Build & Thrive

Psychosocial risk is firmly on the construction agenda. The question now is what organisations actually do about it. In this episode of Build & Thrive, Jennie Armstrong and Stuart Mace look at what they are seeing through recent work with construction organisations, particularly those beginning to assess how well their current approach aligns with ISO 45003 and the Construction Leadership Coun...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Stuart Mace is joined by Kate Field , Global Head of Human and Social Sustainability at BSI, for a practical conversation about psychosocial risk, work-related stress and what the future of health and safety management could look like. Kate brings deep experience in health and safety, psychosocial risk and standards. She talks about her early career as an...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong welcomes back the podcast’s first returning guest, Chris Rodgers , for a powerful and honest conversation about mental health, construction and what he learned from running 500 miles across the UK in 2025. Chris reflects on the challenge he undertook to raise awareness of mental health in construction, running a half marathon every week fo...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by co-host Stuart Mace for a timely conversation about the Construction Leadership Council’s Joint Code of Practice on Mental Health. The Joint Code of Practice has been described by Stuart as “letting the genie out of the bottle” because it puts into public view what many in construction already know. Poor mental health in the i...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Stuart Mace is joined by Paul McGregor , founder and CEO of Everymind at Work , for a conversation about mental health first aid, peer support and what organisations need to do once awareness has been raised. Paul explains why many businesses, including those in construction, have trained large numbers of mental health first aiders but still lack the struc...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Stuart Mace is joined by Anwen Cooper , co-founder and Mission Director at Thrivall, for a conversation about leadership, resilience and what workplace wellbeing needs to become if it is going to make a real difference. Anwen shares the thinking behind Thrivall’s work with leaders, including how proactive support, counselling-informed coaching and sustaine...

What does it take to turn psychological health from a wellbeing initiative into a business-wide operating framework? In this episode of Build and Thrive, Stuart Mace is joined by Natalie Harvey, Health Specialist at Balfour Beatty , to explore the organisation's journey to achieving and embedding ISO 45003 - the world's first international standard for managing psychosocial risks in the...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, Jennie Armstrong is joined by Rob Cheeseman, Head of Health at Balfour Beatty , for a practical conversation about what health, hygiene and wellbeing look like inside one of the UK’s largest construction organisations. Rob shares his journey from sport, rehabilitation and occupational health into construction, and explains how Balfour Beatty is working to make...

What does it really take to create a wellbeing culture that works across thousands of workers, hundreds of projects, and an extensive supply chain? In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong sits down with Davy Daly to explore how GRAHAM Group is transforming wellbeing across its workforce and why the industry needs to move beyond reactive support towards proactive, personalised we...

In this episode of the Build and Thrive Podcast, host Stuart Mace is joined by Keith Prince, Head of Health, Safety and Wellbeing for Sizewell C Site Delivery, for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of health, safety and wellbeing in construction. Together, Stuart and Keith explore the evolving role of health and safety professionals - moving away from the stereotype of “clipboard warrio...

In this episode of Build and Thrive, Jennie Armstrong is joined by Martin Wilshire, Health, Safety and Wellbeing Director at Multiplex, for a practical and honest conversation about one of construction’s biggest health risks: dust. This episode goes beyond awareness and looks at what real action can look like in practice. Martin shares his career journey from the Royal Air Force into construction,...

In this powerful episode of Build & Thrive, Jennie Armstrong sits down with Steve Kerslake, founder of Construction Sport and long-time construction worker turned mental health campaigner. Recorded inside the Construction Sport studio, this is an honest, unfiltered conversation about trauma, pressure, suicide, sport, leadership and why the industry must go beyond awareness and into accountabil...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong introduces a very special guest and a new voice you’ll be hearing a lot more from - Stuart Mace, the newest team member at Construction Health & Wellbeing. The conversation challenges the idea that organisations are responsible for “managing” employees’ mental health. Instead, it reframes the responsibility: managing the work environ...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by Colin Whiteley, Senior SHEQ Advisor at National Grid who is a construction professional with over 22 years’ experience and a doctoral researcher examining the overlooked link between mental health and safety in construction. Colin reflects on his journey from working on the tools to senior site and client-side roles, and why...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by Stuart Wallis, Associate Director at Mace, for an open and deeply honest conversation about fairness, culture and wellbeing in the construction industry. Drawing on decades of experience across unions, contractors and major infrastructure projects, Stuart shares a frontline perspective on what genuinely shapes people’s healt...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, Jennie Armstrong is joined by Jo Yarker, Professor of Occupational Psychology and Co-Managing Partner at Affinity Health at Work, to explore what it really takes to improve mental health in the workplace. Together they unpack why many organisations are still stuck at “awareness”, and what a more practical, evidence-based and preventative approach looks like i...

In this eye-opening episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by Stu Drinkwater, co-founder of TAL (Take A Leak), and Andrea White, Managing Director at A W Fire Ltd, fire engineer and passionate advocate for better welfare in construction. We talk about toilets but this is far more than that! For years, mobile construction workers have normalised dehydration, discomfort, and...

Sleep is often treated as a personal problem - something people just need to “sort out” in their own time. In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong sits down with GP and sleep specialist Dr David Garley, Director of The Better Sleep Clinic, to explore why sleep is actually a critical health and safety issue for construction. Drawing on his clinical work with patients and organi...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong is joined by Andy Mitchell, CEO of Tideway, and Steve Hails, Director of Business Services and Health, Safety & Wellbeing, to explore how one of the UK’s most ambitious engineering projects became a benchmark for culture, care, and collaboration in construction. Together, they discuss how the £4.6 billion Thames Tideway Tunnel - or “...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, Jennie Armstrong speaks with Kevin Bampton, Chief Executive of the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS), about one of construction’s most overlooked challenges - protecting workers from ill health caused by work itself. They explore what occupational hygiene really means, why health has lagged behind safety in the industry, and how prevention-focused d...

In this episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong brings together two specialists tackling addiction through different lenses: Nick McMurray (Positive Matters) on drugs and alcohol, and John Fenna (Bet Know More UK) on gambling harms. We explore why “zero tolerance” alone doesn’t change behaviour, how addiction intersects with mental health and money stress, and what a practical, preven...

In this episode of Build & Thrive , host Jennie Armstrong is joined by Jacqui Wallis, CEO of Genius Within , to explore a topic many in the construction industry are only just beginning to understand: neurodiversity at work. With over 25 years of experience and her own lived perspective as a neurodivergent leader, Jacqui brings insight, empathy, and practical solutions to a conversation that’s...

In this powerful and honest episode of Build & Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong sits down with Nick O’Shea – construction professional, podcast host, and person in recovery – to talk about the role addiction plays in the construction industry. With over a decade in construction and a personal journey through drug and alcohol addiction, Nick offers a deeply human perspective on the workplace cultu...

Guest: Clare Forshaw: Professional Head of Health & Wellbeing RSSB. Founder & Director at UK Hearing Conservation Association. Board Member British Occupational Hygiene Society In this powerful and insightful episode of Build & Thrive , host Jenny Armstrong is joined by Clare Forshaw  - respected occupational health expert and director of the UK Hearing Conservation Association - for a...

In this episode of Build & Thrive , host Jennie Armstrong sits down with two brilliant guests - Andrew Russell Day, Senior Health & Safety Lead at Amazon, and Ryan Briggs, founder of FinWELL Training - to explore a topic often overlooked in the world of construction: financial wellbeing. Together, they unpack: 💰 What financial wellbeing really means  📉 Why it’s so often at the root of me...