The Sadness Around Mental Health and Suicide in Construction

Two Conversations I Cannot Ignore

It was worse than I thought. Much worse.

I had spent years working in construction. I knew about the long days, the pressure, the uncertainty and the way people learned to hide what they were carrying. I had seen mental health mentioned on posters and squeezed into briefings, so part of me wanted to believe the industry was taking it seriously.

Then I started speaking directly with workers across different companies.

During one morning, two men told me that they each knew somebody who had died by suicide. They spoke about overwork, relentless pressure and the feeling that people on site were valued mainly for what they could produce. They believed those pressures had played a part, although no suicide can honestly be reduced to one explanation.

What stayed with me was not only their bereavement. It was what their workplaces had offered in response.

At one company, the visible mental health support was a poster containing the names and phone numbers of mental health first aiders. Some of those people no longer worked for the business. The poster was still on the wall, but the support route behind it had already disappeared.

At another, the mental health toolbox talk involved a sheet of paper being placed on a table. Workers were told to sign it. There was no conversation, no explanation and no opportunity to ask a question. On the record, the talk had happened. In the room, nothing had happened at all.

When I asked whether the men had spoken to anyone about the people they had lost or about their own struggles, one response cut straight through me:

“No mate, I don’t want to be seen as a problem. I’m replaceable and got bills to pay. Just crack on mate, nothing’s ever going to change.”

That sentence tells us more about the problem than another awareness slogan ever could.

“I’m Replaceable” Is a Workplace Warning

We often ask why construction workers do not speak up, as though silence is simply a personal choice. Many of us were brought up to keep our problems private, avoid making a fuss and carry on whatever was happening inside.

But listen carefully to what this worker said. He did not tell me that he had nothing to say. He told me he did not feel safe saying it.

He had bills to pay. He believed the company could replace him. He feared that becoming known as somebody with a problem might affect his hours, future work or reputation. In a sector built around temporary projects, subcontracting, agency work and informal networks, those fears cannot simply be dismissed as paranoia.

People notice what happens to colleagues who raise concerns. They see whether somebody is listened to or quietly moved aside. They hear the jokes made about the person who took time off. They remember whether promises of confidentiality were respected.

A business can tell people to speak up every week, but workers will judge the invitation by what happens after somebody speaks.

That is why psychological safety matters. It does not mean everybody has to share personal details in front of the team. It means people can raise a concern, admit they are struggling or ask for support without expecting humiliation or an automatic threat to their livelihood.

If the honest belief on site is “I am replaceable”, the barrier is bigger than stigma. It is trust.

What the Latest Construction Suicide Data Shows

The old version of this article referred to an estimate of 700 construction suicides a year. That figure has been repeated widely, but the latest direct data allows us to be more precise.

In April 2026, the Office for National Statistics published a dedicated analysis of suicide deaths among construction workers. Its definition includes construction managers and project professionals, skilled trades, supervisors, road and rail operatives, other construction operatives and elementary construction occupations.

The data records 512 suicide deaths among construction workers aged 20 to 64 in England and Wales in 2024 registrations. Of those, 507 were male and five were female. It was the highest annual number in the ONS series covering registrations from 2011 to 2024.

There are two important cautions. First, these are deaths registered in 2024, not necessarily deaths that occurred during that calendar year. A coroner’s investigation can mean a death is registered months or even years later. Second, the ONS makes clear that numbers alone cannot tell us the level of occupational risk because the size and age structure of the workforce also matter.

Those details do not make the number less serious. They make our reporting more honest.

Five hundred and twelve people cannot be understood through a single explanation. The data does not tell us what happened in each life, and it should never be used to claim that construction caused every death. It shows hundreds of people connected to this workforce being lost, with consequences reaching families, friends, crews and communities.

Behind each registration is a person whose life was much bigger than their job title.

Suicide Is Rarely One Simple Story

When somebody dies by suicide, those left behind naturally search for a reason. We replay conversations, changes in behaviour and the pressures we knew they were facing. We ask what we missed and whether one different decision might have changed the outcome.

