Onward Shift, London (2025)

26/05/2025

🎙️ Onward Shift Podcast Alert!

Our podcast is a space where we have unfiltered, honest conversations with amazing guests from the construction industry. Each episode is packed with powerful stories, covering the real challenges many face, from life-changing accidents to the emotional toll on families, mental health struggles, addiction, therapy and the financial pressures that weigh on us all.

We dive into the tough topics that often get brushed aside and explore how these issues impact not just the individuals but their families and teams. We also take a deep look into the struggles and breakthroughs from the wives' perspective, showing the ripple effects of what happens on-site and how it can shape every part of life.

These conversations are raw, vulnerable, over 18 and essential. Our goal is to break down the silence around mental health, bring awareness and remind everyone that it’s okay to not be okay and more importantly, it’s okay to ask for help!

🎧 Over 2,850 listens and counting! Make sure to check out the latest episodes. Link to the podcast is in our bio!

19/05/2025

Hope, Built Brick by Brick

Six months ago, I stood on-site wondering how much longer I could keep it together.
The pressure. The silence.
The weight no one sees behind the high-vis and hard hats.

But something changed.
Not all at once.
In small, brave moments.

It started with Jamie. Solid. Steady.
Until the day he froze on a beam.
Mark asked, “You alright, mate?”
And that one question cracked something open.

Then Layla.
The only woman on-site for years.
Watched. Judged.
Until someone sat beside her in the rain and said, “You’re not alone.”

Ryan whispered his truth:
“I’m gay… and I’m scared.”
He expected judgment.
He got support.

Mark, our foreman unshakeable burned out.
He admitted it.
We stepped up.
When he came back, he led differently.
With honesty. With heart.

Connor always laughing confessed he was drinking just to function.
We didn’t pity him.
We stood by him.
Now he’s five months sober still cracking jokes, but this time, for real.

Tom finally spoke up.
Debt. Anxiety. Nights without heat.
We couldn’t fix it all.
But we stood beside him.
And that made all the difference.

Dwayne quiet, skilled, overlooked finally said,
“I’m tired of being polite to injustice.”
We listened.
And we started to change.

Every one of them brought something:
Courage. Truth. Vulnerability.

And from that…
We built more than walls.

We built community.

This site?
It’s not perfect.
But it’s kinder. Stronger. Real.

Because hope doesn’t crash in.
It builds.

Quietly.
Day by day.
Brick by brick.

And this?
This is just the PROUD beginning.

18/05/2025

The Unseen Weight

Dwayne always kept his head down.
Hard worker. Friendly smile.
First to help. Last to complain.

But there was something else there.
Something heavier. Something quieter.
A weight most of us never saw.

“I’m used to it,” he told me one evening when the site had gone still.
“Used to people expecting more from me. To work harder. Prove myself. Be perfect… just to be equal.”

His work was flawless.
But when it came to decisions, his ideas got skipped.
When the jokes flew, they sometimes cut deeper than we realised.

No shouting.
No outright slurs.
Just subtle digs.
Interrupted thoughts.
Being left out without it looking like it.

“You know,” he said, eyes tired, “I just want to be seen like everyone else. Just good at my job.”

That hit different.

Because we’d been quiet.
Too quiet.

We hadn’t stepped in when his voice got talked over.
We hadn’t backed him up when someone crossed the line.
We hadn’t seen him not really.

So we started.
Not with speeches.
With actions.

We gave credit where it was due.
We listened when he spoke.
We called out the small stuff the stuff that stacks up.

And slowly, something changed.

Dwayne started walking taller.
He smiled more.
You could feel the shift.

By the end of the month, he was leading his own crew.
Not as a token but because of who he was and what he brought.

“I can breathe now,” he told me, smiling.
“It’s not perfect. But it’s a start.”

Equality isn’t just about policies.
It’s about showing up.
Listening.
Backing your mates.
Sharing the load.

