How Do I Know If My Employees Are Stressed?

Suicide rates in the trades remain significantly higher than in most other professions. It’s a confronting reality – and one the industry can’t afford to ignore.

For business owners and supervisors, taking care of your team’s mental health isn’t separate from running a safe job site. It’s part of it. Just like checking wiring, harnesses or test equipment, keeping an eye on your crew’s headspace is risk management.

Stress Strategist, speaker and author of One-minute Reset, Heidi Horne has spent more than 20 years working alongside leaders and trade teams under pressure. What she sees repeatedly is this: stress always shows up in behaviour first. Here’s what to watch for.

Physical and Behavioural Red Flags

On most work sites, stress doesn’t show up as a dramatic breakdown or someone saying they’re not coping. Usually, it shows up in small shifts in behaviour, mood, and how someone moves through their day.

“These kinds of changes are easy to brush off as ‘just a bad week’, but over time, they can add up.” Horne explains. “Heavy mental load directly impacts attention, judgement and reaction time – all of which are critical on site.”

Drawing on her work with trade crews, Horne outlines eight early warning signs leaders should look for:

Work that suddenly needs redoing

When tasks that are normally completed right the first time start needing correction, it can signal cognitive overload. Small but important steps may be missed, and attention to detail can slip under pressure.

Rushing through jobs

Methodical processes may become hurried, and things like testing can appear glossed over rather than thorough. This is because stress narrows thinking and shifts focus into “just get it done” mode, increasing the likelihood of shortcuts.

A noticeable drop in patience

Communication may become sharper or more reactive. Banter can turn into friction, and minor disagreements may escalate more quickly than usual.

Withdrawing from the crew

Someone who normally engages in smoko chats or team banter may become quieter and less present. Withdrawal is often one of the earliest behavioural signs that something isn’t right.

Forgetfulness or mental fatigue

If tools are getting left behind, instructions need repeating, or materials are being double-handled, it could be a sign of stress. Mental strain affects working memory and processing speed, not just physical energy levels.

Increased sick days

A rise in “sickies,” particularly around tougher or solo jobs, can indicate overwhelm. Sometimes it’s illness, other times it can indicate avoidance driven by mental strain.

Lower energy or disengagement

Turning up late, doing the bare minimum or appearing mentally elsewhere can suggest someone’s internal load is already stretched beyond capacity.

Risk-taking behaviour

Skipping safety steps, cutting corners or overlooking PPE may signal narrowed judgement under stress. In trade environments, even small lapses can have serious consequences.

Horne emphasises that in other workplaces, distraction might mean lost productivity, but on a live switchboard or at height, it can mean injury.

“Mental health and safety are not separate issues. We wouldn’t ignore faulty equipment on site, and we shouldn’t ignore a compromised mental state either.”

Horne says that stress also spreads. “When one team member struggles, others carry extra load. Deadlines tighten, pressure increases, and owners absorb the strain – that’s when tension becomes contagious.”

The “She’ll Be Right” Trap

Horne notes that “Trade culture (the Aussie way of life in a way), values resilience, self-reliance and pushing through – strengths that can also become risks.

“This is what people who are experiencing stress do, they ignore the warning signs and sometimes it’s too late.”

Many workers:

• Don’t want to appear weak.
• Assume stress is “just part of the job.”
• Wait until they’re overwhelmed before speaking up.
• Believe nothing will change if they do.

While it’s worth mentioning that the trades industry has improved in recent years, there’s still work to do. As Horne notes, silence often means leaders only become aware of an issue once performance drops or when something goes wrong.

A balance needs to be struck. Strength and resilience remain essential qualities in the trades, but so does awareness.

Creating a culture where it’s acceptable to say, “I’m under the pump,” instead of defaulting to “she’ll be right, mate,” strengthens a team, not weakens it.

Toolbox Talk: How to Have the Conversation

Conversations about mental health don’t have to be heavy. A short toolbox talk is a practical place to start.

1. Remind your team that stress impacts focus, judgement and safety.
2. Reinforce that noticing changes – in yourself or your mates – matters just as much as checking tools or PPE.
3. From there, pay attention. If you notice someone showing signs of stress, have a word with them privately.

Horne suggests starting with an observation. Something as simple as, “I’ve noticed you haven’t seemed yourself lately, you look a bit under the pump. Is everything alright?” is a strong place to begin.

“You don’t need to fix the issue on the spot. Listen first. If support is needed, then you can talk through practical next steps.”

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