Constructing better health and wellbeing? Understanding structural constraints on promoting health and wellbeing in the UK Construction Industry

Abstract

The construction industry has high rates of work related ill health and early retirement due to stress, injury and illness. Whilst there have been more recent calls for a ‘health like safety’ narrative within the industry, health has still predominantly been viewed via health risks rather than a more holistic conceptualisation of health and wellbeing. The workplace is viewed as a fruitful site for health promotion work, yet we know little about the possibilities and promise of health promotion and health improvement work within the construction industry. This paper explores the views of stakeholders with health-related roles and responsibilities within the construction industry to examine their views of the landscape of the construction industry and its relationship to the health and wellbeing of the workforce. Through exploring two key themes; the construction industry as anti-health promoting and understanding industry specific health issues, greater insight into the challenges that exist within construction for promoting positive employee health and wellbeing are explored. The unique insights of those ‘inside’ the industry provides a clear exposition of the challenges faced by those seeking to construct better health and wellbeing and we argue that only through understanding the structural constraints of the industry in this way can the possibilities and potentials for undertaking health promotion work be fully embedded within the industry in order to help create meaningful change for both employees and the industry as a whole.