Mental illness in construction
- Duncan Cartlidge
- May 15
- 2 min read
Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics show 355 skilled construction and building trades workers in the UK died by suicide in 2024, the equivalent of a staggering one death every day of the year. One of the largest mental illness statistics compared to other sectors.
In the early days of my career, the construction industry's traditional response to anxiety and stress was to simply tell people to 'man up'. It has long been acknowledged that construction is a high-stress sector due to various factors, including a macho culture, significant levels of self-employment where individuals and small businesses juggle completing current projects with securing new ones, handling administrative tasks, dealing with HMRC, VAT, etc., getting paid, and resolving disputes. Additionally, there's time spent away from family; we've all experienced those familiar three-star hotels where the car park is filled with white vans that depart in the morning before everyone else.
In 2020, the CIOB released a report on mental health in construction called Understanding Mental Health in the Built Environment. This has been succeeded by a new report published on 12th May 2025. The latest report aimed to assess the progress made since 2020 and examine the extent of poor mental health in the industry, as well as the measures being taken by organisations, from SMEs to large contractors, to support their employees in managing their mental health.
The new report is sobering. It still shows an industry with high levels of stress and anxiety as the economic pressures increase. If there is one glimmer of hope, it is that mental health problems are now recognised by some construction related organisations and wellbeing programmes are being introduced but, we've a long way to go to reduce the number of people in construction taking their own lives.
Duncan Cartlidge FRICS
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