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
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
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...
A GLOBAL EFFORT IN WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY: SUICIDE PREVENTION
By: Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D.
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...
FORMER FRANCE TÉLÉCOM BOSSES GIVEN JAIL TERMS OVER WORKPLACE BULLYING
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...
WE CAN'T FIX MENTAL HEALTH WITH DUCT TAPE: A NEW FRONTIER IN SAFETY
By: Sally Spencer-Thomas, Psy.D.
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...
BREAKING THE SILENCE: CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR SUICIDE. HERE'S WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS DOING ABOUT IT
By: Elizabeth Hayes
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
By: 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...
CONSTRUCTION WORKERS HAVE HIGHEST RATE OF SUICIDE AMONG AMERICAN WORKERS
By: Kim Slowey
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
By: Maggie Fox
(The lowest suicide rates are among educators and librarians, the CDC found.)
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...
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY INCLUDES SUICIDE PREVENTION
By: Warren Frey
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...
CONSTRUCTION SAFETY’S NEXT FRONTIER: SUICIDE PREVENTION
By: Cal Beyer
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...
BEYOND FALLS- SUICIDE AND RISK IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
By: Danielle Andrus
Someone who is contemplating suicide may take unnecessary risks or be distracted.
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...
MOBILE MENTAL HEALTH
By: Danielle Andrus
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...
A RISKY BUSINESS—EXAMINING SUICIDE IN CONSTRUCTION
By: Danielle Andrus
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...
LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
The suicide rate among low-skilled male labourers is three times higher than the national average for men, according to figures by the ONS. Read more...
EXCLUSIVE: BURNING MAN, A UTOPIA FOR GUESTS, WAS HELL FOR MANY WORKERS
By: Keith A. Spencer and Nicole Karlis
Every summer at the end of August, thousands of people from around the world make their pilgrimage to Burning Man, the signal counterculture festival of our epoch. Some come for a spiritual awakening, some merely to party and indulge, others to gawk at the spectacle. What started as a small summer-solstice gathering on San Francisco’s Baker Beach in 1986 has been refashioned as a major event drawing more than 75,000 festival-goers to the Black Rock Desert, a remote plateau desert two hours north of Reno, Nevada.
Describing Burning Man to someone who has never been is an exercise in superlatives. Given its freeform, anarchic nature, it is to some extent what you make of it, and it has a different meaning to different people. Some regard it as the provenance of obnoxious trust-funders and rich techies; others, as the terminus of 1960s-era hippiedom. At a minimum, Burning Man resembles a more libertine Coachella, a giant drug-driven wardrobe malfunction bursting with alternate theories of don’t-tread-on-me hedonism and solipsistic schemes for freer living. Read more...
SUICIDE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: THE SILENT KILLER
By: Hannah Spruce
In a 'tough guy,' male-dominated industry, workers with mental health issues often are overlooked or fail to seek help.
The construction and extraction industries have the second-highest rate of suicide – 53.3 per 100,000 workers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Read more...
CONSTRUCTION + SUICIDE PREVENTION: 10 ACTION STEPS COMPANIES CAN TAKE TO SAVE LIVES
By: Sally Spencer-Thomas
The construction industry is at heightened risk for mental health problems, substance abuse, and suicide. These conditions can be devastating to employees and their families, and can be very costly and disruptive to workplaces. For these reasons, a comprehensive and sustained strategy for mental health promotion and suicide prevention is needed. This guide is a call to action for all those ready to implement tactics to improve the mental health of their employees and ultimately save lives. Read More
FROM ACTION TO AWARENESS- INTEGRATING MENTAL HEALTH PROMOTION AND SUICIDE PREVENTION INTO WELLNESS PRACTICES
By: Christian Moreno & Sally Spencer-Thomas
WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THE term “wellness,” they often think of physical wellness: sleeping eight hours a night, drinking 64 ounces of water a day and exercising for 30 minutes three times a week. Physical wellness is important, but it is only one dimension of overall wellness. Mental, social and emotional and spiritual conditions are key aspects of a person’s overall wellness.
Mental wellness involves always sharpening skills and committing to lifelong learning. It comes from a sense of inner responsibility to always finding ways to improve – increasing knowledge, asking critical questions, trying new things and advancing skill sets. Social and emotional wellness focuses on keeping relationships and emotional well-being intact. It’s about conflict resolution, self- esteem and coping skills. Finally, spiritual wellness involves committing to something larger – participating in a faith community, volunteering to serve the common good, standing up for injustice or appreciating nature.
When implementing wellness into the construction industry, the conventional wisdom has been, “Don’t invest in it” or “It has little impact.” These perceived challenges are exacerbated by the paradigm shared by American society: mental health issues are personal and taboo. Combine the cultural realities of the construction industry with the perceived financial challenges of investing in mental health and you get a recipe for disaster. It’s time to change the mindset.
As with any preventive maintenance process, wellness needs attention over the long haul. Unfortunately, when people are in crisis mode, wellness practices are often the first to go. And, just like when you neglect to change the oil in your car, the end cost is higher. When adversity hits, people will be in a much stronger position to maintain high performance, reframe disappointment and recover from trauma if they have reservoirs of resilience and mental health resources to rely on. Arguably, the preventive approach is the most effective way to save a greater number of lives from suicide. Read more...