Managing the pressures of the electrical industry

A career as an electrical contractor, consultant or panel builder can be lucrative, as well as professionally and emotionally rewarding. However, while you won’t find electrical contracting roles on the most stressful jobs list, they can also be uniquely challenging. 

Roles in the electrical industry can involve significant work pressures. Whether you are an installer or consultant, extensive travel, significant time working away from home, long hours and tight deadlines are usually expected. 

Pressure is inevitable in every modern job but sometimes that pressure can lead to stress. When stress – and particularly continual or repetitive stress - is ignored, unresolved or untreated, it gets worse. If left unchecked, excessive stress can lead to anxiety, depression and even death. Suicide rates among skilled tradespeople are soberingly high, almost 40 per cent above the national average. 

The tragedy of poor mental health is how self-destructive it can be. Decision-making is impacted, and people suffering from depression tend to work slower and be less productive. In the electrical trade, this can be a major barrier to safety, productivity and success, exacerbating professional worry, frustration and feelings of self-doubt.  

Self-acknowledgement

Personal perspective and initiative are important factors in beating stress. Acknowledging that you are under excessive pressure – and suffering from stress - is the first and, for many, the most difficult, part. Recognising the warning signs – such as ongoing exhaustion, bad temper, repeatedly working late, bad sleep, not taking exercise and a worsening diet – is a crucial first step before working up strategies to reduce the pressures that leads to stress. We all need to reserve time to stay healthy and, ultimately, be more productive and successful.

Stress can be a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to take yours over

Don’t go it alone

However, electrical industry professionals shouldn’t feel they have to go it alone. Sometimes the impacts of stress make the person suffering from it unable to find a way forward. In many cases, talking, sharing and getting advice and support are also vital to recovery.

For many, this is still easier said than done. While mental health awareness is growing every day, it sadly remains taboo in much of our industry, and wider society. Many electricians work in small teams, and while this familiarity and comradery can help alleviate feelings of depression it can also make some individuals embarrassed to say when they need help, adding to pressure and stress.

Every one of us encounters work pressure, and many of us encounter varying degrees of stress at some time. Don’t look to avoid or ignore it. The first step can be self-acknowledgement, recognising that you are under excessive pressure and making the available changes in your life needed to roll back stress.  Similarly, if your family or close friends are saying you are not yourself, be prepared to consider that they are right, and be honest about whether it is due to excessive pressure, leading to stress. 

Internal company mental welfare and support structures may be unavailable to many electrical professionals. Yet those in the electrical industry shouldn’t hesitate to reach out to others for advice, insight and support. Support networks are out there and have been set up to help provide the financial, educational and emotional support people desperately need. 

Electrical industry professionals are not alone; experienced support networks like the Electrical Industries Charity (EIC) are there for when you or your family needs a hand up – big or small.  The EIC can provide counselling, legal and financial support for when a problem is too much or feels out of control. They ensure that you get the support needed to get back on your feet.

Stress can be a fact of life, but it doesn’t have to take yours over. In our industry, help is very much at hand.