17/05/2025

Hidden Costs

Tom was the one who always cracked a joke.
Lifted the mood.
Kept things light, no matter how heavy the job got.

But behind that grin?
He was drowning.

“It wasn’t the work,” he told me one afternoon.
“It was the bills. The debt. The constant fear every time my phone rang.”

He never showed it.
Always laughing, always the funny one.
But inside? He was losing sleep. Losing focus.
Feeling like he was losing himself.

“I didn’t want to be that guy,” he said quietly.
“Didn’t want anyone thinking I couldn’t handle my life.”

So he smiled through the stress.
Joked through the panic.
But day by day, it was eating him alive.

Then one day, Mark noticed.

“You alright, mate?” he asked, simple as that.

Tom paused. Then opened up.

The rent. The debt. The fear. The shame.
All of it came pouring out.

“I thought I was holding it together,” he said.
“But I was barely standing.”

That was the turning point.
Not a big moment. Just a real one.

“You don’t have to face this alone,” Mark told him.

And from that?
Tom found a financial advisor.
Started making a plan.
Piece by piece, he began to rebuild.

It wasn’t easy.
But it was honest.
And it changed everything.

“I thought asking for help meant I’d failed,” he said.
“But it’s the bravest thing I’ve ever done.”

Behind every smile could be someone carrying more than you know. Ask. Listen. Stand by them.

16/05/2025

Mates That Catch You

Funny how things shift when you start paying attention.

After Mark stepped back…
Jamie spoke up,
Layla was heard,
Ryan stopped hiding

Something changed on site.
It wasn’t just about getting the job done anymore.
It was about making sure we were all okay while doing it.

Then one day, Connor our joker, the one who always had a laugh dropped this:

“I used to drink before work,” he said.
“Just enough to stop the shakes. Enough to feel normal.”

We were stunned.
Connor wasn’t just funny he was light.
The mood-lifter. The laugh in the dark.

But behind the jokes?
He was struggling. Hard.

“I didn’t think I had a problem,” he said.
“I just didn’t know how to ask for help.”

We didn’t flinch.
Didn’t make it awkward.
Didn’t throw pity his way.

We just listened.

Then we told him, simple as this:
“If you want help, we’ve got you.”

That was it.

No grand fix. No speeches.
Just mates saying: you don’t have to carry this alone.

We helped him get support.
A therapist. A plan.
And we walked with him step by step.

When Connor came back a month later, sober and steady,
He was still our guy. Still funny. Still full of life.

But the laugh?
This time, it was real.

“I thought the hardest part was giving up the booze,” he said.
“But it was believing I was worth the fight.”

Everyone’s carrying something. You don’t need to fix it. Just don’t let them carry it alone.

15/05/2025

The Foreman Who Fell

Mark was the backbone of the crew.
The foreman. The fixer. The guy who always had the answers.

Deadlines? Sorted.
Pressure? Handled.
Stress? Buried deep.

He held us all together until he couldn’t.

It started slow… then it hit all at once.

One Friday morning, I found him in the site office.
Head in hands. Shoulders heavy. Paperwork piled like bricks on his desk.

“Mark?” I asked quietly.
“You alright, mate?”

Long pause.
Then a sigh.

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this, mate.”

That landed hard.
Mark the guy we all leaned on was at breaking point.

If he could fall apart, what did that say for the rest of us?

No speeches. No big moments.
Just a quiet decision: we had his back.

We stepped up.
Called the clients. Cleared his desk. Took the weight without asking.

Because sometimes, when someone’s carrying too much,
you don’t wait for permission.
You just show up.

He took a week off.

Came back different.
Not weaker wiser.

He shared everything. The crushing pressure. The burnout.
The fear that if he cracked, the whole crew would too.

“I thought asking for help was weakness,” he said.
“But it’s the strongest thing I’ve ever done.”

Now, every Monday, toolbox talks start with the same line:

“Look after your tools. Look after your mates. And most of all… look after yourself.”

