Abstract

The United Kingdom construction industry remains one of the most hazardous occupational sectors, with safety management historically prioritising physical hazards while largely overlooking psychosocial risk. Emerging evidence suggests that mental health is not only a wellbeing concern but a critical and under-recognised determinant of safety performance. Psychosocial stressors, including excessive working hours, job insecurity, productivity pressures, and persistent cultural stigma, may impair cognitive functioning, reduce risk perception, and increase vulnerability to safety incidents. Despite growing awareness and the proliferation of organisational mental health initiatives, there remains limited empirical understanding of how mental health interacts with safety outcomes, and existing responses frequently lack structural integration within established safety management systems.
This research examined the extent to which mental health functions as a hidden determinant of safety incidents within the UK construction industry and identified mechanisms through which psychosocial risk can be more effectively governed and mitigated. A mixed-methods design was employed, comprising 251 questionnaire responses from construction workers, 23 semi-structured interviews with industry stakeholders, and four focus groups. Quantitative statistical analyses explored associations between psychosocial working conditions, mental health indicators, and safety-related outcomes, while qualitative thematic analysis examined cultural norms, organisational practices, and lived experiences influencing helpseeking behaviours and safety performance.
The findings demonstrate a significant relationship between adverse work design factors and both mental health outcomes and exposure to safety risk. Excessive working hours, time pressure, and employment precarity were particularly associated with increased psychological strain and heightened vulnerability to safety incidents. Importantly, the presence of organisational mental health policies and awareness initiatives was not independently associated with improved outcomes, highlighting a persistent gap between formal commitment and operational enactment. These findings indicate that programme-based and discretionary approaches are insufficient to address systemic psychosocial risk.
In response, this study makes an original contribution through the development of a systems-based operating model that reconceptualises mental health as an integral component of construction safety management. The model aligns regulatory drivers, procurement mechanisms, organisational governance, site level implementation, worker experience, and outcome-based evaluation within a unified and auditable framework. By bridging mental health and safety management paradigms, this research advances both theory and practice, offering a structured pathway for embedding psychosocial risk within core safety governance to improve worker wellbeing and safety performance across the sector.