The month of May is Mental Health Awareness week and I want to discuss mental health in the workplace. BHM Electrical Services is a male-dominated workplace like many other trade base companies which leads to an interesting question How is mental health dealt with in a male-dominated company? It is known that men have been brought up with statements like ‘boys don’t cry’ which has made the discussions around mental health amongst men increasingly harder in today’s evolving society. In this article, I am exploring how male-dominated workplaces deal with mental health and what we as a company can learn from this. Mental Health is a topic that has been growing in information in recent years however, in the grand scheme of things, it is fairly new to a lot of people and companies are still finding their feet with how to deal with this. People of different generations have varied thoughts on Mental Health and what it actually means. An employee of BHM Electrical born in 1996 states “I believe that mental health is the state of your thoughts and how you take care of your mindset. Being able to cope with the highs and the lows”. Leigh Winter, an electrician at BHM and born in 1970, describes mental health as “Feeling positive, being able to see the good things in my life and not letting the negative get me down.” Both of these statements are correct and they have similarities and differences.

They are similar in that they are focused on taking care of your thoughts however they differ in the first describes coping with positive and negative thoughts where as the second filters the positive and negative.
Taking these ideas about mental health and experiencing them within your workspace can cause a huge amount of stress on yourself and those around you. Electricians have to be constantly aware of their surroundings and focused on the dangerous tools they use daily. Live wires, construction sites and working on towers are just a few of the environments they work in and so concentration is definitely needed. I asked some of our employees if they have ever experienced mental health issues in their past or current workplace and how this affected their job. The results varied from being affected by the balance of “Stress, level of workload and also personal issues” to “I have never had to call on any help regarding mental health and I hope I never have to.” These statements in particular show awareness. Even when someone in the team hasn’t personally experienced mental health issues in the workplace themselves, they are still aware of it. This is conclusive as awareness is the first step towards creating a positive and safe space for conversations around mental health but what about someone who has experienced mental health issues?

“Stress, level of workload and also personal issues”

When asked if they feel BHM Electrical Ltd supports their employees with their mental health, Electrical contractor, Chris Snook, was not confident in the company’s support “Unfortunately that’s just the nature of contracting in an all-male environment.” Validating the earlier statement on the struggles of discussing mental health issues in a male-dominated space. After viewing other trade-based companies I have noticed a front-runner when discussing topics like mental health among the workforce. And that is the building material supplier, Travis Perkins (TP). They are a well-established company that are very active on its social media and creates posts around mental health throughout the year for example ‘Time to talk day’ supplies questions to help people have those difficult conversations around mental health using the hashtag #mandown.

This hashtag in particular provides an answer to my initial question on how mental health is dealt with in male-dominated spaces and is something BHM Electrical could take part in, in the near future. Another example is ‘Random acts of kindness day’ where TP asked people to write about their colleagues who made their day, creating a positive work environment and giving a space for communication around feelings and thoughts to thrive. BHM Electrical is a family-run company and you feel that when you are working as part of the team whether that is in the office or out on jobs with the electricians. Our team has three office dogs who come in regularly, greeting the electricians who pass through and chill out under the desk of the office staff. We also have our famous ‘Fat Fridays’ in the office where Peter Cornish usually brings in a homemade cake from his mother or we take turns bringing pastries in from local bakeries in Romsey. This is a form of self-care for us in the office, to finish the week on a high and of course, it goes very well with the multiple cups of tea and coffee! Outside of work, our employees stated some activities that help them to relax and reset. These include walking the dog, bike rides, paddle boarding, playing golf, running, and spending time with family and friends etc. We believe it is very important to create a balance between hard work and the aspects of enjoyment they find in their spare time for example through being able to enjoy conversations with your colleagues at work.

I spoke with the Director, Peter Cornish and I asked him how well does BHM Electrical supports their employees with mental health. Peter has worked for the company since 1986, working his way up to a managing position and so he has witnessed the movement of the company over the years. Peter answered very honestly “Not in the past, but lately, we have been educated more towards this and things are changing.” This reply is very powerful as it shows ownership of the past and willingness to change as they learn about the increasing information on how to support others with mental health issues. An electrician also added “I know people deal with things in different ways. I am sure having worked for BHM for so many years and knowing the majority very well, that I would be confident in support should I need it.”

To bring this article to an end I would like to share a helpline for any who are reading this article and are suffering from mental health or want to become more educated and aware. Lisa Williams is one of our lovely ladies in our office and her husband has recently started a health and wellness company called Mental Health Audio. They offer a service providing audio that gives you self-help advice and guidance. You can find them via Instagram @mentalhealthaudio and also their website www.mentalhealthaudio.com

“We have been educated more towards this and things are changing.”