That moment changed us.
We started really checking in.
Not just about work but about life. About what matters.

Because even the strongest need a hand sometimes.
And no one should have to break just to be seen.

Leadership isn’t being unbreakable it’s knowing when to lean, and when to lift.

14/05/2025

Hiding in Plain Sight

Ryan was solid.
Quiet. Focused. Reliable.
The kind of guy you’d trust with any job.

But underneath?
It was like he was holding his breath all day, every day.

We just thought he was private. No big deal.
Until one lunch break, he pulled me aside.

“I need to tell you something,” he whispered.
“I’m gay… and I’m scared it’s going to ruin everything.”

I froze not because I cared that he was gay.
But because I realised how much fear he’d carried… just to say that out loud.

“Mate,” I said, “you’re still Ryan. Doesn’t change a thing.”

His eyes glassed over.
“I can’t laugh at the jokes anymore. It hurts. Pretending is exhausting.”

That hit me.
Hard.

Because I’d laughed too.
Even made a few.
Not to hurt anyone just the usual site banter.

But now I saw it.

How it silences people.
How it chips away at them when no one’s watching.

After that, I had his back.
Quietly at first cutting off dodgy chat, shifting the convo when things got too close to the bone.

Some rolled their eyes.
Most followed.

Ryan changed.
He smiled differently. Laughed louder.
And during Pride Week, he did something none of us expected:

He stood up at toolbox talk and told his story.

Shaky hands. Sweating. Brave as hell.

“I don’t need you to be perfect,” he said.
“Just don’t make me feel like I have to hide to be safe.”

We gave him a proper round of applause.
Not polite.
Foot-stomping.

He’d earned it.

Now Ryan runs monthly check-ins for anyone struggling no matter who they are or what they carry.

Because no one should have to hide just to survive.

It takes guts to speak. It takes heart to listen.

13/05/2025

The Woman No One Saw

Layla didn’t just work hard she worked twice as hard.
Not to impress, but just to be accepted.
To be taken seriously.
To exist on site without becoming a punchline.

She was sharp, skilled, relentless the kind of person you'd trust with your life on a ladder.
But still… she often felt invisible. Or worse only noticed when it was convenient for a joke.

“It’s not just the graft,” she told me once.
“It’s the constant proving. Like I’ve got to earn my place every single day.”

We didn’t mean to make her feel like that.
But that was the problem.
We just didn’t think.

Didn’t notice she always lunched alone.
Didn’t speak up when the banter crossed the line.
Didn’t make space.

Until one rainy afternoon…
I found her behind a skip.
Soaked. Quiet. Crying into her hi-vis.

Not dramatic. Just heartbroken.

That image stopped me cold not because she was crying, but because I knew:
She’s probably done this a hundred times… with no one ever seeing.

I didn’t know what to say. So I just sat beside her.

“You’re not on your own, Layla,” I said. “You shouldn’t have to be.”

She didn’t speak. Just nodded.
But something shifted.

We saw her.
Really saw her.

Lunch was shared.
Jokes were checked.
Her voice was heard not just her labour.

And she stepped into it.
Calm. Strong. Sure.

Now she mentors the new apprentices. She brings a quiet power forged from years of being pushed aside.

When Layla walks on site now, people listen.

She’s earned it a thousand times.
And we finally learned to show respect the right way.

Make space. Take notice. Speak up.

12/05/2025

The Silent Struggle

For years, Jamie was the rock on-site steady hands, strong work ethic, always reliable.

But no one saw the weight he carried.

Family pressures, financial strain, a crumbling marriage it was all piling up. One morning on the job, standing high on a beam with the sun barely up, something felt off. His hands trembled. Focus slipped. The usual adrenaline was replaced by a heavy pit in his stomach.

“Oi, Jamie! You alright up there?”

“Yeah, mate. Just tired,” he replied.

But it wasn’t just tired. It was burnout. Stress. Quiet desperation.

Then came a turning point.

