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What the construction industry told us about stress, safety and well-being
The construction industry knows hazards well. Working at height, operating heavy machinery, managing tight deadlines, exposure to the elements, and the physical demands of the job are everyday realities on worksites across the country.
MATES in Construction exists because the industry also knows something else: too many workers are struggling in silence. When physical risks, job pressure, long hours, and financial stress stack up, they can take a serious toll on mental well-being across the workforce.
Last year, MATES heard from more than 3,300 workers through The SPARK CHANGE: 2025 MATES in Construction Industry Well-being Survey, supported by ASB.
The result is one of the most comprehensive snapshots yet of how construction workers are experiencing their work, physically and mentally. The experiences shared by workers challenge some long-held assumptions about life on site and highlights the need for continued focus on mental health across the industry.
What Workers Are Really Worried About
When speaking about their experiences on site, acute injuries were not top of mind for most workers. While still serious, falls, cuts, and sudden incidents were not what people raised first.
Instead, workers consistently spoke about two things:
• ongoing stress and mental pressure, and
• the cumulative physical toll of fatigue, repetitive tasks, and long hours.
Across the construction industry, the job demands constant concentration. Whether working at height, operating machinery, coordinating crews, or managing tight deadlines, the margin for error can be small. Add changing weather conditions, noise, complex site logistics, and programme pressure, and the mental load increases quickly.
That pressure doesn’t stay in your head; it shows up in your body. Fatigue builds, focus drops, and strain accumulates. Over time, the cycle can repeat, compounding both physical and mental stress for workers across the industry.
How Stress Changes the Way Work Gets Done
Workers described how psychological strain makes physical work harder and riskier. When people are stressed or exhausted, they work differently. They rush tasks. They miss warning signs. Shortcuts are taken and small mistakes can occur, the kind that matter a lot when you’re working with around known health and safety hazards.
For construction’s boots-on-the-ground workers, where balance, posture, and attention can be critical, even a slight dip in focus can have serious consequences. Pushing through fatigue to get the job done, re-starting work after delays with tighter timeframes, and carrying the pressure of lost hours and rising costs, continue to feed the unspoken cycle of physical strain and subsequently mental stress.
We know that physical discomfort doesn’t switch off at the end of the day. It follows people home, affecting sleep, recovery, mood, and resilience and feeding straight back into mental strain.
What does all this mean?
The SPARK CHANGE survey shows safety, physically and mentally, is not just about managing visible hazards. It is also about recognising that working long hours under time pressure and physical strain places a significant mental load on workers. It is a reminder, directly from workers, that mental well-being is a core safety issue and should be a priority for us all.
Why MATES in Construction Matters?
MATES delivers a suicide prevention and well-being programme, focused on igniting hope by looking out for your mates and starting conversations early.
Working alongside the industry, MATES train workers to identify those who are struggling and connect them to help, and normalise conversations about stress, fatigue and mental health. That could be something simple like understanding our mates beside us, so we know when they aren’t quite being themselves, or recognising when the pressure of delays is stacking up. It could be putting our own hands up when fatigue is becoming a risk factor, or when a mate is not coping and knowing what to do next.
When we can identify changes in behaviour in ourselves or our mates over time, we can ignite hope by checking in, listening and connecting in to clear support pathways. Together, with action, we can help reduce the hidden risks that traditional safety systems don’t always catch.
What can I do?
The SPARK CHANGE survey gives the industry evidence to support what workers have been saying for years. It is a reminder that real safety means looking after the whole person, not just the task in front of them. Because everyone turns up on site carrying more than just tools. And when we understand that, we’re better equipped to have important conversations about mental health, check-in regularly and keep each other safe.
Want to Support MATES? They are getting the industry (and others) moving this April through the Long Lap. Sign up, move in a way that suits you, fundraise to help MATES support the mental health of more workers in Aotearoa. Register today: https://www.mateslonglapnz.net.nz/