Mental Health Awareness Week

Building Stronger Internal Communities

At Pick Everard, we know that people are at the heart of everything we do—from the clients we serve to the colleagues we work alongside. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme, “Community,” is a powerful reminder of the vital role connection plays in our mental wellbeing.

Whether we’re collaborating on major infrastructure projects or engaging with local authorities and communities, the strength of our work lies in how we come together. A thriving community wherever we work, offers belonging, support, and the safety to be open about mental health.

Now that we all operate in an agile way, it is even more important to ensure there are opportunities to collaborate and create space for personal and social connection for us as individuals and a business, to see the direct and indirect benefits to our Mental Health. I’m proud of the developments we have driven forward in our mental health strategy and approach here at Pick Everard. We’re committed to responding to the positive impact of togetherness and of sharing. To establishing peer groups that gain real value and power from connection. Three of those groups are our mental health first aiders, our men’s health forum and our women in leadership forum.

Mental Health First Aiders

Our commitment to creating an inclusive and supportive culture is demonstrated by working closely with our Mental Health First Aiders who continually work to strengthen our internal connections and ensure everyone has someone to turn to. We bring this group together every other month to share expertise and experiences, that in turn benefit our wider workforce. From coffee chats to awareness days, team walks, or even a shared story – this group has been fostering acceptance, connection and openness in our business. We’ve also encouraged them to collaborate with our diversity champions – exploring how mental health uniquely impacts different groups based on our backgrounds and life experiences. These moments matter—they are the building blocks of a mentally healthy workplace.

Men’s Health Forum

Our Learning and Development Partner, Geoff Hughes has been pivotal in establishing and leading our Men’s Health forum. The group was implemented to provide a supportive environment for men to discuss the challenges associated with men’s lifestyle, masculinity, parenthood, relationships, work and wider topics. With increasing mental health related absence in the construction industry, it has been important for the group to further educate themselves and others on many key areas such ‘Developing psychological safety in the workplace’ and ‘Increasing men’s health literacy’. We continue to learn and foster a culture of community in this group.

Women’s leadership Forum

Our women’s leadership forum is a force for change, driving better results for how we build an inclusive environment for women in the industry. Their key objectives focus on supporting clearer career pathways for our female talent, providing a flexible work environment for multiple work and personal commitments and supporting their health at different stages of their lives. The sense of solidarity in the group is strong, providing a platform of connection with others on shared challenges. There’s also a growing sense of empowerment and resilience when engaging the group in solutions – in turn supporting their mental wellbeing as a group.

Our Role Beyond the Office

We also recognise the responsibility we have to the wider communities our projects serve. The environments we design and deliver—schools, hospitals, public spaces—play a key part in shaping the wellbeing of the people who use them. Embedding mental health awareness into our design thinking and stakeholder engagement makes for healthier, more resilient communities.

It is important for us to remember we are not alone. Community can be built in everyday actions, be that how we listen, support, and show up for one another. Whether on-site, in the office, or working remotely, we each have the power to create a more connected, more compassionate workplace. We are keen to ensure we don’t just think about one-off efforts; we think about our ongoing journey to embed mental health and wellbeing into the core of our culture through our Wellness through Compassion programme and through the onward engagement of our people.

When we take care of ourselves and each other, we all thrive.