In October 2024, Pirtek launched their Under the Hard Hat campaign at the National Training Centre in Birmingham. With the help of partners including mental health and suicide prevention charity, Andy’s Man Club, former UK special forces soldier, Ollie Ollerton and the Pirtek network, they got together to kickstart the initiative.
One man every 2 hours takes their own life in the UK alone, that is why Pirtek are determined to reduce the stigma attached to talking about mental health by helping to improve the mental wealth of thousands of customers, technicians, employees, colleagues and others that may need a bit of help and support during their dark days, especially of those that work within the hard hat industries. From recent research we know that mental health in the hard hat industries needs to be spoken about and the event in October was just the start of the journey.
As part of the Under the Hard Hat campaign, Pirtek conducted a survey to help gain a better understanding about the scale of mental health challenges faced by workers across the heavy industries. In partnership with Marine Professional, Transport Engineer and The Engineer, the survey was conducted amongst 343 individuals who work in engineering, marine & port, manufacturing, waste management, and mining & quarrying.
The research found the following:
- 94% of respondents have felt stressed, anxious, depressed and lonely
- Stress is a struggle for three quarters of hard hat professionals
- For every hundred workers, fourteen have experienced feelings of self-harm or suicide
- Four out of ten respondents have taken time off work for mental health reasons
- Absence in the hard hat industries is three times higher than the national average
- Over half of respondents find talking about their mental health uncomfortable or awkward
- 41% of hard hat workplaces don’t have sufficient mental health support in place
- Professional services have been used by 35% of respondents to support their mental health
Commenting on the research results, our Group QHSE Manager, Martyn Smart, said: “It’s incredibly worrying that so many of our survey respondents have reported challenges with their mental health. Professionals who work in these sectors face many hazards in their day-to-day duties, but it’s important to remember that mental health risks in the workplace must also be assessed to correctly measure the level of risk to workers.”
