Joining the dots between construction, mental health and football

Trevor Steven is a mental health ambassador for Causeway and ex-Everton and England football player.

In this piece, Trevor takes DCW through a new campaign organised by Causeway in partnership with Everton in the Community, which seeks to join the dots between mental health, football and construction.

Construction sites, like football clubs, are a melting pot of different people, with different backgrounds, ages, religions and races. Both are traditionally fairly macho environments; both are still tied into working-class roots, and both offer challenges to survive and fit in.

Historically, neither environment has been a place to talk about mental health. When I started as a pro for Everton in the 1980s talking about such things would be seen as a sign of weakness.

However, that’s where the road begins to part. Football, and sport in general, has made great strides in destigmatising issues around mental health. We have started to see sporting stars and others in the public eye open up about mental health, the conversation has started, the structures put in place and people are beginning to feel more comfortable, bit by bit, to share their worries and concerns regarding mental health.

Whereas in construction, the statistics around suicide rates tell an opposing story.

• 1 in 4 construction workers contemplate suicide
• Two construction workers take their own lives every working day
• Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45. However, male site workers are three times more likely to commit suicide than the average male in the UK

But why is the state of mental health in the construction industry so poor? Answers include:

• Macho mentality
• Job security
• Isolated and transient workforce
• Late pay
• Tight deadlines
• Long hours
• Poor welfare on site – over 30% of all construction sites have no hot water, and no toiletry facilities for workers.

Something has to change; new approaches need to be adopted. It’s time to think outside of the box.

I think part of looking for new approaches is viewing other sectors and seeing what’s worked (or not worked) and the construction industry can learn the lessons that we’ve done in sport and utilise the very obvious connections and emotional relationships that exist between construction and football.

So, what steps can the construction sector take?

One of the most important has to be the creation of a culture within the workforce to ensure we are looking out for each other. In a sector where there are many transient workers, this needs to be embedded structurally with familiarity and signposting for help – not just a health & safety poster on the wall.

A lot of this must come from management. How we run our company and our sites, comes from the top but the people who suffer the most if it’s not done right are those further down – you’ve got to be ready and able to support staff.

In football, you often hear the term when a manager has ‘lost the dressing room’ – that occurs when the culture is not managed, and communication channels fail. This is the responsibility of management, making sure your workers are looked after, are listened to and communicated with through regular meetings with management, making sure that the working facilities are up to scratch, including the basics like toilet and break out rooms, that there’s no bullying or isolation of workers.

These things don’t just support mental well-being, but they also create teams that perform to the best of their ability, both in football and the workplace.

Why do we think football can reach people in ways that other initiatives can’t?

The badge.

There is a unique relationship between an individual and their team, it takes a person away from the workplace, from their troubles, it’s been described as close to religion, whether that’s true or not is a different matter, but it is a strong personal and emotional relationship, more than just a brand and one that’s often cultivated over generations.

The football badge brings trust.

And trust is key to opening conversations about mental health and showing vulnerability, which is why Causeway have partnered with Everton in the Community to start this campaign. They have a fantastic track record in tackling mental health issues, including The People’s Place – a purpose-built mental health hub providing an extensive range of support platforms and activities to improve mental health and promote suicide prevention.

Football clubs also have great local reach.

Everton in the Community is reaching people previously outside of the conversation, changing lives for the better, and we want to replicate that across the country.

This new mental health campaign initially focuses on research to better understand the causes of mental health problems as we emerge from the COVID restrictions, and the support required for site-based workers using new tools such as technology, apps and online support.

We hope to use this research to lobby the government for a change in legislation to support better mental health in the construction sector.

The construction industry does have the capacity to change, despite the tragic statistics. This campaign for change isn’t going to happen overnight with a single organisation. For years now we have seen organisations tackling mental health in the industry, yet the tragic statistics continue to rise. To make real change in our industry demands a collaborative effort – rally together as a whole in the name of change.

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Construction is an industry that struggles more than most with mental health problems.