Toolbox talks for construction workers
Construction workers had a presentation before they started work yesterday about tools for their toolbox, but the tools were for their wellbeing, not their work.
The talk was the third in a “toolbox talk” series organised by Building Wellness Taranaki (BWT) for construction workers involved in Taranaki Base Hospital’s $403 million rebuild.
BWT general manager Christina Lorth said poor mental health was a problem in the construction industry, which had a higher suicide rate than in any other industry.
They were trying to be proactive in raising awareness on mental health, she said.
The speaker yesterday was clinical physiologist Matthew Manderson.
“Men are not the best at looking after themselves. I’ve seen a lot of people in the building industry struggling.
And they always come to us a little bit too late when they are really really struggling and things aren’t going very well.”
BWT was designed to try and get out the message out about the importance of intervening early and putting your hand up and getting some help, he said.
There are ingredients that are vital for wellbeing in order to feel good, function well and bounce back from stress.
Manderson used his “burger theory,” which is something he has developed, to explain. He asked two workers how they liked their burgers.one said with meat – beef, pork, poultry, and bacon. And cheese.
That’s his happy place, Manderson said. “As soon as I take away one of these very important ingredients you start to see him not so happy, right? I think well being is just like this. Every single one of us has a recipe of key ingredients that makes us feel good.”
The ingredients might be work, love life, sports, time off.
“If you think of a time when you were doing very, very well and at your best, it’s probably because your burger is doing really well, had the right ingredients and in the right quantity.
“Sometimes what we do in our recipe is we put in too much one of those things and it works against us.”
Some people recognise that something has changed in their lives and they’re not happy, so they do something about it, he said.
On Wednesday, March 27, there will be a Tradie Tools Down event at the TSB Stadium with Sir John Kirwan. It starts at 3pm.