Fix Radio’s Clive Holland calls for urgent action ahead of World Mental Health Day.

• Construction and trades workers are almost four times more likely to die by suicide than the national average (Office for National Statistics, 2024).
• 84% of UK tradespeople say they’ve experienced work-related stress, anxiety or depression (IronmongeryDirect, 2024).
• 58% say they’ve never spoken to anyone about their mental health, citing embarrassment, pressure to “get on with it”, and fears over job security (Chartered Institute of Building, 2024).
• National helpline The Big Brew reported that one in three texts it receives are from construction workers contemplating suicide, and that 80% of usage occurs during the working week

As a leading voice in the sector, Clive Holland, broadcaster and host of The Clive Holland Show on Fix Radio, believes the crisis demands urgent attention. He highlights that while construction has long been one of the most physically demanding professions, its equally punishing mental toll has gone unaddressed for far too long. 

“There are several underlying reasons why the rate of suicide in the construction trades is so high. Firstly, there is a macho image in the industry and men are not brilliant at ‘opening up’ and discussing their feelings. But I feel that this is changing slowly, but surely.

“Secondly, there is a lot of stress involved in running a small business – there are long hours, few holidays, slow payers and cash flow issues. In the last two years particularly, spiralling costs of materials and spiking energy prices have squeezed margins even further. Couple that with the growing skills shortage – it ramps up extra pressures on daily site life. The pandemic has magnified many of these problems – tradespeople will tell you that they have never been this busy. Many are fully booked until the end of the year, if not further.”