Don’t tough it out: tradies’ mental health in focus
Ben Pieyre has seen the language and actions on the transformation of mental health transformation in construction for twenty years.
It is often not accepted as a “touching üstün industry, but it took some time for mental health to become a priority in the male -dominated workplace.
Although it is too advanced, people are still falling out of cracks.
In 2024, he took an employee life in Boom Logistics and shook the company to the nucleus.
Mr. Pieyre, CEO of Boom, had a good, safe job, a wonderful friend of the bright young man, a second generation employee, and would marry in months.
Nobody had any idea – until it was too late.
“He was one of us, Pie says Pieyre Aap.
“These are small communities. Everyone knows each other, everyone is associated. Not only their families but also affect everyone.
“When you look at it from the outside… Nothing makes sense. And I think this is the biggest problem with mental health – it doesn’t make sense when you look at the outside.”
Suicide continues to be the leading cause of death among Australian men aged 15 to 44 years, but the risk doubles in the construction sector.
Every day, a trade takes their lives.
“Men’s conversation is a bit of taboo, and probably not even to think about talking,” he says.
He witnessed that his colleagues struggled with mental health problems, but he says, “This is something we didn’t talk about 20 years ago,” he says.
“But we started to accept it 15 years ago. Ten years ago, we started to say, ‘Well, there is a problem, we have to do something.’
“Men believe in a kind of pride that we are stubborn and we don’t talk about our emotions. There has been a development, but there is still a lot to do.”
Boom partnership with Lifeline to help employees and managers address this important issue.
“There is no x -ray for mental health problems, so the only thing we have: We need to talk, Pie says Pieyre.
“This is not just the person who is directly affected by mental health – the person next to them. People recognize this change of behavior or ‘Hey, my friend, what’s going on – are you okay?’
Lifeline australia one Strong foundations The vehicle set for commercial national health month, which provides practical resources to create flexibility and stay in connection.
Lifeline chair Steve Moylan hopes that mental health support will be more accessible and relative to all trade.
“In construction trade, it might feel like a failure in construction trade,” he says.
“But feeling stressful or burned is the signs that you have carried too much for a long time.
“Considering these feelings as normal answers to challenging conditions eliminates the shame and makes it easier to ask for help.”
Acknowledging that there may be a problem is the first step.
“Everyone is faced with difficult days, and this is normal, but when you run 12 hours of shifts or out of the field for weeks at a time, your body remains in a high alarm-‘your mode will never be closed, Prof said Professor Moylan.
“This constant pressure can wear you down and make you feel cut without a break to reset with your family or spouses. To recognize these common pressures is the first step to fix yourself.”
Boom uses life line messages between company communication to remind the workers that if they need to talk to the workers at the end of the phone.
Prof Moylan says that mentally healthy life is as important as wearing hard hats and steel foot boots on the field.
“When you look at security, you can talk about security or experience safety and breathe. And this is the same approach we take here.”
Lifeline 13 11 14
Beyondblue 1300 22 4636
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