Mental mindfulness a must

PROFESSOR JOHN SMALLWOOD and DR MOHLOMI RALIILE, from the Nelson Mandela University Department of Construction Management, delve into mental health within South Africa’s construction industry.

Mental ill-health is adversely impacting the well-being and performance of the South African construction industry’s workforce. Despite the industry’s inherent demands and challenges, there is a notable lack of systematic understanding and targeted interventions to address mental health issues in the local construction sector.

This is among the most accident-prone sectors, with some of the highest rates of depression and anxiety compared to other sectors. Construction is also among the leading industries in terms of suicide prevalence among its workforce: a rate of 52.5 per 100,000 for males, in contrast to 19.4 per 100,000 for the general male population.

Despite this, the focus has primarily been on safety and physical well-being. A paradigm shift is therefore imperative for the construction industry to realise that psychological well-being issues are just as important as their physical counterparts.

Although it is unclear what causes mental ill-health among the construction workforce, it is evident that it is triggered by several stressors occurring both at work and outside the workplace environment. External factors may result from social, political, and economic issues that affect organisational homeostasis, while microfactors could result from poor organisational culture, conflicting role demands, role pressures, trauma, life changes, work overload or underload, job uncertainty, cash flow, lack of work-life balance, and personal issues.

These stressors can lead to the manifestation of stress, which may subsequently result in mental ill-health or trigger pre-existing mental health conditions. Despite the known risk factors, the pathomechanism of mental ill-health is intricate and remains imperfectly understood, as it involves a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental factors.

In South Africa, it remains unclear what percentage of construction workers are affected by mental ill-health.The national statistics estimate that one in six people suffer from depression, anxiety, or substance-use problems. It may only be inferred that this number could be higher for construction workers based on various studies – both locally and abroad.

Source: https://sheqmanagement.com/mental-mindfulness-a-must/

South African construction firms are known to be culturally diverse and heavily integrated into the global economy, which is accompanied by a burden to create a sustainable, international, and competitive advantage through human capital. To save the industry from its impending doom, it is imperative to address mental ill-health interventions. This requires a shift in culture and a collaborative effort between employers, workers, the public, and primary health practitioners.

Some of the immediate solutions could be achieved through mental health literacy and the identification ofsymptoms in the form of workplace stressors. Generally, toolbox talks, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), or wellness days aimed at the general workforce should be central to construction work. Many of theconstruction workers in South Africa are breadwinners; targeted interventions – such as well-being and financial management programmes – may benefit workers greatly.

Construction employees are also among the most vulnerable groups, and these programmes could assist in general, while individual cases may be dealt with more cautiously, as mental health is often still taboo. Mental health hotlines or professional help through counselling could help individual workers struggling with mental issues. It is easier to manage and help with a problem when it is brought into the light of day.