Mark, the site manager, pulled him aside.

“You’ve been off lately. You okay?”
Not just in passing. He meant it.

And that mattered.

Jamie hesitated. Opening up wasn’t easy. But something about Mark’s genuine concern broke through. That moment of kindness became the start of something new.

Jamie reached out for help.
He spoke to someone he trusted.
He took the first real breath in months.

And slowly, the silence lifted.

The next day, a few mates checked in not out of pity, but because they cared. He wasn’t invisible anymore.

That conversation saved him.

Now Jamie makes sure no one else feels alone on the job.

Because asking, “You alright?” might just change someone’s life.

You don’t have to carry it all alone.

09/05/2025

Next Week: A Week to Build, Share, and Heal

We’re diving deeper into something bigger.
It’s not just about raising awareness it’s about raising each other up.

In honour of Mental Health Awareness Week, and with this year’s theme being Community, I’ll be sharing stories of issues from construction sites. Names, locations, and teams will be fictional, but these stories are real. They’re issues that someone has had the courage to share with me, and they’re making a difference in how we work, care, and support each other.

From struggles to breakthroughs, these moments are changing the way we stand together as a team, as a community.
We’re breaking the silence.
We’re showing that mental health is the foundation of how we stay strong as a community.

Let’s keep building not just better sites but stronger, healthier communities.

Join us in supporting Mental Health Awareness Week.
Together, we can make a real difference!

Stories will be published 10am Monday to Sunday, so stay tuned. There’s so much more to come…

12/01/2025

Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

What an incredible 11 words that still speaks volumes in todays world. To me it’s not just a sentence but a statement.

Since starting Onward Shift I have contemplated having an Instagram, Facebook and TikTok account.

Why?

Because from my own personal experience I’ve found these platforms have hugely affected my mental health but also speaking with many others I’ve heard it has had a huge impact on theres too.

Onward Shift is all about supporting peoples mental health and I’ve felt like a bit of a hypocrite being on these platforms. It makes me question if I’m adding to the problem and if I’m doing the right thing.

I’m not sure but all we can do is what feels right and in all honesty being on these platforms just doesn’t feel right to me.

So I’ve made the conscious decision to no longer publish any content on here, Facebook or TikTok. It’s time to ‘be the change I want to see in the world’.

If you are interested in following us on our journey or need support on yours then please check out our website- https://onwardshift.com

Social media can have a huge impact on your mental health. I know its effected me personally with the below:
- Addiction
- Sleep disruption
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Low self esteem
- Isolation

Look after yourself, you matter more then you know ❤️

Vishal Narbheram,
Founder of Onward Shift.

06/12/2024

Social Media Detox 🍵

It’s time for me to go into hibernation.

It’s coming to an end of 2024 and it’s time for me to say... See ya in 2025 😆

At the end of each year I jump off socials to detox from it and that means deleting it from my phone and laptop!

I spend the last few weeks of each year reflecting on what went well, what went wrong and how I can implement a positive change for the following year and I must admit I’ve got some really cool and fun ideas in mind and I can’t wait to get brain storming to make these visions become a reality!

Over the next few weeks many will be posting there successes and huge congratulations to them but lots of people will feel down, many will feel left behind or feel as if they’re not doing enough but I want to take this time to say life’s hard and what you’ve achieved in 2024 shouldn’t be a comparison to someone else.

You’ve done the best you can, you’ve turned up, you’ve battled through your struggles and thats not just worth remembering but also celebrating!

GO YOU!!! ❤️

Here’s my top 3 winnings of 2024:
1. I didn’t loose the weight I wanted to.
2. I didn’t appreciate how fast time goes.
3. I didn’t take into account how hard starting Onward Shift would be.

I call these winnings because sometimes we have to see life from a different angle.

For those celebrating Christmas I wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas🎄

and Happy New Year to each and every one of you amazing winners!

Bring on 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ 🤩🥳

Onward Shift

26/05/2025

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06/12/2024

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