Construction work sites have been a part of my life since early childhood when my twin sister and I would visit our dad at work. He led large construction projects of an enormous scale – but particularly for a kid like me who was amazed by the number of cranes, backhoes, forklifts, and workers, I could also see how hard of a job it was. It was always either too hot or too rainy, and the work looked incredibly difficult for those who did it. Back then, all the workers were men, and they all seemed to be the strong, silent types like Gary Cooper and Clint Eastwood, brushing off injuries and the exhausting nature of the jobs like it was nothing.
But these things can take a toll, and the stress can become overwhelming. The men working on my dad's job sites were raised to be stoic. They stifled their struggles and generations of workers who trained under them followed suit. It’s a mindset that has contributed to mental health issues that have become pervasive in our industry. And a recent CDC study shows that the suicide rate among construction workers is more than four times greater than the national average. This statistic is the second highest of all industries, with 53.3 construction workers out of every 100,000 workers who die by suicide. In stark contrast, the average suicide rate in the United States is 12.93 individuals per 100,000 people. These statistics are not something to be brushed off; they are a loud warning bell for all of us in the industry.
The CDC analyzed two sets of contributing factors for these statistics. The first set involves the stress-inducing nature of construction careers and workplaces. Working on job sites is physically demanding and dangerous, with high-risk tasks that must be completed on stringent deadlines. It also often requires long commutes and lengthy absences from family and friends. Shift work systems, job uncertainty and the cyclical dips in the construction industry all contribute to the intense stress on workers too.
The second set of contributing factors for these poor mental health stats points to demographics. The construction industry workforce has a high concentration of Caucasians, men, and military veterans – three demographics with above-average mental health and suicide rates. Potential solutions need to take these demographics into account to tackle this industry-wide issue.
Simply put: We need to be deliberate about reducing worksite stressors AND create and nurture environments where people are not repressing the stress they feel, shedding the strong silent archetype and expectation that has perpetuated this mental health crisis.
Compass recently launched a program that we believe is a major step toward accomplishing both of those goals: the Frontliners Program. Frontline supervisors, traditionally called foremen, are the most important people on construction sites because of their critical role in understanding a project’s big picture while being responsible for so many of the details. They are also deeply tuned into their crews, giving them insight into workers’ stress levels and morale. Frontline supervisors are in one of the most stressful positions on job sites, given their responsibility for safety and construction quality management, while also working against aggressive timelines – a seemingly conflicting set of priorities.
Those pressures can leave frontline supervisors feeling isolated, burdened with impossible goals, and suffering from mental health stresses that they dare not share with others for fear of losing respect or losing their jobs. These pressures also create unforgiving environments for frontline supervisors and their crews, who face harsh consequences when mistakes happen. In the process, they retreat from identifying areas for improvement, admitting mistakes, offering solutions, and being candid in other ways that would enhance safety, quality, and speed...and relieve mounting pressure and stress.
The Frontliners program provides a blueprint for how the industry can change those dynamics and create an environment and culture where workers feel safe and rewarded for talking openly about what they could have done differently. My colleague Rachel Neal, who oversees global safety for Compass, captures it perfectly with this quote:
“Can you imagine a climate in the construction industry where frontline supervision is celebrated for talking openly about their vulnerabilities and things they could do differently to create a safer work site? We encourage participants to ask questions which may appear simple, but they are groundbreaking for the construction industry. People and organizations both grow when they acknowledge failures and learn.”
The Frontliners Program is built around some simple but groundbreaking questions:
When frontline supervisors are encouraged by upper management to reflect on these issues and speak openly about them, they are empowered to be stronger advocates for mental health while also driving dialogues that increase safety, quality, innovation, and speed.
What I think is so important about this blueprint is that it shows that all those goals align rather than compete with one another. Safety is not in conflict with productivity. Steps that reduce mental health stressors don’t undermine timelines--and talking about areas for change doesn’t detract from completing everything on our checklists. The opposite is true. Supporting each one of those helps achieve the others. This is a call to action for every company in our industry to look closely at this issue and adopt programs like Frontliners that will make an immediate and lasting impact on mental health issues.
Our industry needs to do more to address this issue, and I am heartened to see more discussion and more action, including Suffolk Construction’s and the nonprofit HomeBase’s joint call for OSHA to make suicide awareness and prevention a mandatory training requirement for all workers in the industry. Their open letter to OSHA perfectly captures the urgency of the issue and our collective responsibility to respond to it:
“Our collective goal as an industry should be for every worker to return home to their families each day, It is our job as industry leaders to train, support and educate our workers on the symptoms of mental illness and identifying suicide risk factors, which should be taken as seriously as any jobsite risk. The time is now to rally our entire industry to address this dire issue.”
The CDC stats are an alarm bell ringing loudly. We all need to respond, and now we have proven blueprints to do so.
