News
Construction workers are dying by suicide at an alarming rate
June 24, 2024 | Source: NBC News
In a swath of Arizona desert that will soon be home to a multibillion-dollar semiconductor plant, Justin Azbill stood before thousands of construction workers and told the story of the day he almost took his life.
Pressure had been building on Azbill for months at his job as safety director for a large Boston construction firm during the height of the pandemic. Sleep-deprived and overwhelmed, Azbill said he packed a lethal means to harm himself in his lunch sack. Read more . . .
New White Paper Available on Mental Health in the Construction Industry
March 1, 2024 | Source: Contractor Magazine
On the second day of the third annual Construction Working Minds Summit in Kansas City, 450 attendees celebrated the release of a new report that delves into the critical issue of mental health and well-being in the construction industry. Construction is plagued with the highest rates of suicide, addiction, and overdose of any industry.
The white paper traces the development of efforts aimed at improving construction worker well-being and presents much needed recommendations for industry stakeholders, workplace well-being advocates, service providers, researchers, and policymakers, according to the authors. Read more here. . .
Construction’s Silent Killer Pt.1: Why is the Industry’s Suicide Rate So High?
September 6, 2023 | By: Ryan Whisner | Source: Equipment World
The construction industry is well versed in the “fatal four” – the main causes of jobsite deaths. But when it comes to an even bigger killer than falls or being struck, crushed, or electrocuted, the industry has been largely silent.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more construction workers die from suicide each year than every other workplace-related fatality combined. Five times as many workers – more than 5,000 – die by suicide annually than from OSHA's fatal four. That compares to about 1,000 fatalities a year from physical injuries on the job. Read more. . .
Colorado Nonprofit and International Partners Gather to Transform Approaches to Suicide and Suicide Prevention
September 1, 2023 | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas | Source: The Good Men Project
The CDC recently released provisional data indicating that the number of suicide deaths reached an all-time high of almost 50,000 in 2022. This November, over 150 suicide prevention advocates will gather in the city of Golden’s Rocky Mountain foothills to evoke transformative change and help reverse this daunting trend. They will participate in the inaugural Living Beyond Suicide Summit. A Denver-based nonprofit, United Suicide Survivors International (US), is hosting the event in partnership with Humannovations and leadership partner organizations, including Vibrant Emotional Health and PAUSE (People Addressing and Understanding Suicide Experiences). Read more. . .
New York Becomes a National Leader in Workplace Well-Being - Organizations are First to Complete Year-long Certification Proving Culture Change on Mental Health
June 26, 2023 | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas | Source: United Suicide Survivors International
Despite New York state having the second lowest suicide rate nationwide, suicide is still the second leading cause of death for residents aged 25-34, and almost seven times as many people died by suicide than in alcohol-related car accidents (in 2019, the year for which the most recent data is available). “Employers are recognizing the vital role they can play in helping to save and improve the lives of their employees. With about 80% of people who die by suicide being of working age,18 to 65, nationwide, the workplace is the most cross-cutting system for suicide prevention,” said Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, President and Founder of United Suicide Survivors International (US). Read more…
Colorado to Become a National Leader in Workplace Well-Being: Companies and Organizations Undergo Culture Change on Mental Health
June 16, 2023 | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas | Source: United Suicide Survivors International
In a state with the seventh highest suicide rate in the nation, companies, organizations, and the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention are joining forces to proactively address worker wellbeing via an upcoming summit and a related year-long pilot project.
“Participants will be the first in our region to be able to prove their commitment to employee mental health, wellbeing, and suicide prevention both to those they serve and those who work for them via a new tiered certification program called H.O.P.E. Certification,” said Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, President and Founder of United Suicide Survivors International. Read more…
IRONWORKERS HAVE SUPER POWERS, BUT ARE WE LISTENING WHEN ‘KRYPTONITE’ MAKES THEM VULNERABLE?
