At A E Yates we take mental health seriously, and we believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to open up conversations about mental health to end negative stigma. Within our workforce, we want to ensure that our employees feel supported and listened to, that is why we have established a mental health caring committee and we also have an anonymous employee assistance programme which covers all sorts of things from debt to financial management, depression, addiction problems and all family matters.

In response to World Mental Health Day, A E Yates showed their support by organising a ‘Tea & Talk’ cake sale where we raised money for a mental health organisation and encouraged our employees to take a break, sit together and speak freely. To educate our staff, we created a dedicated mental health related board in our canteen which has information on how to spot someone dealing with stress, anxiety and depression and suggestions of how to deal with these mental health issues.

John Burke, A E Yates mental health first aider:

”Every working day the construction industry loses 2 workers to suicide in the UK and Ireland. A E Yates want to raise awareness and break the stigma surrounding mental health in our industry. We currently have 25 trained Mental Health First Aiders in our team.
We are here to welcome and support any employee going through a hard time because we care. We have a responsibility to make a change in our workforce, in order to make a big difference in the wider community.”