Supporting Mental Health in the Construction Sector with Richie Butler of SISK Group
Today on The Work Well Podcast, we welcome Richie Butler, Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing at global construction company, SISK Group. Richie is responsible for building the health and wellbeing function and setting a strategic plan to achieve health protection and management objectives within SISK Group.
Richie previously worked with Bord Gais Energy for five years, driving their health and wellbeing agenda, and also spent more than five years working in the health and social care industry, which helped him realise his interest in positive mental health promotion.
In this episode, we talk about SISK Group, who we at The Work Well Podcast believe, are the first organisation in Ireland that has made ISO45003 a strategic priority, so I know you’ll get great value from our talk.
A typical day in the life of the Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing at SISK Group
SISK Group are the leading construction company in Ireland, with offices stretching all across the UK and mainland Europe. Due to the rapid expansion of the company, the role of an Occupational Health and Wellbeing manager became increasingly important to ensure employees’ safety.
Richie has been the Head of Occupational Health and Wellbeing at SISK Group since 2019, and his main task is to bring the areas of wellbeing and occupational health together, which means every day is different. Due to the COVID crisis, Richie has been working on different programmes to ensure employees stay healthy and protected all throughout the year.
Programmes often overlap and can vary from return to work protocols, ergonomics, and of course information and education on health hazards in construction. There are also programmes specific to wellbeing, health promotion, and health support.
The Differences in Health and Wellbeing in the Construction Sector
Health and wellbeing can look very different from company to company and the construction market has very specific needs to meet when it comes to safety standards. Even after two years, Richie admits he’s still in learning mode in terms of the construction industrywhich is a good thing as a major part of his job is to constantly look for solutions and improvements in programmes and practices.
“We work with up to a hundred projects and locations across multiple jurisdictions, and that brings its own challenges in terms of differences around legislation, and working with different service providers in different jurisdictions”, says Richie.
Another key difference that makes the construction industry different is that employees and personnel are predominantly male, and the construction environment hasn’t been the most receptive when it comes to psychological wellbeing in the past. Richie is trying to change that.
The Challenge of Engaging a Male Audience in Wellbeing Activities
Roughly 90% of the construction industry is male and SISK Group are no exception. The organisation, however, is implementing strategies to create a friendlier environment for females to work and for men to take care of their physical and mental wellbeing.
To address the latter, Richie comments that they are taking a more personal approach. “Instead of me sitting in head office and sending out an email, we actually want people across the organisation to tell their personal stories and to try and encourage their colleagues to get involved in programmes”. This is because men tend to respond better to this kind of initiative when they feel a sense of community for other peers.
Encouraging others to share their stories has helped SISK Group receive a better response on their Wellbeing Champion Programme.
The Recovery of the Construction Sector During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the last 18 months, the construction market took a big hit, and now they are facing a slow return to action as the pandemic is still being managed. During those times of uncertainty, the sector was on and off a couple of times in Ireland, but it kept on working across the UK so the challenge was to address and create strategic wellbeing structures for every situation.
Most initiatives were made in response to COVID with a focus on physical wellbeing, such as online workout sessions but there was also a Q&A with Professor Luke O’Neil, which was very well received by the employees.
The Importance of Data Collection for HR and Wellbeing Leaders
Richie discusses how important it is to complete health screenings and collect data from current programmes in order to have a baseline from which to improve upon issues that might not be clear otherwise, therefore, helping the organisation mitigate potential wellbeing crises instead of reacting to them.
To do this, the main question to ask is “Is this the right programme for my employees?”. You know you are on the right track when you see a programme helping you achieve the goals you set up for your department and the company. Said results come from making informed decisions in terms of where to go from here and what are the objectives we are trying to meet in the area of wellbeing.
Improving Mental Health in the Construction Market
Physical wellbeing and risk prevention is a huge part of Richie’s job, as one would imagine from the wellbeing leader of a construction company like SISK Group. But Richie has also focused on implementing mental health strategies as this has been relegated to the background within the industry for too long. Richies comments that “in the UK, one construction worker dies by suicide every day”, and in Ireland and Australia, numbers aren’t very good either. So this has to be addressed.
ISO45003 has become an ally on this topic as it contains a practical guide to not only improve mental health in the overall environment but to also mitigate against and prevent mental health hazards by addressing the potential causes of psychosocial risks.
As a starting point for organisations, Brian recommends Work Positive, a free psychosocial risk assessment tool that can provide a baseline to help you measure stress in your workplace, collect data and plan out effective wellbeing strategies. You can check it out here.
If you’d prefer to watch our conversation, you can view it on YouTube through this link.
If you liked this episode and want to know more about Richie Butler and John Sisk & Son, you can check out their Twitter and LinkedIn, and follow Richie on LinkedIn.
Our Partners
This episode is brought to you in partnership with AJ Products who are leading the way in Ergonomic and Active workplace furniture solutions at ajproducts.ie
About Your Host
Brian Crooke is a wellbeing educator, speaker and adviser, empowering organisations to promote and sustain wellbeing within their workplaces.
He is the founder of The Work Well Institute and the Work Well Community and is Course Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Workplace Wellness at Tangent, Trinity College Dublin. He is the host of The Work Well Podcast.
If you’re looking to bring sustainable wellbeing to your workplace then check out The Work Well Institute’s flagship programme, Developing a Workplace Wellness Programme that Lasts.
In his spare time, Brian is bringing free resistance training to every county and community in Ireland through his parkHIIT social enterprise.
If you have any suggestions for future topics you'd like to hear on the show, email Brian directly, brian@workwellpodcast.com