Simon Grindrod, Bowline LOLER
Recently, I have read several posts and articles regarding mental health in arboriculture. I have even posted on social media about it.
It’s encouraging that there seems to be a growing awareness that we might have a problem in arb, a problem that can’t be ignored.
Arb, like many other male-dominated professions, carries a culture of toughness. Admitting to struggling may feel like or be perceived as weakness, and this can be a difficult barrier to overcome.
As a LOLER examiner I travel a lot. I see maybe five or six companies or teams in some weeks. Many of the conversations I have are along the same lines: Is work coming in? Can we get staff? Overheads, fuel prices, low prices ... I am sure we can all add to this list.
I often then hear the practical solutions companies have put in place to deal with some of these issues. But what I don’t hear is the solutions they have in place to deal with the issues caused by stress, the mental toll on themselves or their staff. What, if anything, has been put in place to support people’s mental health?
One other thing comes up in conversation regularly. Sadly, more regularly than it should.
Accidents. We get a lot. The week I wrote this I heard of three. One of which was life changing for a young operative.
In the 30 years that I have been in the trade, first aid courses have gone from being a very basic, box-ticking exercise to some very good training that can save lives in nasty situations. But what of the mental damage done?
What non-physical support do we give to the injured person? What support do we give to the team that might have witnessed or been directly involved in an incident? I know of two companies that shut after an accident – the closure caused by the direct impact of a staff member’s accident on the mental wellbeing of the owner. The psychological impact of serious or fatal accidents can be profound, potentially resulting in mental health problems such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety for the victim, colleagues, family or friends. Accidents will likely lead to financial strain for the arb involved and their family, increasing the risk of mental health struggles.
We cannot talk about the mental health struggles in arb without talking about those arborists who feel they have no other options than to take their own lives.
The most numerous group among arborists are younger men, a group in the population as a whole are already at higher risk of taking their own lives. Add into this the high risks of the job, the physical toll it takes, financial pressures on self-employed freelancers, isolated workers, fear of the perceived stigma around talking about mental health struggles and we have a group of people who need their industry to de-stigmatise mental health issues and to provide acceptable and accessible support.
Among the ideas I have kicked around with tree folks whilst discussing mental health support for arborists is having people trained in mental health first aid at a company level. This training should be delivered by instructors who, importantly, have first-hand knowledge of our industry. That knowledge of what we do is important – we need this training from people who understand that daily we encounter high-risk stressful work, and often long hours, working whilst fatigued or injured, and for some of us working in isolation with long hours on the road.
First aid is obviously only a first step on a pathway. Those first aiders would need a pathway to mental health practitioners beyond first aid – a counsellor or therapist who could be contacted as part of the response to an accident, and this should be written into our company incident plan or signposted if one of our team is struggling.
We must not forget self-care, which sounds like a social media phrase but can be a powerful tool. We work outside with trees, but we often don’t have time to connect with nature. In fact, it often seems that nature in the form of weather or dangerous trees is the source of our stress. It’s too easy to burn out and for arb to become just another hard job to do.
As an industry we need to acknowledge there is a problem. The solutions, I believe, are at all levels.
At the top with our industry organisations who can encourage more awareness, provide resources and create space for dialogue.
At company level with employers prioritising mental health support set out in policies that clearly include mental wellbeing within our safety culture.
And lastly with us – that’s all of us, from company bosses to climbers, groundies and surveyors. We need to break the stigma around mental health in our industry.
The Association is now a supporter and partner of Mates in Mind. As a mental health charity with experience in providing support in specific kinds of workplaces, Mates in Mind is helping us to assess where we are on our mental wellbeing journey and to develop a tailored plan to address any gaps.
We are seeking to do our part to improve the health and wellbeing of everyone working in arboriculture, and we will make resources and training accessible. As ever, we’re happy to chat about what else we could be doing.
Please remember that your mental health is as important as your physical health. Don’t hesitate to call emergency services should you need to, or for someone else.
For urgent, but not emergency, support, please call the Samaritans on 116 123 or text BEAMATE to 85258. You can also access details of a range of other services on the Mates in Mind website: www.matesinmind.org/needhelp and via our friends at Perennial: www.perennial.org.uk/ways-we-help
This article was taken from Issue 211 Winter 2025 of the ARB Magazine, which is available to view free to members by simply logging in to the website and viewing your profile area.