Preventing suicide occupies people’s thoughts in various industries, from teaching to food service to emergency first responders to air traffic controllers to construction. When suicide happens, it affects not only the families and friends of the victim but co-workers too.
Suicide is the twelfth leading cause of death in the U.S. There is one suicide death every 11 minutes, and for every suicide death, there are 38 self-reported suicide attempts. Those numbers are sobering.
Less than three years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the construction industry had one of the highest rates of death by suicide — 5,242 in 2018 — a number five times higher than jobsite fatalities in the U.S. On the first day of Suicide Prevention Month 2022 (September), Associated Builders and Contractors called upon the entire construction industry to strengthen human health and decrease the number of deaths by suicide among its workers.
“This is a national tragedy, and we must end these unprecedented, unacceptable and devastating deaths among our colleagues,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “Construction workers work with tools every day, and we must equip these 7.7 million workers with the tools they need to prioritize mental health and protect their emotional well-being. They will use them.”
Indeed, the idea of skyrocketing numbers of suicide victims within the construction industry came to the attention of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) in 2016. The group, now known as the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP), gathers support from unions, associations, contractors and mental health organizations across the nation. Some of the largest organizations in the construction industry support CIASP’s efforts, including the Associated Builders and Contractors, the National Association of Home Builders and The Associated General Contractors of America.
“The risk factors for construction workers aren’t new,” said Michelle Walker, a CIASP board member who also serves as VP of finance and administration at SSC Underground in Phoenix. “A stoic, independent, tough-guy mentality may keep workers from seeking help. Others may not offer help because they don’t feel comfortable intervening.”
Men are twice as likely to die by suicide as women, and the demographics in the construction industry certainly play a role: over 96% of construction workers are men. Other risk factors might involve chronic pain due to the physicality construction jobs demand, substance abuse, shift work that often disrupts sleep, and time away from home.
“It is time to shatter the stigma surrounding mental health issues with the goal of creating a zero-suicide industry,” said Sizemore. “Employers can build a resilient workforce by providing access to resources to improve total human health: physical, mental, emotional, social … intellectual, financial, occupational and spiritual wellness.”
Employers should incorporate mental health protections to prevent suicide in the workplace. But before doing this, they must first recognize the warning signs of a potential suicide. Those signs include:
- Appearing sad or depressed
- Increased tardiness and absenteeism
- Talking about feeling trapped
- Expressing a desire to die
- Decreased productivity at work
- Isolating from others at work
- Extreme mood swings
- Increased use of drugs or alcohol
- Decreased self-confidence
- Feeling hopeless and helpless
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Acting anxious, agitated, or reckless
- Neglect of appearance and hygiene
- Withdrawing from family and friends
- A feeling of being a burden to others
- Decreased problem-solving ability
The CIASP developed a Suicide Prevention Integration Checklist to assist construction companies in building their mental health promotion and suicide prevention in the workplace. This checklist was designed for company leaders to evaluate who will be responsible for its implementation. Since every company is operated differently with unique needs and resources, some parts of the list might not apply in all situations.
The Integration Checklist is broken down into five parts:
- Corporate attention to and the consideration of mental health
- Resources in place for employees dealing with mental health issues
- Readiness within the company to deal with suicidal employees
- Building protective factors
- Crisis response
Once a company has conducted its analysis and understands the readiness and need for implementing the checklist, take action to determine who might be in need. Importantly, this checklist should not be considered a “one-and-done” portion of a company’s processes and procedures. It should be a fluid, ever-present, update-when-necessary segment that is reviewed, studied and taught frequently. All managers, supervisors and even line employees must be aware of the company’s commitment to addressing risk factors and preventing suicide.
CIASP wants to encourage construction industry employers to do whatever it takes to prevent possible suicides. They suggest making suicide part of company conversation so that talking about it becomes easier and less formal to get people comfortable with the topic. They ask that everyone STAND up to prevent suicide in the construction industry:
Safe: Create a culture in which team members feel safe to ask for help or speak up if concerned about their fellow co-workers.
Training: Make suicide prevention training available to all team members so they can recognize the warning signs and be equipped to help those at risk.
Awareness: Raise awareness by sharing the message of suicide prevention through organizational activities such as training, safety meetings, toolbox talks, team meetings, newsletters, and social media posts.
Normalizing: Normalize the topic of suicide prevention as a health and safety priority by talking about suicide, suicide prevention, and mental health.
Decreasing: Help decrease the risk of suicide in construction by ensuring all team members have access to an awareness of CIASP’s action plans, behavioral health benefits, screening tools, community crisis support, the suicide prevention lifeline, and crisis text line.
To download the Suicide Prevention Integration Checklist, please go to
https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/advocacy/docs/legal-issues/construction-liability/trending-now/suicide-prevention-analysis-integration-checklist.pdf.
Something else to consider: suicide postvention. Postvention is described as the provision of crisis intervention, and other support after a suicide has occurred to address and alleviate possible effects of suicide. The impact of traumatic events often leads people to react impulsively in ways that might cause further damage. It is important to stabilize your workforce as soon as possible to facilitate a return to what will certainly be a “new normal.”
Perhaps the easiest way to present the message that your company takes addressing and the prevention of suicide seriously is to make sure they see that you do. You can easily do this with posters strategically placed in breakrooms, kitchens, restrooms, hallways and other communal spaces. The message does not have to be grand in nature nor elaborate in design; post the following information:
Help is within reach:
- Visit www.preventconstructionsuicide.com
- Call 988 or 800-273-TALK (8255), the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
- Text HOME to 741741, the Crisis Text Line
- Visit www.crisistextline.org
- Visit Mental Health America for a free mental health screening at https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/
While suicides do not usually happen at work, this does not mean they cannot or that the construction industry is not suffering substantial costs. Implementing any — or all — of the suggestions outlined above can go a long way to making your business, and the construction industry, more prepared in the event of a tragedy.
