The Well-being Survey gives our mates in the industry a chance to speak up and tell us how theyre doing, and were grateful to everyone who shared their krero with us, says MATES in Construction Chief Executive John Chapman.
MATES in Construction (MATES) is extremely proud to present the first results of the 2025 MATES in Construction Industry Well-being Survey, supported by ASB.
MATES was pleased to be joined by Minister for Mental Health Hon Matt Doocey on World Suicide Prevention Day to launch the results, which show that construction workers are enjoying their mahi, with many finding satisfaction and connection in their work, but fatigue, high workload, stigma, and financial strain are prevalent.
“The Well-being Survey gives our mates in the industry a chance to speak up and tell us how they’re doing, and we’re grateful to everyone who shared their kōrero with us,” says MATES in Construction Chief Executive John Chapman. “It’s important that what they’ve told us about mental health experiences — challenges and successes alike — is heard. The data we’ve gathered and the stories they’ve shared will help us ignite hope and spark real change for our industry.”
The last Well-being Survey, carried out in 2023, has already made a real difference. The data gathered has helped secure funding from ASB for the free 24/7 MATES Helpline, supported a $1M national grant under Minister Doocey to expand MATES into the regions, informed the government’s recent Suicide Prevention Action Plan refresh, and built partnerships between industry and suicide prevention organisations.
This data is shaping how MATES delivers its programmes and giving practical steps for industry, government, and communities to take. Everyone has a role to play in building safer, healthier worksites.
The Well-being Survey is now one of the largest community-based mental health surveys in New Zealand, and the 2025 survey was the biggest yet. Collected in July-August 2025, these findings provide the most up-to-date snapshot of worker well-being from 3,300 workers across construction, infrastructure and manufacturing.
But while strong work satisfaction is encouraging, our report also shows that it’s still tough out there, and the industry needs critical support. Some of the concerning areas shown in the research include:
Almost half of our workers report pain, illness or disability — more than double the national adult rate. Workers identified that the key driver is stress and mental strain, alongside years of physical wear-and-tear. This is significant; in an industry long focused on physical health and safety, workers are saying that stress and mental strain also drive back problems, fatigue, and injury risk.
Key stressors for workers are exhaustion (40%), high workload (23%), time pressures (17%) and fear of making mistakes (16%). These stressors don’t just affect how workers feel; they also slow productivity, increase mistakes, and raise safety risks on site.
Money worries (29%) were a key stressor for almost a third of workers, a reminder that pressures don’t stop at the site gate. Pressures at home follow workers onto site, just as work stress follows them home.
Workers know what keeps them well — mateship, time with whānau, fair pay, and support — but too often leadership focuses on deadlines and productivity. Closing that gap is key to safer, healthier, and more productive worksites.
Coroner statistics show that construction workers are 9 times more likely to die by suicide than a workplace accident — and that an average of more than one construction worker is lost to suicide each week. But the survey confims that mateship and connection matter — only 2.6% of workers highly engaged with MATES reported suicidal tendencies, compared to 4.7% of those who had little or no MATES support.
“We’re really pleased to learn that engagement with MATES makes such a huge difference,” says Dr Lauren Donnan, MATES’ Research Lead. “This survey clearly shows the urgent need for sustained investment, leadership commitment, and system-wide change — so that what workers say keeps them well is embedded in every workplace. Mental health needs to be given the same importance as physical health and safety.”
With workers reporting money as one of their top concerns MATES’ partner ASB is developing Nail Your Finances – a free workshop specifically designed for construction workers that will be delivered across Aotearoa.
ASB General Manager of Commercial Banking, Ben Speedy says the financial wellbeing workshop will cover practical tools to help build money confidence and hopefully relieve some pressure around finances.
“The Nail Your Finances workshops will be run by ASB’s Community Bankers at local trade stores, giving workers useful information in a space that’s familiar to them. We share MATES’ ambition for healthy, strong worksites, and we’re pleased to be able to build on our support of the MATES mental health helpline with another targeted initiative off the back of this research.”
“We’re extremely grateful to ASB for their continued support and their commitment to this kaupapa, and the opportunity to work alongside them to make positive change for our industry,” says Mr Chapman.
