Mental Health in the Trades
Mental Health in the Trades Report 2025: The Tools to talk.
Despite being an industry that's praised for strength and perseverance, the mental health struggles faced by tradespeople are often overlooked and remain all too common.
To mark Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, we once again surveyed UK tradespeople to shed light on the ongoing mental health challenges within the industry. By combining data with real stories, we aim to highlight the importance of speaking up and the tools that are available to support those who may be struggling.
This report explores the scale of the issue, how things have shifted since last year, the most common causes of stress, and what factors are preventing tradespeople from speaking up about their mental health.
4 in 5
More than four in five tradespeople say they've experienced work-related stress in the last year
Who's affected?
More than four in five UK tradespeople (91%) say they've experienced work-related stress in the last year. Shockingly, over half of those (56%) shared that they experience these stresses at least once a week, with a quarter of that percentage (14%) feeling stressed every day.
Worryingly, this is a large increase in comparison to our report results from last year, where over a quarter of tradespeople surveyed (27%) revealed they experience these stresses every week.
When asked about the causes of work-related stress amongst tradespeople, Rob Muldoon, a bricklayer and mental health activist from Macclesfield, explained:
Tradespeople face a unique set of challenges that aren’t always present in other industries, including the physical demand of their work, tight deadlines, and high client expectations.
Top Causes of Stress for Tradespeople
The causes of these mental health struggles are incredibly varied and will differ for every individual. Our survey results concluded that the most common stress factor for tradespeople is the long or unpredictable hours (44%), with almost half of those surveyed saying this impacts them.
Kevin Richards, a Contract Manager from Hampshire, shared how certain aspects of his previous role as an engineer negatively affected his mental health:
More than one third of tradespeople (34%) revealed that a poor work-life balance contributes to their stress, which is an increase on last year's results (24%). The physical demand of work and financial pressures are also common stress factors.
Workplace relationships and conflict were the least contributing factors (8%), reflecting the strong sense of camaraderie often found among tradespeople.
Long or unpredictable hours
Poor work life balance
The physical demands of work
Financial burden or pressure
Client expectations and demands
A general lack of support
Workplace relationships/conflict
Speaking Up
Over half (56%) of tradespeople revealed that they don't talk to anyone about their mental health. Contract Manager Kevin further shared,
44% of tradespeople said they do not feel comfortable sharing their mental health struggles with professionals and similar figures were reported for family and friends. This shows that there is a reluctancy to speak, even to those closest to them or to trained experts.
53% of tradespeople do not feel comfortable speaking to colleagues about their mental health, making them the least likely group they're willing to open up to. This highlights that while strong bonds exist between workers, many still don't feel safe sharing their feelings.
Barriers to Speaking Up
The barriers that prevent tradespeople from speaking up will vary from person to person, but some of the most common include a fear of losing work (37%) and a fear of judgement (34%).
Other factors include thinking that it won't help (24%) and not knowing who to talk to (20%).
Rob Muldoon, who partners with The Lighthouse Charity to deliver mental health talks on worksites, said,
Thinking it won't help
Fear of judgement
Not knowing who to talk to
Fear of losing work
What Needs to Change
Over half of tradespeople (56%) are not currently seeking help from a councillor or therapist and 22% have said they don't know how to access the support services available to them.
When sharing what would make them feel more comfortable to speak up, 38% of tradespeople said they would like mental health training for employers to be put in place. Almost a third (33%) revealed having the knowledge that any conversation will be kept confidential would make them feel more comfortable.
Flexible work options (29%) and a supportive workplace culture (24%) also scored highly as factors that would encourage tradespeople to speak about their mental health.
With just under half of tradespeople (47%) saying they've experienced mental health struggles due to their current job, it's evident there is still more work to be done.
revealed Contract Manager Kevin, reflecting on the stigma attached to speaking up about mental health.
The Resources Available
There are a number of resources available to tradespeople looking for help and guidance. The Lighthouse Charity and The Considerate Constructors Scheme both offer a range of support for those struggling.
"It's so important that people reach out for support at an early stage. The Lighthouse Charity offers holistic support for everyone in our construction community and covers all aspects of emotional, physical and financial wellbeing.
You can reach out for expert support in a number of ways and everything remains completely confidential."
Sarah Bolton
CEO of The Lighthouse Charity.
The Lighthouse Charity offers a range of free services for construction workers, including emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support.
Their resources include a 24/7 confidential helpline, financial aid, and a free self-support app. The purpose of this support is to provide practical help for those facing tough times and ensure that no construction worker or their family feels alone in a crisis.
“Two construction workers commit suicide every day. It's the biggest risk to life in the sector with workers more than four times more likely to die by suicide than in any other sector. Tackling this proactively is not just the right thing to do, it's also essential for the future health of an industry facing an unprecedented recruitment crisis.
We are tackling the stigma around mental health on site, pushing for the adoption of improvements like mental health strategies and providing educational materials and advice for employers and workers.”
Amit Oberoi
Group CEO for Considerate Constructors Scheme.
The Considerate Constructors Scheme is a voluntary, UK-based initiative that encourages construction sites, companies, and suppliers to register and adhere to a Code of Considerate Practice.
Their aim is to raise standards across the construction industry and ensure that projects have a positive impact on both people and the environment.
Tales From The Trade
“I am now part of the Make It Visible team for the Lighthouse Charity where I share my story and encourage other tradespeople to speak up if they're struggling.”
“I was at a talk last summer in a warehouse between Manchester and Liverpool and stood in front of around 400 workers and broke down mid-speech because of things I was going through at the time. It takes that one person to be vulnerable to let others know it's okay to do that too."
Rob Muldoon
Bricklayer
"The person who's hiding it the best is probably the most unhappy. There's more work that needs to be done to remove the stigma attached to speaking up."
"The problem is, you feel like you're the only one struggling, but you're never alone. If you share your problems, it really does help."
Kevin Richards
Contract Manager
What We've Done to Help
Here at IronmongeryDirect, we're passionate about raising awareness on this topic and helping tradespeople feel comfortable to discuss their stressors with others.
To help on this mission, we've donated over £13,000 to the charity Basildon Mind in recent years to support its incredible efforts to improve the mental health of local communities.
The money will help fund its vital work, which includes providing emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support to people and their families.
For Mental Health Awareness Week, we also organised the UK's first ever inter-trade football tournament, held at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium, highlighting the benefits of exercise on people's wellbeing.
We would like to thank IronmongeryDirect for this insightful report and their ongoing support for better mental health. The report, as with previous years, helps us understand the level of support that Basildon Mind, along with the more than 100 other local Minds in England and Wales, needs to provide to improve the mental health of people in the trades industry.
With so many feeling unable to talk about their mental health for fear of being stigmatised, we support the call that every business should have a mental health first aider where anyone can receive non-judgmental confidential support and will provide advice and help towards that aim.
As we aspire to that target, we want everyone to know that we continue to provide our services, especially our life-saving helpline and counselling, for anyone that needs support and respect.
Denise Kent
CEO Basildon Mind.
