The text service – which was set up in a bid to tackle the mental health crisis in the construction industry – is seeing that texts about suicide have accounted for 30.4% of the messages to the Big Brew’s helpline (text BOB to 85258) since the service was launched this time last year.

The figures come at a time when the suicide rate amongst construction workers has risen for the fifth year in a row and is more than three times that of other careers or professions.

Texts about suicide are nearly double the number seeking help for depression (16.2%). Stress/anxiety (15.4%), relationship issues (14.2%) and isolation (14%) were the other main reasons why construction workers and tradespeople reached out for help.

These are the headline results from the text service run by the award-winning charity Band of Builders, which organises the Big Brew.

Big Brew is an annual campaign that aims to raise awareness of the mental health crisis in the construction industry by encouraging tradespeople to open up about their mental health over a cuppa.

Data from the text service also shows that 44.2% of builders and contractors using the service did so during the working day – and 20.3% texted between midnight and 2am.

It also shows that Fridays are the busiest day of the week for service usage – with a share of 22.4% – and the overall total is 80.6% for the working week.

As the organisers of the Big Brew gear up for this year’s campaign – which is timed to coincide with World Mental Health Day on 10 October – they reflect on the data from usage of the service, which highlights the scale of the mental health crisis in the construction industry.

Big Brew spokesperson Gavin Crane said that addressing mental health challenges is a moral imperative for the construction industry.