More and more, the issue of work related stress is being talked about and with good reason. A recent Lifeline survey showed that nearly 90% of Australians feel unhealthily stressed, and the majority of that was caused by their career.

Unfortunately, this has been an issue for all workers regardless of their job or industry category. Until now, more attention has been given to identifying the sources of occupational stress for office or white collar workers, compared to industrial and “blue collar” workers. This is despite the fact that there are a number of studies suggesting that Australian commercial building construction industry (CBCI) workers are more prone to the risk of excessive occupational stress that leads to suicide, than any other group. (Heller, Hawgood & DeLeo, 2007).

HomeSource joint managing director Guy McGrath who has several years of experience of working in the Australian construction industry, believes that stressed workers can have both negative social and economic consequences in the workplaces.

“Working with a lot of tradies makes us very aware on a daily basis, the stresses of managing small businesses,” he says.

“Whether they are working on small or large projects, it doesn’t matter. Balancing the demands of the job and all of the compliance and regulatory requirements are a major challenge and leading to stressed people.”

The productivity losses incurred through workplace stress reduce overall business productivity resulting in lower revenue. In fact, stress-related absenteeism is directly costing employers $10.11 billion a year.

“It is generally understood, the most common stress related problem amongst these workers are the masculine working conditions and culture of the industry,” Guy says.

A research commissioned by representative committee from Queensland’s Commercial Building Construction Industry reinforces the issue further. The research has investigated the factors associated with suicide in Commercial Building Construction Industry and found out that in addition to psychological and social factors, work condition is also an important factor that has negative impact on the mental wellbeing of workers.

Guy says that working long hours, bullying and economic instabilities are important factors that negatively affecting the workers in the construction industry. Building and construction workers commonly work 6 days a week, and up to 80 hours each week to meet the demands made by their employers.

Long working hours not only impacts upon the time spent with family at home, but the quality of this time, with a reduced prospect of participating in leisure activities,” Guy says.

“But there is another big area of concern and that is with younger workers – apprentices and those new to the industry – who may feel stressed by being the subject of the indoctrinated bullying, verbal or physical abuse, intimidation and isolation.”

“Bullying of apprentices has been well documented and includes: job insecurity, poor pay, work overload and long hours, low job prospects, and sometimes non-existent lunch breaks.”

Job insecurity may not only jeopardise a positive self-image as a successful employee but it may jeopardize a positive self-image as a successful provider, spouse, and parent.

While it is impossible to change the culture overnight, there are few things that can be done to improve the situation for building and construction workers. Reducing unreasonable pressure on employees associated with unrealistic deadlines and reducing bullying behaviour would be a start. It is also important to examine the feasibility of reducing weekly working hours for identified or ‘at risk’ employees (e.g. younger workers). Encouraging and motivating career development pathways, including career and financial advice in apprentice training, is another effective step to help increase workers financial security.

The hidden killer in the workplace needs to be addressed through focused action from both within industry but also through government action. Lives depend upon it.