FOCUS MENTAL HEALTH
tick box, or paying lip service to reducing
stress if you’re working people into the
ground. It’s about being authentic and
genuine in your approach, which is why
senior leaders have to lead the way.”
One of the primary aims of the
charity is overcoming the stigma that
surrounds mental ill-health, and – in
a sector with a high number of male
workers – addressing the specific risks for
men. As a director of an FM business which
is part of a construction group, Cottam
acknowledges the challenge of addressing
the stigma of mental ill-health within such
a male-dominated sector. “FM can be a
stressful job, and having the right level of
stress helps performance, but you’ve also got
to recognise when someone is at a tipping
point. There’s a di erence between stress
and feeling mentally drained. People put
pressure on themselves and keep pushing
themselves.”
He says he is encouraged by the change
of attitude he has noticed, with the biggest
conversation at VINCI’s recent annual
supplier safety day being about mental
health and wellbeing.
For his part, Hails is optimistic about the
progress being made: “We will obviously
draw parallels with the journey we went
on with safety, but I think when it comes to
mental health we’re on a much steeper curve.
We are getting closer to where we need to be
much more quickly than we did with safety.
That’s partly down to the way society has
grasped the mental health agenda, and we’ve
been assisted in particular by Princes William
and Harry. But it can still surprise me. At
Tideway we run an annual survey on health
and safety, and last year 75 per cent of sta
strongly agreed they were happy to talk to
their line manager about mental wellbeing,
which is the message we’re sending out with
Mates in Mind.”
The charity is certainly showing the
wider built environment what can be
done. As Cottam remarks, the majority of
construction firms proudly show o their
British Safety Council logo, and more and
more are happy to sport the Mates in Mind
logo as well, “which shows that people
within that organisation care about the
mental health of their sta , suppliers and
other stakeholders.”
GOOD FOR BUSINESS
Hails points out that if you don’t create
an environment that is diverse, inclusive
and supports employees and anyone who
works for them, how do you ever expect
to attract people into the industry? He
believes strongly that if you are a leader
38 FEBRUARY 2019
in any business, it is your responsibility
to understand your team – not just what
their job entails, but what makes them tick.
Without undue prying into people’s personal
lives, it means creating an environment
where you can help them manage their
issues.
“If you’re in the dark and don’t create that
type of environment, you will never get the
information you require to manage that
situation,” he says. “I was astonished to
find that 75 per cent of those who identify
as LGBT+ working in construction go back
in the closet when they come to work. That
is an astonishing figure. If you’ve got an
individual who can’t be themselves, they’re
going to leave.
“If you’d said to me five years ago that
we’d be running mindfulness sessions – not
just within the o ice environment but on our
construction sites – I would have laughed,
but Mates in Mind is about reducing stigma.
It’s about having a conversation, looking at
statistics that reinforce how to tackle mental
ill-health, talking to people and getting them
involved with training schemes that they
can take back into your business. In this way
mental good health is going to be at the
core of every business. And it makes good
business sense.”
Time to Talk
Time to Change is organising a Time to Talk Day on 7
February to give everyone a chance to have a conversation
about mental health. The event is backed by VINCI Facilities
and other employers.
As part of VINCI Construction
UK, VINCI Facilities signed
up to the Time to Change
employer pledge in 2017,
committing itself to creating
a workplace free from
stigma and discrimination.
The pledge makes up a central part of the company’s fairness,
inclusion and respect agenda. VINCI worked with Time to
Change on an action plan to get employees talking about
mental health.
Time to Change is England’s biggest initiative for raising
awareness of mental health and challenging stigma and
discrimination. It is run by charities Mind and Rethink
Mental Illness and is funded by the Department of Health,
Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. It’s a growing social
movement working to change the way everyone, in all walks
of life, thinks and acts about mental health problems.
For more information about Time to Talk Day, visit www.timeto
change.org.uk/get-involved/timetotalkday2019
...if you donƉt create an
environment that is diverse,
inclusive and supports employees
and anyone who works for them,
how do you ever expect to attract
people into the industry"ƌ
/timetotalkday2019