Construction companies should spend more time and energy developing programs for workers who may be suffering from mental health issues, according to a new report.
That report is the result of pilot program spearheaded by the National Association of Home Builders, via a funding grant from the Job-Site Safety Institute, studying mental health issues particularly within the residential construction industry.
In a press release accompanying the report, Erik Anderson, chairman of the Job-Site Safety Institute, remarked: “Many in our field don’t want to admit that we have difficult challenges in our lives and feel we don’t need to talk to someone to help us.”
The program itself, continued Anderson, is designed to provide answers, “so that not only can employees be safe on jobsites, but also have their lives on the right track when they go home to their families.”
A variety of reports through the years have emphasized the stress factor in building. “The construction industry has the highest suicide rate of any profession,” the publication EHS Today has noted, adding that “more than 80% of construction workers have experienced stress at work.”
At the time of the announcement of the grant, the Job-Site Safety Institute said in a press release that the goals of the pilot program included “improving awareness, facilitating discussion, destigmatizing mental health and addictions, and taking a leadership position moving forward.”
That leadership position has meant encouraging construction industry leaders to either share or solicit personal stories of mental health issues, but to do so in a storytelling fashion, which according to the NAHB press release “was shown to be an effective tool in beginning dialogue.”
The pilot program focused on an effort undertaken by the North Carolina Home Builders Association that included confidential surveys and screening tools to ascertain mental health and stress issues among builders.
Findings from the North Carolina Home Builders program indicated that company outreach programs should focus through both proactive prevention and early intervention on such issues as substance abuse, as well as possible suicides.
Simply talking about stress issues, according to the findings of the pilot program, appeared to move things in the direction of preventing tragic outcomes.
“We know there is a problem in the home building industry when talking about mental health challenges,” said Alicia Huey, NAHB chairman, in a statement.
Huey added that the builders’ association is “looking to lead a shift in our culture that will allow workers who are struggling to find the help they need without fear of ruining their livelihoods.”
By Garry Boulard