The truth is usually more complicated. Suicide can involve a combination of mental distress, relationship difficulties, bereavement, trauma, financial pressure, physical pain, substance use, isolation, discrimination, job insecurity and other personal or social factors. Work may contribute significantly, particularly where there is bullying, humiliation, excessive pressure or fear about future income, but it is rarely responsible in one simple, provable way.

Saying that clearly is not a way of letting employers off the hook. It helps us move away from searching for a single cause and towards building several layers of prevention.

We need working conditions that reduce avoidable harm, people who can notice changes, confidential routes into professional support and an appropriate crisis response. We also need support for teams after a death, because grief does not end when the site reopens.

No poster, course or conversation can guarantee that a suicide will be prevented. Anyone promising that is offering false certainty. The responsibility is to improve the conditions around people and make timely support easier to reach.

A Poster Is Only as Useful as the System Behind It

I do not believe mental health posters are pointless. A clear poster in the right place can give somebody a private route to support. A worker who is not ready to speak to a supervisor might take a photograph of a number and use it later. Repetition can also help support information become familiar before it is urgently needed.

The problem is treating the poster as the support system.

If the named contacts have left the company, the information may fail at the moment somebody needs it. If the poster is hidden in an office that operatives rarely enter, it is not accessible. If workers do not understand who receives their call, what will remain confidential or whether using the service affects their employment, the number may never be used.

A responsible company should know who owns every mental health resource it displays. Contact details need a review date and named people need to understand their role. There should be more than one route for help, including an option outside the immediate management chain. Workers should know what happens when they make contact and the limits of confidentiality where there is an immediate risk of harm.

The poster I heard about had become wallpaper. It allowed the company to look as though support was present while leaving workers uncertain whether anybody would answer.

That gap between appearance and reality damages trust. Once somebody discovers that one support route is out of date, why would they assume the rest of the system is reliable?

A Signature Is Not a Toolbox Talk

Toolbox talks can be valuable because they already belong to the rhythm of construction. People understand the format, teams are gathered together and a short session can introduce a subject without making it feel like a separate corporate exercise.

But a piece of paper on a table is not a conversation.

A meaningful mental health toolbox talk needs somebody prepared to deliver it properly. The language should feel relevant to the people in front of them. The session should explain why the topic matters, offer practical information and leave room for questions without forcing anyone to disclose something personal in front of colleagues.

It should also connect to real support. If the talk encourages people to ask for help, the person delivering it must know where that help comes from. If somebody stays behind afterwards and says they are not coping, there needs to be a calm, clear next step.

Signing an attendance sheet may show that people were physically present. It cannot prove that they understood the subject, trusted the message or knew what to do next.

The Onward Shift mental health toolbox talks were designed around construction precisely because delivery matters. The aim is to use language people recognise, create a genuine opening for discussion and give teams practical routes forward. Even then, a good talk is one part of the work. Its value comes from what the company does afterwards.

The Conditions Around People Must Change Too

One of the easiest mistakes in workplace mental health is to focus entirely on the individual. We tell people to become more resilient, sleep better, exercise, practise mindfulness and speak up. Those things may help some people, but they cannot repair an unhealthy system on their own.

A breathing exercise will not make an impossible programme realistic. An app will not fix delayed payment. A motivational talk will not remove bullying. A wellbeing day will not give somebody back the weekends they have worked for months.

The Health and Safety Executive is clear that employers have a legal duty to protect workers from work-related stress by assessing the risk and acting on it. HSE asks businesses to look at demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. That means examining how work is actually planned and managed, not only how individuals respond to pressure.

In construction, the questions are practical. Are workloads achievable with the people available? Are shifts and travel leaving enough time for recovery? Are last-minute changes communicated clearly? Do self-employed workers and subcontractors know where they can access support? Are payment issues creating unnecessary uncertainty? Is disrespect being challenged, regardless of who is delivering the project?

The Construction Leadership Council’s Mental Health Joint Code of Practice gives the sector a prevention-led framework for looking at these conditions. Its importance lies in treating mental health as part of how work is designed and led, rather than another campaign to run once a year.

If workers repeatedly say the pressure is too high, the answer cannot always be another session teaching them how to tolerate it.

Managers Need Support, Authority and Clear Boundaries

Site managers, foremen and supervisors are often told to look out for the team. Many want to do that well. They may notice that somebody has become withdrawn, unusually angry, exhausted or less reliable. They may be the first person a worker approaches.