June 14, 2023 | By: Tracy Bennet | Source: The SEAA Connector
Ironworkers have the highest rate of suicide of all construction trade workers. And the total numbers are heartbreaking. When discussing fatalities in construction, we generally refer to OSHA’s on-the-job data—in 2018 that number was 1,000 deaths. But when you factor in the number of people in the United States who died by suicide whose occupation was in the construction industry—the number is five times higher. (5,400 people whose occupation was in construction took their own lives in 2018.) Read more…
MENTAL HEALTH AND THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: Q&A WITH DR. SALLY SPENCER-THOMAS
May 18, 2023 | By: Leah Draffen | Source: Builder
Each year, the month of May sheds light on mental health awareness. As May 18 marks Mental Health Action Day, there’s a heightened effort to shift mental health awareness into action for one's mental health as well as the support of others. To learn more about the startling statistics surrounding mental health and suicide in the construction industry, BUILDER turned to Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas for insight. Read more…
Employers Make Progress on Mental Health But There’s More to Do
October 6, 2022 | By: Jeff Green | Source: Bloomberg
The blurring between work and home during the pandemic brought a sharper focus on mental health.
That included a greater awareness of the suicide risk among working-age adults, says Jodi Jacobson Frey, a professor at The University of Maryland’s School of Social Work.
For much of the two decades that Frey has spent pushing for reform, employers mostly balked at calls to respond to the risk of suicide more directly among their employees — especially if there was any suggestion that the work environment was factor. Read more…
The Role of HR and Employment Law in Workplace Suicide Prevention: New Report Addresses Concerns and Provides Recommendations
September 6, 2022 | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas & Maria de los Angeles Corral | Source: United Suicide Survivors International, Inc. & American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
The workplace is arguably the most cross-cutting system to reach people at risk for suicide, and yet few workplaces, unions, and professional associations are tackling this life-threatening issue head-on. Today, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and United Suicide Survivors International launch a collaborative white paper that acknowledges the challenges employers face and offers actionable recommendations. It is titled, “Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention in the Workplace - Policy and Response Recommendations to Help Employers Positively Impact Workers and the Work Environment.” Read more…
Developing Training Program to Build Network of Jobsite Mental Health Champions
January 13, 2022 | By: Scott Blair | Source: Engineering News-Record
In 2004, as a 16-year veteran in the mental health field, clinical psychologist Sally Spencer-Thomas thought she knew a lot about how the mind works. The perception shattered when her brother died by suicide that year. It propelled her on a new career track to prevent others from experiencing what her brother had.
Digging through statistics, she saw “that it was working-age men that were dying by suicide, making up the biggest numbers, and the workplace was doing nothing about it.” Read more…
New Advanced Training for Managers to Help Construction Industry Mitigate Suicide Risk
September 20, 2021 | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas | Source: United Suicide Survivors International, Inc.
In 2018 approximately 1000 construction workers died on the job. In that same year, about 5,400 construction workers died by suicide. Knowing this data, many construction organizations are moving beyond basic mental health awareness programs and building comprehensive strategies for suicide prevention and mental health promotion. A part of this effort is to empower managers to build effective skills in tackling the issues directly and compassionately with workers they are concerned about.
Today, United Suicide Survivors International in partnership with Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas launch the advanced training for managers and supervisors in the construction industry. Read more…
New FCC Suicide Hotline Signals to Employers We Can All Do Better
December 17, 2019 | By: Denise Brodey | Source: Forbes
The FCC’s approval of a new hotline devoted to suicide prevention and mental health is a perfect endcap to year of progress for Americans increasingly seeking behavioral help. “This designation will help ease access to crisis services, reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health conditions, and ultimately save lives,” the FCC writes of the 988 proposal. An earlier FCC report argued that a three-digit suicide hotline number, similar to 911, would “make it easier for Americans in crisis to access potentially life-saving resources.” Read more...
A Construction Company Embraces Frank Talk About Mental Health To Reduce Suicide
December 12, 2019 | By: Yuki Noguchi | Source: NPR
It has been five years, but the memory still haunts construction superintendent Michelle Brown.
A co-worker ended his workday by giving away his personal cache of hand tools to his colleagues. It was a generous but odd gesture; no one intending to return to work would do such a thing. The man went home and killed himself. He was found shortly afterward by co-workers who belatedly realized the significance of his gifts.
