Do you know the leading hazards facing construction workers? It’s not on the list of OSHA’s Fatal Four. In fact, the lack of awareness and open dialogue about suicide and mental health is one of the reasons it affects so many people.

Suicide rates among construction workers are 4x greater than the national average in the US, and 5x greater than all other construction fatalities combined (CDC).

Those statistics may be shocking, but some aspects of construction work can lead to high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

• Chronic pain: In 2018, a CDC study revealed that 1 in 6 construction workers is in severe pain nearly every day.
• Sleep deprivation
• Pressure to perform: The nature of the job pushes people to work while experiencing pain for fear of losing out on work.
• End-of-season layoffs
• Isolation and separation from families

All of these common issues that construction workers deal with can cause or aggravate mental health and substance use problems. We can’t improve these conditions with one month of mental health awareness or band-aid approaches. We need to prioritize mental health in the workforce the same way we focus on safety equipment and procedures that prevent physical harm.

Getting educated about the risks and signs of mental health disorders, increasing awareness in the workplace, and making resources readily available are all key steps to building a culture that supports mental health.

It is our hope that by helping to streamline processes to reduce stress and offering opportunities for advanced training to create momentum in the workplace, we can do our part to provide needed support for construction workers.

And for more ways to approach creating a healthy work environment, check out this list of resources from CPWR to get started.