That does not make them therapists.

A manager’s role is to listen without judgement, take immediate safety concerns seriously, consider workplace pressures they can influence and connect the person with appropriate support. They need training to hold that conversation, but training alone is not enough.

They also need time. They need a clear escalation route. They need to understand confidentiality and its limits. They need authority to adjust work where appropriate, and senior leaders must support them when raising a workload or behaviour issue affects the programme.

Managers can be struggling too. They may be carrying pressure from clients, directors and commercial teams while feeling responsible for everybody below them. A mental health strategy that places the entire emotional burden on one trained supervisor is neither fair nor sustainable.

The system should support the person asking for help and the person receiving that disclosure.

What Happens After a Suicide Matters

The men I interviewed had lost people, yet neither felt able to talk about what had happened. That should concern every employer.

A death by suicide can affect far more people than those who were closest to the person. Colleagues may experience grief, shock, anger, guilt or fear. Some may have their own history of suicidal thoughts or bereavement. Others may appear unaffected at first and struggle later.

The response should be sensitive, accurate and respectful of the family’s privacy. Rumours and speculation about why somebody died can cause further harm. Teams need clear information about available support, reasonable flexibility and opportunities to speak privately. Managers should continue checking in after the first few days, when public attention has moved on but grief has not.

HSE guidance on suicide prevention advises employers to support colleagues after a death, make help available and review the risk assessment for work-related stress and mental health. That review should not become a search for somebody to blame. It is an opportunity to ask whether pressures, communication or support routes need to change.

Silence after a death can deepen isolation. A rushed announcement followed by business as usual may tell workers that the project matters more than the person who has been lost.

What Meaningful Support Looks Like

Real support is visible in the everyday experience of the workforce, not the number of posters printed or signatures collected.

People know where to go and the information is current. Conversations happen privately and respectfully. Leaders act on damaging working conditions. Managers know what to do when someone is at risk. Support continues after a crisis or bereavement. The company reviews whether its approach is trusted and changes it when it is not.

Most importantly, a worker can say, “I’m struggling,” without immediately thinking, “Will this cost me my job?”

That level of trust takes time. It is built through repeated actions, especially when the programme is tight and the easy decision would be to ignore the human impact.

How Onward Shift Can Help

Onward Shift was created from lived experience in construction and a belief that our industry deserves mental health support that understands the way people actually work.

For companies, Onward Shift provides construction-focused support that can help move mental health beyond compliance. This includes practical toolbox talks, lived-experience speakers and wider workplace wellbeing support. The purpose is to begin honest conversations, improve understanding and help organisations connect awareness with action.

For individuals, Onward Shift offers different routes into support because not everybody is ready for the same conversation at the same time. Counselling, coaching, podcasts, events and free resources can give people a place to start without judgement.

We have also explored the wider issues around masculinity, isolation and help-seeking in The Truth About Male Suicide That We’re Missing. Speaking matters, but the responsibility cannot sit only with the person who is already struggling. The environment around them has to make speaking feel possible.

From Signing the Sheet to Staying for the Conversation

I keep returning to those two men and the sadness behind what they told me.

They did not need another company to say that mental health mattered. They needed evidence that people mattered when the pressure was high, when work was uncertain and when somebody was no longer coping.

A poster may be a useful doorway, but somebody has to make sure it still leads somewhere. A toolbox talk may start a conversation, but somebody has to stay and listen. A manager may notice a change, but the business has to give them the support and authority to respond.

This is how the culture shifts: not through one grand promise, but through support that is current, trusted, visible and followed by action.

If you lead a construction business, review what is on your walls and what sits behind it. Call the numbers. Check the names. Ask your workforce whether they trust the support, then be prepared to hear the answer. Look at the pressure created by the work itself. Make sure managers know what to do before somebody reaches crisis.

If you are struggling, you do not have to explain everything at once. Start with one person, one sentence or one visit to Onward Shift’s support for people. If you are worried that you may act on suicidal thoughts or you are in immediate danger, call 999 or go to A&E now.

And if your company is ready to replace “sign the sheet” with a real conversation, contact Onward Shift. We will help you build an approach that your workforce can see, understand and trust.