"It's a huge sign, but we didn't know that then," Brown says. "We know it now." Read more...
Suicide prevention advocates release workplace guidelines, call on employers to act
December 11, 2019 | Source: Safety + Health
Washington — A trio of advocacy groups is calling on employers to take a proactive role in suicide prevention in the workplace, and has published a new set of guidelines.
The National Guidelines for Workplace Suicide Prevention were developed by the American Association of Suicidology, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and United Suicide Survivors International – with input from experts in human resources, employment law and employee assistance; labor and safety leaders; and workers who have experienced a suicide crisis on the job. Read more...
Former France Télécom bosses given jail terms over workplace bullying
December 2019 | Source: The Guardian
Former executives at France Télécom have been given prison sentences and fines after being found guilty of “institutional harassment” and creating a culture of routine workplace bullying that sparked a number of suicides at the company.
The landmark ruling is likely to send shockwaves through the French business world. It is the first time managers have been held criminally responsible for implementing a general strategy of bullying even if they had not dealt directly with the staff involved. Read more...
A global effort in workplace health and safety: suicide prevention
December 10, 2019 | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D. | Source: Business and Industry
According to Durkheim, the place of employment sets a social structure, moral values and a sense of identity for an individual — all of which helps give the individual meaning and reasons for living. When social structures like work disintegrate, the individual suffers, and sometimes suicide can be a consequence.
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 800,000 people die by suicide each year and many millions more live through their suicide attempts. Almost all of these people were working at the time of their death — or had recently been working or have a family member who is working. Thus, the workplace is arguably the most cross-cutting system we have in suicide prevention. Read more...
Breaking the Silence: Construction workers are at high risk for suicide. Here's what the industry is doing about it
April 10, 2019 | By: Elizabeth Hayes | Source: Portland Business Journal
This story is part of a statewide media reporting project called Breaking the Silence, designed to highlight the public health crisis of death by suicide and examine how prevention can and does work. Scroll down for more information on the project, and visit the Breaking the Silence website to view all the stories. Read more...
Suicide in the Construction Industry: Breaking the Stigma and Silence
March 11, 2019 | Source: American Society of Safety Professionals
A suicide occurs every 12 minutes in the U.S. While these incidents touch every industry, one industry in particular has felt the impact of suicide in recent years – construction and extraction. A CDC study found that in 2012 and 2015, suicide rates were highest among males in the construction and extraction occupational group. Read more...
We Can't Fix Mental Health With Duct Tape: A New Frontier in Safety
Spring/Summer 2019 Issue | By: Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D. | Source: Safety Decisions Magazine
Historically, mental health and suicide have not been considered safety priorities—until now. Here is why industry should care deeply about these issues, along with evidence-based tactics to save lives and alleviate suffering.
Safety professionals are well-versed in the “fatal four”—falls, struck by object, electrocution, and caught in between—and know that if they are able to prevent these forms of death, they will save almost 600 lives each year.1 What most safety professionals are unaware of is that suicide in construction takes many more lives. A recent study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)2 found that, in their sample, 20% of all men who died by suicide in the United States were in the construction/extraction industry. Read more...
Construction Workers Have Highest Rate of Suicide Among American Workers
November 20, 2018 | By: Kim Slowey | Source: Construction Dive
Dive Brief: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its Nov. 16 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report identified construction and extraction as the occupational group with the highest rate of male suicide among American workers. The CDC based its conclusion on data from 17 states and the 2012 and 2015 National Violent Death Reporting System.
The construction and extraction group's rate of suicide per 100,000 civilian non-institutionalized workers was 43.6 in 2012 (1,009 total workers) and 53.2 in 2015 (1,248 total workers). In comparison and reflective of the relatively small number of women in construction and extraction, the number of female workers who committed suicide in 2012 was nine and then 14 in 2015. Read more...
Construction Workers Lead in U.S. Suicide Rates, CDC Finds
(The lowest suicide rates are among educators and librarians, the CDC found.)
November 15, 2018 | By: Maggie Fox | Source: NBC News
Male construction workers have the highest rate of suicide in the U.S., while teachers and librarians have the lowest, according to new federal data.
