With 73% of all tradespeople surveyed experiencing mental ill health right now or in the past. A further 20% hadn’t personally experienced mental ill health but knew another tradesperson who had.

The paper created by the UK’s largest engaged construction community, On The Tools, is supported by Band of Builders, Construction Sport, Dulux Academy, Dulux Select Decorators, Speedy, and TVL security.

It also has input from other partners and case study participants to explore the full scale and impact of mental ill health in the construction industry, as well as make informed recommendations to reduce the issue.

The findings also reveal that tradespeople are 26% more likely than workers in other industries to experience mental ill health in the UK.

Absenteeism due to mental ill health costs the construction industry almost £2.75 billion annually.

More than eight in 10 tradespeople who work alone (84%) experience mental ill health.

As many as 65% of UK tradespeople surveyed reported that their own financial situation directly impacts their mental health.

Additionally, 64% of UK tradespeople surveyed reported misusing drugs, alcohol, or both drugs and alcohol to mitigate symptoms of mental ill health.

Almost half (48%) of UK tradespeople surveyed told us they knew at least one person who has left the industry due to mental ill health.

The white paper highlights that age, trade type, gender, length of employment and level of seniority can affect the likelihood of a tradesperson experiencing mental ill health.

Half of UK tradespeople surveyed who have experienced mental ill health have mid-level positions and 100% of UK general builders/multi-trades surveyed reported experiencing depression and/or anxiety.

Of the UK tradeswomen surveyed, 28% were more likely to experience mental ill health than their male counterparts.

The most common factor that directly impacts a tradesperson’s mental health is their own finances, with 65% highlighting it as a contributing issue.

The research also found that trade-specific factors, such as lone working, impacted a tradesperson’s mental health.

In particular, the findings show that 84% of tradespeople who lone work experience mental ill health, predominantly depression and anxiety.

The most frequent symptom experienced by UK tradespeople surveyed is low motivation; 69% of UK tradespeople surveyed reported experiencing low motivation as a symptom of their mental ill health.