently facing or have encountered mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, 12% of the respondents acknowledged they had experienced or were currently dealing with suicidal thoughts.

Ian McKinnon, CHAS managing director, said: "Causeway’s research makes for sober reading, which is why we are urging our CHAS contractors to sign the pledge to provide mental health support for their workforce and calling on construction companies of all sizes to join them."   

In addition to encouraging the industry to take the pledge, CHAS is supporting Causeway in leading a political lobbying campaign calling for mental health provision to be part of the health and safety, and social value procurement conditions for future construction contracts.

To advance this objective, CHAS will introduce a mental health accreditation standard in 2024.

The new CHAS standard will assess a company’s stance on mental health and wellbeing while shedding light on its supply chain’s approach to mental health issues. 

CHAS will also advocate for the prioritisation of mental health accreditation in procurement processes, aiming to catalyse positive changes throughout the industry.

McKinnon explained: "At CHAS, we have a long history of setting compliance benchmarks and raising health and safety standards and we are committed to using our influence to improve the construction sector’s performance around mental health. 

"Our accreditation will give companies a chance to say, ‘here’s what we’re doing in our business to support good mental health, and this is what we expect of our supply chains’ and will provide them with the tools and techniques to accomplish this." 

For more details on the mental health pledge, click here.

Mental health support and advice for CIOB members, past members and related family is available through CIOB Assist. CIOB, in partnership with Anxiety UK, also provides wellbeing support.

For additional support or advice, contact the Samaritans by calling 116 123. Alternatively, you can also access support via the industry charity Lighthouse Club. You can call the support line on 0345 605 1956 or text HARDHAT to 85258.