Suicides are rising among the whole population, and a breakdown by occupation shows construction workers and miners headed the list, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
“In 2012 and 2015, suicide rates were highest among males in the construction and extraction occupational group,” the CDC said in a statement. Read more...
Beyond Falls- Suicide and Risk in the Construction Industry
Someone who is contemplating suicide may take unnecessary risks or be distracted.
September 14, 2018 | By: Danielle Andrus | Source: Colorado Builder Magazine
That construction is a dangerous occupation is well established. We accept that this type of work is inherently dangerous and do our best to mitigate the risks that workers face. However, a less openly talked-about danger is the troubling frequency with which construction workers take their lives.
The risk isn’t just to the depressed or suicidal worker. Someone who is contemplating suicide may take unnecessary risks or may be distracted, putting other workers in danger. Read more...
A risky business—Examining Suicide in Construction
Why do so many construction workers take their own lives?
September 11, 2018 | By: Danielle Andrus | Source: Colorado Builder Magazine
One of your workers shows up on the jobsite one day and asks his buddy if he wants his boots. He gives his tool belt to another coworker. Two days later, his family calls to say your worker took his life and ask if there had been any warning signs of suicide.
Giving away possessions is just one of the warning signs that a person is seriously contemplating suicide, according to Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, a clinical psychologist and speaker on suicide prevention. Extreme mood swings, increased use of drugs or alcohol and talking about wanting to die or acquiring the means to do so are also signs that someone is struggling.
Suicide is not just a problem for the construction industry. It’s the leading cause of death in the United States, and suicide rates have increased in almost every state, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Colorado is among the states with the biggest increase in suicide rates. Between 1996 and 2016, the suicide rate in our state increased over 34%, compared to the national average of 25.4%. Read more...
MOBILE MENTAL HEALTH
Some mobile apps can supplement suicide counseling to reduce feelings of isolation.
September 11, 2018 | By: Danielle Andrus | Source: Colorado Builder Magazine
Several mobile apps exist to help workers track their mental and physical health and identify patterns that could help them understand their moods better.
Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas warned that some are more helpful than others, but what’s most important is if it works for the individual. “Technology moves incredibly fast and science moves incredibly slow,” she noted. Here are some apps recommended by Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas and ManTherapy.org, a multi-agency suicide prevention campaign targeting working-age men. Each of these apps are available for Apple and Android devices. Read more...
Construction Safety’s Next Frontier: Suicide Prevention
By: Cal Beyer | Source: Asphalt Pro
The construction industry is experiencing unprecedented attention to mental health and suicide prevention. Progressive contractors with leading safety, health and wellness programs are embracing mental health and suicide prevention as the next frontier in safety. The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) was born out of necessity.
As Sally Spencer-Thomas, Ph.D., discussed in her article, Build Protective Factors Against Mental Health Crises, Suicide Risk on page xx, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the first report on suicide by major occupational groupings in July of last year. The report revealed that the construction/extraction industry has the highest number of suicide deaths among major occupations. Specifically, the construction/extraction industry reports 53.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 employees. Read more...
Construction Safety Includes Suicide Prevention
October 31, 2018 | By: Warren Frey | Source: Journal of Commerce
The construction industry is starting to look at a hidden problem with deadly consequences.
Donna Grant, a marketing manager at Scott Construction, addressed the issue of suicide for attendees of the British Columbia Construction Safety Alliance’s (BCCSA) Bridging the Gap safety conference on Oct. 26 in Vancouver.
Grant said suicide is the second leading cause of death in the construction industry in men aged 25 to 59, and the highest rates are men from 40 to 59.
“But the good news is that everyone in this room is in a position to change that,” Grant said.
She emphasized that suicide is preventable and despite social stigma “it’s OK to talk about suicide. Asking doesn’t provoke the act, it can in fact reduce anxiety and help people feel understood.
“If you reach out to someone with suicidal thoughts, you may be their one lifeline,” Grant said.
The nature of the construction industry at present also contributes to a culture that is uncomfortable with dealing with suicide and other mental illness issues, Grant said. Read more...