Improving Wellbeing Outcomes for Taranaki Construction Workers
Clelands Construction are leaders in the New Zealand construction industry when it comes to providing a positive culture where staff are treated fairly and can carry out their work safely. In addition to their health and safety focus, Clelands also have a strong focus on the mental health of their workers and the wider industry. They were one of the founding members of Building Wellness Taranaki, whose purpose is “to change the culture of the construction sector in Taranaki to one that cares for the mental wellbeing of our workforce.”
The Building Wellness Taranaki Trust was founded two years ago when construction leaders were challenged to do something about the poor suicide statistics in the construction sector. A group of industry members came together to discuss the current situation nationally and locally, including Chris Pye, Clelands Operations Manager and head of Health & Safety. From there, a working group was established as it was clear that the system of support wasn't working or readily available. Existing agencies were either not operating in Taranaki or not reachable by their people (57% of construction worker suicides were not known to the health services). The trust was formed in May 2021 and became operational with a full-time coordinator in February 2022. Chris is on the board of the trust and Clelands is a founding member and sponsor, contributing time and money to supporting this cause. "We know our community and whanau will benefit from a safe and well construction sector”, says Chris.
Building Wellness’ long-term vision is to create a caring and inclusive construction sector that safeguards the wellbeing of the whole person, not just the worker. Short term, they are about supporting construction workers, business owners and the self-employed, supporting the highest risk groups within the sector and more fundamentally, changing the sector’s culture.
Chris is working with the trust’s coordinator, Christina Lorth, on other strategies outside of the current programme of training and awareness. One initiative, Project BuildWELL, allows clients to sponsor and buy into. This is a commitment from the client to the construction workers, a specific wellbeing programme of support for the project to achieve better wellbeing outcomes for the people working on the project.
More information is available from www.buildingwellness.co.nz