According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the construction industry has one of the highest rates of suicide among professions with 6,000 workers dying by suicide in 2022 compared to 1,000 who died from a construction-related work injury.
“Construction safety, health, and well-being are like a three-legged stool,” Virginia Tech’s Brian Kleiner, head of the Myers-Lawson School of Construction in the College of Engineering explains.
Kleiner continues: “If one leg is weak, the entire stool is unstable. Also, safety, health, and well-being are not mutually exclusive. For example, a worker with mental health issues may take more safety risks because they are distracted or more focused on mental issues and less able to pay attention to the physical labour.”
Kleiner explains that numerous factors contribute to instances of suicide, including the demographics of the population.
He observes: “Most construction workers are in the age range where we see the highest rates of suicide nationwide. Many workers are veterans who struggle with PTSD, and some workers engage in substance abuse with opioid-use frequently traced back to suicides. Another consideration is the correlation between physical and mental health, which can have a domino effect.”
Unpicking the reasons further, Kleiner finds: “There is no doubt that construction is a physically demanding occupation. Researchers in Australia have shown a relationship between physical pain, such as musculoskeletal disorders, and mental health disorders.”
Demonstrating the recurrence of the issue, Kleiner adds: “The problem is somewhat cyclical: Workers are in pain. Their mental health is affected, which in turn decreases their performance. This leads to increased problems on the job that compounds mental health problems, and so on.”
Currently, the construction industry in the U.S. is facing a worker shortage, and while a high suicide rate does not help its reputation. From this there are also some indirect effects that can greatly impact the remaining workforce. For example, colleagues can be distracted by a suicide and begin to question their own mental health. As an example, to counteract high suicide rates, employers can provide successful interventions like lenient leave policies and having counsellors available, ideally 24/7. Most importantly, Kleiner said, employers should be trained in crisis management, including the ability to detect problems before they escalate. “The first line of defence is to talk about it, and that’s a real challenge,” Kleiner adds.
