Member Article

Female ex-forces Assistant Site Manager promotes mental health in construction campaign

As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on Wednesday 8th March, one Barratt Homes Assistant Site Manager in Dorset is spearheading a campaign to support the mental health of her workforce.

Victoria, 27, works at Barratt’s Quarter Jack development in Wimborne, after transitioning from the Army via the developer’s Armed Forces Transition Programme in 2021. Now fully qualified, and alongside her day job, Victoria is pioneering a crusade to ensure the welfare of her colleagues is protected.

She said: “Tackling mental health is an important part of all our lives, so I wanted to do my bit by encouraging everyone on our developments to get talking – I’ve personally seen how this can dramatically improve the lives of my colleagues.”

Always making sure she says ‘hello’ and ‘how are you?’ to her colleagues, Victoria and the leading developer are highlighting how important these two small phrases can be.

Victoria added: “Construction is a high-pressured industry, with tight deadlines to work towards. Fortunately, Barratt Homes promotes an open-door policy, and we are made to feel as though our concerns are listened to.

“However, some may need more encouragement as they often feel as though they are a burden if they are sharing their problems. As the old saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved, and this International Women’s Day I want to encourage everyone to talk about any problems they might be facing.”

Victoria’s mental health campaign, which aims to open the channels of conversation for those who need it, falls directly in line with Barratt Homes’ corporate mission to help improve the mental health and wellbeing of its employees, as well as the wider construction industry.

“I always check in with my team and make sure they know they can chat to me about any difficulties they’re facing, either on site or at home,” Victoria continued. “You can see it on the faces of people if they aren’t where they need to be mentally. By just asking “are you ok?” they tend to open up.

“It’s so important for us all to look out for each other and Barratt Homes have avenues in place if anyone is struggling.”

In 2018, the developer became supporters of Mates in Mind, a charity that provides a framework to raise awareness, address the stigma of poor mental health and improve positive mental wellbeing within the sector.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Barratt Homes .