The Mental Health Reckoning In Construction: How Workforce Wellbeing Powers People, Projects and Productivity

Construction is facing a reckoning on workforce wellbeing. After decades of silence and stigma, mental health is finally being recognised as central to safety, productivity and retention in an industry defined by long hours, relentlessly tight schedules, intense physical work and financial stress.

With depression and anxiety on the rise, skills gaps widening and younger workers opting for careers offering greater flexibility and work-life balance, leadership teams know it’s time to act – but many are unsure where to start.

That’s where Jeremy Forbes comes in. Through his grassroots organisation HALT: Hope Assistance Local Tradies, Jeremy is showing how open conversations, practical tools and tailored resources can shift culture and deliver support where it’s needed most in construction – on the ground.

His approach is clearly resonating: over 1.6 million people worldwide have watched Jeremy’s TED Talk on mental health and suicide prevention, and thousands continue to take part in sessions delivered on site and in depots, factories, TAFEs and boardrooms around Australia.

Here, Jeremy shares what works and what doesn’t – and the practical ways leaders at every level of construction can get behind better mental health for all.

From Conversation to Culture Change: Simple Steps That Make Mental Health Everyone’s Business

“Let’s start with the big picture,” Jeremy says. “A construction worker dies by suicide every two days here in Australia. That’s almost double the rate of men in other industries. Too many of us know the loss and grief behind those numbers.”

“I wanted to do something to change our industry culture. So I started HALT back in 2013 to offer real support and open up the conversations we’d always needed, but never had.”

“Since then, the HALT team has listened and talked to thousands across our industry and learned that whether you’re an apprentice or an executive, everyone’s under pressure. A lot of the issues are shared – burnout, financial stress, relationship breakdowns. But the solutions can be shared too.”

We’re seeing firsthand how businesses, leadership teams and site crews can all play an active role in better supporting their people. How? We start by equipping them with the skills and confidence to have that first conversation, then provide practical tools, resources and local referrals from there.

What works, what doesn’t: Top Five Tips for Businesses and Leadership Teams Supporting Workforce Wellbeing

One thing is clear, culture change doesn’t come from posters on a wall or a one-off talk from a celebrity speaker. It comes from offering the right, relatable, in-person support and education on and off site. And if you want a safer, stronger workforce, it needs to be ongoing. You’ve got to invest in your people’s mental health in the same way you invest in their physical safety.

From HALT’s work on the ground, five steps stand out as practical, proven and ready to implement.

1. Train your managers.

Frontline supervisors are often the first to notice changes — a colleague who’s withdrawn, someone consistently showing up late, or a sudden dip in performance.

“Managers often want to help but don’t know how,” Jeremy says. “Give them the skills and confidence to ask, ‘Are you ok?’ and to respond appropriately with the right resources at the ready, whatever the answer.”

2. Make mental health part of the daily routine.

Toolbox talks on safety are already a staple across the industry. Adding a few minutes on wellbeing normalises talking about mental health and makes it part of everyday operations.“When we show up on site with egg and bacon rolls at 7am, it’s not just about the food (though that always goes down well!). It’s about breaking the ice and making it normal to talk about what’s going on inside and outside of work. People need to know it’s not just ok but essential to speak up and get the support you need before you get to crisis point,” Jeremy explains.

3. Break the silence and stigma at every level.

From boardrooms to building sites, leadership needs to model openness. HALT’s work with the West Gate Tunnel Project in Melbourne involved one-on-one conversations with more than 1,000 employees — from executives and engineers to tunnellers, cleaners and safety crews.

“When workers see the CEO sitting in the same session as the tunnelling crew, it sends a powerful message,” Jeremy says. “It tells people: this is everyone’s business.”

4. Commit from day one and stay the course with ongoing support.

A one-off campaign won’t shift culture or enable people to access resources when they most need them. Embedding mental health into onboarding, inductions and leadership training signals permanence and a commitment to ongoing practical support.

“You can’t tick the box with one training day and think it’s sorted,” Jeremy warns. “Building trust takes time. Workers need to see that the support is ongoing, reliable and backed by leadership. It needs to be evaluated over time so you can tailor and improve on what you're delivering.”

5. Invest early and often in apprentices.

Apprentices face higher mental health risks than their peers in any other industry, making early support and targeted assistance vital. Businesses can play a practical role by embedding wellbeing into onboarding, pairing apprentices with trusted mentors, and creating safe reporting channels for issues like workplace bullying.

Investing in Mental Health: Why It Matters Most for People, Safety and Projects

Key considerations include:

• Safety

  Stress and fatigue are precursors to mistakes that compromise worksites and put lives at risk. Mental health conditions now account for 11% of all serious workplace compensation claims, and those affected take five times longer off work than colleagues with physical injuries. For leaders, supporting mental health is another way of strengthening overall safety performance.

• Retention

  With skills shortages intensifying, holding onto talent is critical. Yet in 2022, more than half of Australian construction leaders reported losing skilled workers due to high stress and burnout. Visible support for and investment in mental health helps businesses retain and sustain their best people.

• Productivity

  Supported workers are more engaged, collaborative and consistent.  At the other end of the spectrum, mental health claims among Australian workers aged 30–40 have risen by more than 730 per cent over the past decade, with payouts now making up almost a third of all permanent disability claims. Left unaddressed, poor mental health erodes individual wellbeing and performance, team dynamics and long-term capability.

• Costs

  Neglecting mental health is estimated to cost construction businesses more than $11 billion annually. This includes direct costs like workers’ compensation claims and indirect costs including absenteeism, presenteeism, lost productivity and staff turnover. The upside is clear: businesses that invest in mental health not only reduce these costs but also see stronger retention, safer worksites and more successful project delivery.

Leading the Change: Shifting from Silence to Support

Jeremy is clear about what the construction workforce needs most: it’s what he calls early intervention prevention.

“You can’t wait until someone’s in crisis,” he says. “You have to build trust before that point, and it takes time and the right words and tools.”

This personalised and pragmatic approach is resonating both inside and outside the industry, across Australia and beyond.

In 2023, Grammy Award-winning musician, writer and renowned ‘hard man’ Henry Rollins travelled from the US to interview Jeremy for his Tough Conversations documentary series. The two spoke about masculinity, silence and suicide in Australia, and how the HALT approach is shifting unspoken codes and stubborn cultural norms in Australian construction. Rollins could only conclude: “I never knew toughness could be so detrimental.”

Whether speaking with American rock royalty, industry insiders, local tradies or executive leadership teams, Jeremy’s clear message and call to action is the same. “Ultimately, we need systemic change, and that can only happen when we get buy-in from right across our industry,” he says.

“We know change is happening, but we still have work to do – because so many in our industry still don’t know where to go for help. So I’m calling on tradies, site teams, businesses and leaders across the industry to join us in breaking the silence and offering support where it’s needed. Have that conversation, use the tools, shift our culture and build a stronger, genuinely supported workforce. In doing this work together, we’re literally saving lives.”

Need support?

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available:

• ●  Lifeline — 13 11 14 | lifeline.org.au
• ●  Beyond Blue — 1300 22 4636 | beyondblue.org.au
• ●  HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) — halt.org.au
• ●  MATES in Construction — 1300 642 111 | mates.org.au

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