Construction and development specialist expands mental health support and provision to sub-contractors on its projects.

Seddon Housing Partnerships and UK mental health charity Mates in Mind are collaborating to improve workplace wellbeing in the construction sector.

The construction and development specialist will expand Mates in Mind’s support to all contractors and sub-contractors working with Seddon, not just direct employees.

The partnership between Mates in Mind and Seddon will allow for a contractor or subcontractor to have a Lite assessment, encouraging each to examine their mental health support on offer. Following the assessment, Mates in Mind is then able to offer ways to improve their offering for their staff.

Each firm will be supplied with printed resources and leaflets, as well as training about how best to start conversations around mental health and how to provide ongoing support for team members.

Research by St Johns Ambulance found that 82% of construction workers say they’ve suffered with a mental health challenge at some point in their career in the trade, 48% say their current levels of stress and anxiety are having a negative on their work and 31% describe their current state as ‘struggling’, ‘overwhelmed’ or ‘suicidal’.

By combining forces, Seddon and Mates in Mind hope to show the mutual benefits of expanding mental health support to improve positive outcomes for everyone in the industry.

Owner and director of Seddon, Nicola Hodkinson, has been a trustee of Mates in Mind for five years and has helped bring the project to fruition.

She said: “Working in the construction sector, I can see how important it is for everyone in our sector to have access to good quality mental health support. Being involved with Mates in Mind has been immensely rewarding and I’m excited to be able to offer the charity’s exemplary support to all people in Seddon’s supply chain.

“There is a mental health crisis in construction and any one job site can have tens of subcontractors or freelance workers, which is why it’s so important for them to receive support in the same way as those employed by Seddon directly.”

Lewis Welsby, Contracts Manager at Seddon Housing Partnerships, has been a driving force for the new initiative having experienced mental ill-health himself.

He said: “I wanted to get involved with Seddon’s wellbeing plan because I’m passionate about increasing awareness across, not only our own business, but our supply chain. I found out about Seddon’s Employee Assistance Programme when I was going through my own difficult time in 2023.

“I believe that it’s important for organisations to foster a culture where people can talk and for the leaders to be able to spot the signs and have the necessary conversations. That’s why it’s important for us to work with Mates in Mind.”

An awareness event was hosted at Seddon’s headquarters in Bolton on Thursday, April 3, which brought together contractors and sub-contractors to explore what opportunities are being made available.

Attendees included leaders from Greenwood Scaffolding, FrameTech and CS Civils & Groundworks. Each was encouraged to sign a Mental Health Pledge to commit to positive mental health for their company and staff.

Andy’s Man Club, a national men’s suicide prevention charity which offers free support through its mental health groups, also participated in the event giving a presentation on their services and why they’re needed.

John Eccleston, Sales Director at FrameTech, said: “You don’t know on the face of it how staff are doing. Everybody talks, but you don’t know deep down everyone’s thoughts and what they’re going through, so it’s good to get people to talk more. A healthy working environment is important and we need people to remember things will get better.”

Jonathon Corcoran, Technical Director at CS Civils, added: “Anything we can do to help construction workers will be really beneficial. Too many construction workers suffer with poor mental health.

“We’ll have a source of information from this partnership so if any of our employees are struggling, we know what we can do to help.”

Sam Downie, Managing Director at Mates in Mind, said: “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Seddon and expand their mental wellbeing offer to all of their supply chain.

“We believe that through providing the skills, clarity and confidence to businesses on how to raise awareness, improve understanding, implement effective interventions and address the stigma of mental ill-health we can support people before they reach crisis point, and mental health becomes everyone’s responsibility.

“Through this partnership we will be able to support more organisations to build positive mental health, in and through work.”