Promoting Well-Being, Suicide Prevention in Construction

By Amanda Moorhead

The construction industry retains a stigma of being a “tough guy” culture, where members of the industry rarely talk about their emotional well-being. Those in the industry have shaped a philosophy where they are expected to work through anything, including severe weather, chronic pain and emotional distress.

Due to a culture that does not foster open discussion on one’s well-being, this is one reason the construction industry consistently ranks as one of the high-risk industries for suicide in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control ranks suicide as the second leading cause of death among males 25-54 years of age. This age group primarily makes up the majority of the construction workforce in the United States. And, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the construction industry is in the top nine occupations at risk for suicide.

A Blueprint for Suicide Prevention
Project management and construction firm Lendlease has begun to openly discuss employee mental health and well-being in the industry by starting to make mental well-being a priority.

An example of how this can be put into practice is to utilize the Blueprint for Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry (created by Carson J Spencer Foundation, RK Construction and National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention). This blueprint provides a framework for contractors to address mental health advocacy and suicide prevention in the workplace.

As with any change in culture, companies must prioritize the issues, educate workers on and off the field, build awareness among the workforce, promote wellness programming to support physical and mental health and implement policy changes as needed. These steps will demonstrate to all internal and external stakeholders that this is an important issue to the organization. One of the biggest changes Lendlease incorporated was including a well-being and flexibility conversation into the performance review process. This puts the topic on the agenda during the review and removes any awkwardness that might exist in bringing it up without that cue on the review.

Implementing mental health awareness initiatives
To address mental health and well-being, the following Lendlease initiatives can be adopted by construction firms nationwide:

• Create a ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’ guidebook available online for all employees
• Publish stories in house on how mental health affects the lives of its own people
• Provide applied training and programs across the spectrum of mental health – covering a thriving, healthy mind through understanding the phases of becoming unwell, active intervention, recovery and support
• Incorporate a healthy minds program as part of the standard performance management cycle, including mindfulness training, mind productivity, resilience and health and well-being conversations
• Provide all employees and their families with access to a 24/7, 365 days-a-year employee assistance program
• Prioritize active intervention by training over Mental Health First Aid USA officers. Learn more at mentalhealthfirstaid.org
• Add well-being leave to current paid time off to provide employees with time off to focus specifically on their physical and mental well-being, such as a yoga retreat, meditation course or preventive medical checkup

In addition to Lendlease initiatives, the firm also hosted a “Building Mental Health Awareness” event in Chicago, Illinois, in February 2016. This event was open to the company’s employees, their families, contractors who work on its building sites, competitors in the market and community partners. The purpose of the event was to be able to speak openly and build awareness about mental health. Other key goals included building awareness around mental health – what it looks like, what it feels like, the impact it has on a person and to provide hope and help for employees through resources and support.

It’s imperative for contractors to foster a culture of employee engagement and connectedness, providing a sense of “brotherhood” and wellness that values mental health in the construction industry. Just as fall protection systems are an industry standard, so should the implementation of progressive mental health strategies. Because all lives are worth saving.

Amanda Moorhead is director of sustainability and The Lendlease Foundation, Americas.