Tackling the Mental Health Crisis in Construction: Research That Changes Industry Practice
A new national code of practice for mental health in construction, launched in June 2026, is built on research led by Dr Carla Toro and her team at Warwick Medical School. Construction has one of the highest suicide rates of any industry in the UK, with over three times more men in the sector dying by suicide than other industries. For the first time, Warwick’s research has given the industry an evidence base for systemic change.
“You’re just a number. You’re not a person,” said one construction worker consulted during Dr Toro’s research. Another described sites left understaffed for most of a project, “with everybody and their dog being thrown in at the end in high tension environments.”
Two years of research, led by Warwick
Dr Carla Toro, Associate Professor in Mental Health Sciences at Warwick Medical School, has led the academic arm of the project for the past two years, working with the Construction Leadership Council’s Mental Health Steering Group. Dr Toro and her team designed and delivered the entire evidence base: six regional focus groups with 47 trade workers, interviews with 20 new entrants to the industry, and a synthesis of 25 years of UK literature on psychosocial hazards (see Research OutputsLink opens in a new window). Her team then designed a consultation survey, which received over 3,000 industry stakeholder responses, to identify how the industry should act.
Five hazard clusters, one fundamental finding
Dr Toro’s research identified five hazard clusters driving poor mental health in construction: working patterns, people factors and environment, operational factors, support factors, and financial factors. Underlying all five was a single finding from her team’s analysis: a lack of psychosocial safety climate, the degree to which leadership visibly prioritises mental health over productivity. Her research showed that commercial pressures, tendering and procurement practices cascade down the supply chain to workers on site, while the professionals who make those decisions may lack awareness of the mental health consequences of these actions.
Dr Charlotte Hills, Assistant Professor at Warwick Medical School, who developed the behavioural science framework for the code, has described the aim as moving upstream: tackling predictable, preventable stressors before workers are visibly struggling.
Proof that the framework works
Aligning with Dr Toro’s framework, Timewise found that team-based rostering and staggered start times to address long hours and fatigue led to more workers reporting enough time to care for their wellbeing (from 48% to 83%), with no cost to delivery. “Work is still getting done and people are getting to meet their own preferences too” said one project manager.
From evidence base to national code of practice
Ahead of the launch, David Bucksley, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Director at BAM UK and Ireland, praisedLink opens in a new window “the amazing work that Warwick Medical School / University of Warwick have done academically researching and analysing the main triggers for poor mental health in construction”, adding that the JCOP was intended “to help create systemic change to improve mental health in construction.”
Built directly on that evidence base, the Mental Health Joint Code of Practice (JCOP), published by the Construction Leadership Council, is the first of its kind to be created by the industry itself rather than by a regulator. It sets clear standards for the clients and contractors who commission and deliver major builds, with legal and insurance partners committed to embedding it in contractual agreements from the outset. The Department of Health and Social Care plans to adopt the JCOP across the New Hospitals Programme, and it is referenced in the UK Government’s new Men’s Mental Health Strategy for England, a direct line from Dr Toro’s research to national policy.
“For too long, workers in construction have faced challenges without the right support to address root causes. The workforce deserves better, and the research shows us exactly where to start.”
What Dr Toro’s team is building next
Funded by NIHR, Dr Toro and her team are now building the measurement infrastructure to evaluate the JCOP’s impact on outcomes and costs over time. Their longer-term ambition is a national mental health data infrastructure for the construction industry, hosted at Warwick, allowing organisations to benchmark performance and support ongoing research led from Warwick Medical School. Ongoing funding from NEBOSH is enabling the translation of this work to support worker mental health in other male-dominated industries.
Working with Warwick
Warwick Innovation District connects research like Dr Toro’s with the industries and organisations where it can make the most difference. If your organisation is working on a challenge Warwick’s research could help address, get in touch.