Ideal Modular Homes – one of the UK’s most advanced modular housing manufacturers – recently attended our Wellbeing & Diversity in Construction & Property Conference. The event puts the spotlight on health and EDI in the industry and Ideal Modular Homes’ Bid Writer and Social Value Champion Anna Geier shares her thoughts on the discussions and debates throughout the day…

Diversity and the health and wellbeing of workers within a variety of industries has been a hot topic, and rightly so. Sadly the construction industry has the highest suicide rate out of any other profession, and due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety, around 400,000 days per year are lost in productivity. [emaillocker id=”71749″]

With many challenges to overcome, the online conference looked at breaking down stigmas, raised awareness to issues and challenges affecting those in the workplace and shared details around what is being done in the UK across a variety of sectors, and how we can implement some of those practices in the construction industry.

There has always been a focus on physical health and safety in the workplace but now it’s time to break stigmas and focus on the wellbeing of the workers. Some challenges include long hours, working away from home for long periods of time, the nature of project work and uncertainty, diversity challenges and a lack of a work/life balance. 

Some also say that there is an issue with ‘macho’ culture within the industry. In a very male-dominated industry there seems to be a reluctance to speak up and some fear speaking up about their mental health is a sign of weakness. There is also a wider issue of inclusion in construction with race, the LQBTQ community and disability, with many workers not feeling included, not getting the best opportunities or feeling isolated in the workplace.

The industry needs to work on removing the unconscious bias while creating opportunities. During one of the sessions, the speakers discussed the links between mental health and race and how organisations and people tend to tiptoe around these issues. Learning how to share is important but also understanding the best way to communicate and developing workers skills in regards to communication is important. There’s still a lot of fear and taboo around these subjects so we need to start with education, information and understanding as a baseline to build and develop on. Providing senior teams with the resources to be able to have these conversations is a great way to improve the culture in the workplace. 

Though there are movements to create a more inclusive culture and more diverse workforce within the industry. We need to make sure we’re breaking down barriers within workplaces, and across the industry, to enable those to have the conversation and speak out if they need help. A lot of businesses within the industry need to create a more inclusive environment and workplace culture, somewhere staff feel comfortable talking and where they feel like they have allies. This can be done through communication and raising awareness. 

As Social Value Champion, I was keen to attend this event. It’s such an important topic, now more than ever, and something the industry needs to work on to become more inclusive and diverse. There were some really relevant, insightful speakers and interesting topics throughout the day relating to race, gender and disability.”

You can now register for the next free to attend conference here: https://www.built-environment-networking.com/event/wellbeing-diversity-construction-property/

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