Safer Highways | Industry-wide wellbeing survey to be developed and conducted

As part of the drive towards raising awareness in Health and Wellbeing throughout the sector, Safer Highways is to conduct the first workforce survey into mental wellbeing.

Under their ‘The Road to Better Wellbeing’ banner, Safer Highways will not only survey the current mental health state of our workforces but also examine subjects such as the frequency of abuse and how job pressures impact upon those we employ.

As the industry drives forward with the goal to keep improving the working conditions of those we employ, the survey will act as a ‘yard-stick’ to establish where we need to direct our energy.

Speaking at the launch of this key initiative, Safer Highways Operations Director Kevin Robinson explained the rationale behind the survey. He said:

“The Safer Highways advisory board is made up of representatives from all the major Tier 1 contractors, who collectively account for 97.5% of the Highways England annual spend, with many also carrying out work within local authority contracts too.”

He continued:

“So with their solid backing, this will be the most comprehensive survey ever carried out and we hope the results will drive positive and lasting change in our sector.”

“Our aim, through this survey, is to get a real indication of where we, as an industry, currently sit in the field of mental wellbeing and what we can do to improve.”

The survey is being written by world-renowned health, safety and wellbeing expert Prof Tim Marsh and will encompass, not just wellbeing, but also the major challenge in our industry of fatigue.

Once the survey is released in October, it will be disseminated throughout the workforces of the entire Safer Highways advisory council.

It will also be an integral part of the future direction of the SH Legacy Programme – ‘The Road to Better Wellbeing,’ a three-year programme designed to enable contractors, large and small, to improve the wellbeing of their workforce through awareness, resources and best practice, all of which will be free to access through the Safer Highways Portal.

The Legacy Programme manifesto and indeed the survey will have its final consultation at the Safer Highways Summit in Birmingham, in September 2018, where we look forward to welcoming you, the industry to learn more