Construction consultancy firm Mott MacDonald realised that mental health is often overlooked when health and safety is discussed. Perhaps due to its invisibility, it’s difficult to realise the ways it can impact physical safety. But what if you could see the effects of depression or anxiety on the outside?
We crafted a social experiment involving three pairs of Mott MacDonald employees. They were given a task to build a tower of coloured blocks – but halfway through their allocated time, obstacles are introduced to make the task harder. These obstacles were inspired by a real employee’s experiences of anxiety (who is later revealed to be Steve, the facilitator), confronting the participants with the reality of the ways mental health can impede your ability to do your job safely.
Construction consultancy firm Mott MacDonald realised that mental health is often overlooked when health and safety is discussed. Perhaps due to its invisibility, it’s difficult to realise the ways it can impact physical safety. But what if you could see the effects of depression or anxiety on the outside?
The film was championed on the front page of Mott MacDonald’s internal intranet used by 18,000+ employees across 150 countries, and was shared directly from managers to their individual teams.
Since its release, Mott MacDonald have been inundated with messages of support and gratitude for shining a light on the very real impacts of mental health. In fact, it was so successful internally that Mott MacDonald went on to share the film externally on their social media, garnering over 800 likes on their Linkedin post alone, and almost 400 shares. One of the many comments is particularly poignant:
“I’m in awe of this production. Steve’s description of how he felt, played out in the challenge the participants took part in, had a visceral impact on me. Mental ill-health was once described to me as something that can occur so slowly and imperceptibly that we are barely aware of its insidious nature until it is too late. That’s exactly how it happened for me. Thank you Steve for sharing your experience – I am sure it will help others in a multitude of ways. I’m really appreciating how Mott MacDonald are talking about mental health and wellbeing.” – Lucy
