At CIBSE, we are observing International Men’s Day on Wednesday, 19 November 2025. This day offers an important opportunity to shine a light on issues that affect men across society, including a critical but often overlooked concern in our sector: the mental health and wellbeing of the construction workforce.
A recent article in Nature Mental Health by Dr Olivia Remes, a mental health researcher at the University of Cambridge’s Laing O’Rourke Centre, highlights the “silent crisis” of suicide within the global construction industry.
Dr Remes outlines stark statistics: in the UK, low-skilled male labourers, particularly those employed in construction, face a suicide risk three times higher than the male national average. In Australia, rates are double those of men in other professions, and in the US, nearly one in five suicides occurs within the sector. Contributing factors include hazardous working conditions, bullying, stigma around mental health and the industry’s high-pressure “boom and bust” cycles.
While initiatives such as mental health awareness days and first aid training exist, Dr Remes argues that these measures do not go far enough to tackle the root cause: a harsh workplace culture. She points to successful interventions like MATES in Construction, a suicide prevention programme in Australia, which has been recognised by the World Health Organisation for its impact.
Dr Remes calls for a fundamental cultural shift in the industry. She emphasises the need to improve reporting systems, reward supportive behaviour, promote psychological safety, and review workplace policies to better protect the wellbeing of staff. Without these deeper changes, suicide and poor mental health will continue to cast a shadow over one of the world’s largest and most economically vital industries.
CIBSE's 2025/2026 President, Vince Arnold, said: “There is a ‘silent crisis’ amongst professionals across the globe. It is alarming that professionals in our industry are three times more likely to commit suicide. The industry must do more to reduce this risk.
I know the drive to ‘tough it out’ when things get on top of us has (wrongly) become the norm. We must work together to turn this around by focussing on well-being and mental health. Typically, this could be stresses around programme, finance, quality, safety or feeling forced to do something beyond your competence/skill set. Friends, colleagues, management and families should be encouraged to notice something is not right and report it.”
CIBSE is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of professionals in building services engineering. On International Men’s Day, we encourage industry leaders and colleagues to reflect on how they can contribute to a safer, more supportive workplace culture for all.