Construction BUSINESS

Movember is the world’s leading men’s health charity. We focus in the areas of mental health & suicide prevention, prostate cancer & testicular cancer. Since 2003, Movember has funded over 1,300 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way that health services reach and support men. 

We exist to help men lead longer, healthier lives. 

The construction industry has some of the worst rates of suicide in the UK & Ireland, with 94% of employees stating they believe it to be critically important that the construction industry improves how it manages employees’ mental health. The industry has come on leaps & bounds when it comes to safety in the workplace – it’s now time to focus on safety of workers mental health.

Behind the scaffolding, many of the 167,000 people (90% of them men) in the industry in Ireland are struggling silently with common mental health issues such as anxiety, stress & depression. The industry is dogged by intense workloads, financial problems and poor work-life balance; couple this with the transient nature of employment in the industry & the frequent toxic masculine “macho” culture and you end up in a place where in 2019, 68% of companies believed the construction sector had a serious issue with staff under reporting issues with their mental health.

Movember recognises the urgent need for change in the industry. We want to open up conversations to change the face of the Irish construction industry when it comes to mental health. We want to help workers to end the stigma around asking for help; we have resources available for leaders to help them to open communication channels with their workers. We have tools such as Movember Conversations https://conversations.movember.com/en/ which could help to save a life. 

2024 will see Movember set up the first ever Irish Construction Industry Challenge where we will invite businesses from across the country to participate in workplace fundraising to unite the industry for 30 days of Movember to raise funds & awareness for mental health & suicide prevention, prostate cancer & testicular cancer. It is your time to drill into men’s health awareness while competing for fundraising glory against names big and small across the sector, uniting behind a common goal – opening the conversation around mental health. 

Movember will be present at Ireland’s Construction Summit this year because we need to shine a light on a significant issue that the construction industry faces. We will be part of a panel discussion on the main stage alongside representatives from Deloitte & CPAC Modular. Our growing relationship & partnership with CPAC is the perfect example of how Movember and a business can work hand in hand to drive lasting change for workers. Please visit us at our stand during the conference to sign up to hear more about The Movember 2024 Construction Industry Challenge. 

Let’s get this conversation started. By addressing this challenge, we will pave the way for healthier, more resilient men & communities going forward.

For info please contact Ciara.whyte@movember.com

For stats: https://cif.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/1237-CIF-Mental-Health-Report-LR.pdf