Figure 19

Nonetheless, a few workers felt that the longer and irregular work hours Monday to Friday during Project 5 did encroach on their daily exercise regime, and workers with small children and babies said the longer hours Monday to Friday prevented them seeing their children and engaging in activities like feeding and bathing.

WELLBEING AND MENTAL HEALTH Workers defined wellbeing in different ways. Some said wellbeing was “being physically and mentally healthy” while others referred to wellbeing as “being in a good state of mind” and “being happy”. Workers said factors like adequate sleep, eating healthy food, having time to exercise and feeling positive within themselves were all contributors of wellbeing. Workers drew a relationship between their wellbeing and their mental health, recognising that one effects the other. As one worker stated: “If you’re suffering something at home and whatnot, it can affect you at work. It could affect all aspects of your life, really, and if you do suffer from a mental illness, it starts to impact both your physical and mental wellbeing.” Workers acknowledged that there was stigma associated with discussing mental health and it was a “taboo” subject by comparison to wellbeing. According to workers, stress, including financial and work stress and working conditions such as intense and long working hours, poor working relationships and low job satisfaction, impaired their wellbeing. In other words, improving conditions such as work hours, work relationships and job satisfaction would improve their wellbeing. While the five-day working week might not reduce total working hours for some, the two days off at the weekend had a positive effect on the mental health of workers according to those interviewed. Mental health was also measured through the Kessler Score (K10) - a 10-item questionnaire to yield a global measure of distress based on questions about anxiety and depressive symptoms that a person has experienced in the most recent four-week period. Based on these items a score can be computed (10-50), where a higher score indicates a higher level of distress. During Project 5, the average K10 score across workers on the site was 15.8, on par with that reported by other construction workers in the Household, Income and Labour

Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Based on the K10 score, responses can be grouped in: Low (10-15), Moderate (1621), High (22-29) and Very high (30-50) level of psychological distress. According to the NSW Mental Health Commission36 psychological distress is when someone has “deeply unpleasant feelings, symptoms or experiences. These experiences may or may not be due to mental illness”. Respondents with high levels of psychological distress are at risk and should seek immediate support. Almost 85% of Project 5 workers reported a low to moderate level of non-specific psychological distress.

People with high or long periods of psychological distress may experience difficulties with their daily lives, such as maintaining relationships or employment and can be at risk of developing a mental health issue37 (Figure 19). More than one in 10 (12.7%) reported a high level of distress, and 2.8% reported very high levels of distress. From moderate psychological distress up to very high, support should be sought. A few workers said they had experienced bouts of depression and anxiety when working away from home, or on a six-day work week, due to stress, separation from family and long working hours. “Constant throttle” with no “breathing space” or “reprieve” had led workers to “disassociation with most things”.

One worker explained how construction work stress impacts family relationships, wellbeing and mental health: “There’s a lot

Level of psychological distress (K10, n=226)

Low Moderate High Very high

Figure 19. Level of psychological distress (n=226)