Four out of five tradespeople suffering from mental ill health

Four out of five tradespeople (82%) say they have experienced stress, anxiety and mental ill health because of their work, a poll has suggested.

The Mental Health in the Trades: 2024 Report survey for Ironmongery Direct also found more than a quarter of those polled (27%) were reporting symptoms every week and two in five (40%) every fortnight. More than half (56%) said they experienced work-related stress at least once a month.

Drilling down into the figures, younger generations are more likely to face these challenges, with 93% of millennials (25-34 years old) reporting some form of mental health issue and 91% of Gen Z (18-24). However, it was those aged 35 to 44 who struggled with mental health most frequently, with one in eight (13%) being affected daily.

In terms of drivers of ill health, the cost-of-living crisis was tradespeople’s number one concern, as it was last year, with more than a third (34%) saying this was a major cause of their stress. One in six (16%) said the situation has made their mental health worse.

The rising cost of materials was the second main stressor (32%), followed by other financial factors (25%). Poor work-life balance (24%), the physical demand of jobs (12%) and long working days (10%) all featured higher up the list, as did the lack of sleep (8%).

Workload was another stressor for younger tradespeople, with a third of Gen Z workers (33%) feeling unsettled by the scale of their workload.

As a result, 8% of tradespeople said they had taken or were taking anti-depressants or some form of similar medication, up from 6% last year. Moreover, 5% said they had needed to seek professional help from a counsellor or therapist.

However, nine in ten (90%) workers said they did not know how to access mental health support services. Mental health issues had also caused one in six (16%) to take time off work, and this was another statistic that has risen over the last 12 months (from 14%).

This is most common amongst millennial tradespeople, with more than a quarter (28%) having taken a leave of absence because of stress.

These figures were also lower than they should be because more than a quarter (26%) of the tradespeople polled said they felt like they could not take time off work for mental health reasons.

Joiners were the most likely tradespeople to experience problems, with almost all of those surveyed (92%) admitting symptoms. The rising cost of materials, again, was their main cause of anxiety (41%). They were followed by bricklayers (90%), who primarily were worried about the cost-of-living crisis (27%).

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