BMD and TradeMutt partner to bolster mental health support

Yesterday on World Suicide Prevention Day, Australia’s largest privately-owned civil contractor BMD announced a new partnership with TradeMutt workwear and TIACS mental health counselling, to foster mental health awareness and bolster support services for its 2300 employees. This new initiative underscores BMD’s ongoing commitment to the wellbeing of its workforce by providing access to innovative mental health resources and promoting a culture of openness and support. BMD CEO Scott Power said comparatively with other industries, the suicide rates of employees within the construction industry were unacceptably high, and given that, it’s important to BMD’s family-values orientated culture to not only offer the right support, but change the culture of talking about mental health and seeking help when it’s needed. “At BMD, our culture is a result of the people we have within our business and we will always put our people first. With significant breadth and depth within the construction industry and the varying sectors and regions we work within, we have the opportunity to make a difference and see it as a responsibility to change the culture of our industry when it comes to mental health,” Mr Power said. “This collaboration with TradeMutt and TIACS powers a vibrant change to transform the culture and reposition construction as a positive and supportive industry to work in – for the benefit of not only our people, but our supply chain and to sustain the longevity of our industry through the attraction of talent.” Known for its distinctive and colourful workwear, TradeMutt designs its products to initiate conversations about mental health, helping to break down barriers and encourage dialogue among workers. TradeMutt works in tandem with TIACS (This Is A Conversation Starter), which offers free and accessible mental health counselling services for blue collar workers via text messaging or a phone call. This partnership provides BMD employees, site workers and subcontractors with direct access to professional mental health support relevant to them when they need it. BMD has donated $30,000 to TIACS for supporting its employees, as well as offering them the opportunity to order a free TradeMutt t-shirt, with an impressive 1300 people placing an order. The company hosted an event at its Bulimba Barracks project site on World Suicide Prevention Day, where employees donned the vibrant new workwear. They were joined at the event by TradeMutt Co-Founder Dan Allen who said the new partnership was a positive step forward for the industry. “It’s fantastic to have Australia’s leading integrated engineering, construction and urban development business put their investment and support behind our movement to get our industry talking,” Mr Allen said. “BMD is a family business with significant reach to drive a culture shift and foster a mentally healthy workplace, not only during a week focused on mental health, but every week as its Funk Shirt Friday becomes the new norm.” As a co-major partner of the Brisbane Lions AFLW team, also speaking at the event were Brisbane Lions AFLW captain Breanna Koenen and winger Jade Ellenger, who shared stories on the connection between mental and physical health, their strategies for performing in a high-pressure environment and ways they look out for their teammates. BMD’s partnership with the Brisbane Lions extends to its support for nurturing high-performance teams, and the strong connection BMD believes this has to nurturing the team-orientated environment that’s present in construction. To continue the awareness and foster a culture of openness around mental health, BMD employees across Australia at more than 130 sites and offices will sport their new TradeMutt shirts and be encouraged to have a conversation around mental health for Funky Shirt Friday every week, with the first kicking off this Friday. BMD is constantly looking to lead the way in ensuring the civil construction industry is a healthy and positive environment for people to build a career. This is in addition to other health and wellbeing supports BMD has available, including the Wellness Green program, in honour of the late Paul Green, a close friend and partner of the BMD Group. Wellness Green monitors daily health and wellbeing indicators of employees and is used as a coaching tool for individuals to make improvements.