CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY UNITES TO TACKLE SUICIDE

By: Sean Forbes

At construction conferences in San Diego and Hawaii, Asif Choudury had a great time getting together with Bruce Tabler, both board members of the Construction Financial Management Association.

Choudury remembered carousing with Tabler and other colleagues when they were at the CFMA’s summer 2013 conference in San Diego, “clowning around til 4 in the morning, overloading some poor guy with a rickshaw” in the city’s Gaslamp Quarter. “There was hootin’ and hollerin’, just having a good time, no real issues. We had some good food, good times.”

By November of that year, his friend was no longer in the joking mood. And when Choudury, president of Bahar Consulting LLC in Washington, learned several months later that his friend had taken his own life, he was completely unprepared.“It was devastating to me,” Choudury told Bloomberg BNA. “It really was. I was in complete shock.” (subscribe to see full article)

SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE

By: Bob Swanson

International Union of Painters and Allied Trades

Knowing more about mental illness can help you, your loved ones, and co-workers.

As a member of the construction industry and a father who lost a son to suicide, I appreciate this opportunity to share information with members of the IUPAT.

A little background about my journey with this topic:  Our oldest son, Michael, lived with a brain disease by the name of bipolar disorder. This disease led to his death by suicide at the age of 33 on March 13, 2009.  Read More

SUICIDE IS TAKING ITS TOLL IN CONSTRUCTION- WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO RECOGNIZE ITS DANGERS, AND HOW TO PREVENT IT

By: Painters & Allied Trades Journal

Working in the building and construction trades is a challenging career. There are high productivity demands on the workforce to meet deadlines, as well as working conditions that can often be an extreme danger if strict safety guidelines aren’t followed.

According to a July report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the stress from these factors, coupled with several others, are taking their toll on the construction workforce in the worst possible way. Read More

2016 GARY E. BIRD HORIZON AWARD PRESENTED TO THE CONSTRUCTION SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE WORKPLACE TASK FORCE; NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION

Orlando, FL — The Gary E. Bird Horizon Award was presented at the 36th IRMI Construction Risk Conference (CRC) to the Construction Subcommittee of the Workplace Task Force; National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. This award recognized the committee for their innovative suicide prevention program. 

The committee developed and implemented the award-winning “Breaking the Silence: Suicide Prevention in the Construction Workplace” program to address mental health and suicide prevention in the construction industry. The goal of this program is to increase communication, reduce fear/stigma, engage leadership and provide a roadmap for the construction industry to prevent suicide.

The Gary E. Bird Horizon Award, sponsored by Travelers, is presented annually by IRMI to recognize a demonstrated commitment to improving construction risk management through the implementation of innovative, cost-effective, and efficient risk management techniques.

“Few of us were hired and promoted into management because of our capabilities to identify and address mental illness,” said Joe Tracy, President of Travelers Inland Marine. “This approach is very helpful at getting wide spread adoption across any company’s management ranks and most importantly helps ensure the effective implementation of the program.”

The other finalists for the award were Shawn Connick, Director of Safety for Charles Pankow Builders Ltd.; Robert J. DeSmidt, CPA, CFO/risk manager for Klinger Companies, Inc.; Tommy Erhman, Project Executive for Gilbane Federal; and Dwayne Jeffery, Senior EHS Transportation Manager for Odebrecht.

Read more about the winning submission and view the committee’s flyer.

Learn more about the Gary E. Bird Horizon Award at: https://www.irmi.com/conferences/crc/awards/horizon/howto.aspx.

VIDEO OF HORIZON AWARDS

AEC PROFESSIONALS AT HIGH RISK FOR SUICIDE, BUT PREEMPTIVE APPROACHES CAN HELP

By: Kevin Wilcox

A CDC report reveals that employees in the architecture, engineering, and construction fields are at high risk for suicide. Assistance programs can make a difference.

October 4, 2016—When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released suicide statistics by profession earlier this year, the nexus of vocations that make up the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professions ranked uncomfortably high on the list. Read More

HOW A LOCAL CONSTRUCTION COMPANY IS PREVENTING SUICIDE

By: Kyle Dyer, KUSA

DENVER - What you do for a living can make you more at risk for suicide.

People who work in isolation or have unsteady employment like in the agriculture and forestry industries are at the greatest risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported there are 85 suicides per 100,000 workers in those fields. 

Construction workers, carpenters and electricians also have a high risk for suicide (CDC: 53 suicides per 100,000).

When you consider how many construction projects are going on throughout the Denver metro area, the statistics are even more alarming.

"We've changed our culture," RK Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Kinning said.  Read more...

THE AEC INDUSTRY'S DEADLY PROBLEM

By: Leah Sottile

Architecture and construction rank high on a recent report listing suicides by occupation. Are these professions doing enough to ensure the mental health of practitioners and students?

In July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report that set off alarm bells in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. In the report, the CDC concluded that, among all occupational groups in the U.S., the construction and extraction industry had the second-highest rate of suicide, and architecture and engineering the fifth-highest. (The farming, fishing, and forestry occupational group topped the list.) The report, which compiled data from 17 U.S. states in 2012, tells a story that many in AEC know too well: The industry’s high-stakes, competitive nature can put undue pressure on the mental health of everyone involved, from students to practitioners.  Read more...

PART 2: A HIDDEN EPIDEMIC: HOW SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS CAN TRANSFORM CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY CULTURE

By: Emily Peiffer

Construction's high suicide rates and the importance of prevention efforts are just beginning to reach the radar of industry leaders, but the path to achieving that awareness was long and arduous amid obstacles of stigma and lack of awareness. However, with a newfound prevalence in the mainstream industry consciousness, some businesses are starting to transform their company culture and offer employee resources to drive change. Read More

PART 1: A HIDDEN EPIDEMIC: CONSTRUCTION SUICIDE DATA DRAWS INDUSTRY CRISIS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT

By: Emily Reiffer

One afternoon in 2014, a distressed and despondent RK Mechanical employee gave away his tools to his coworkers. Looking back, managers realized he was saying goodbye. They didn't realize it soon enough.

Later that night, the worker killed himself.

"Nobody was really prepared to notice it, acknowledge it, deal with it, or ask him what was wrong," RK Director of Marketing and Communications Heather Gallien said. "It was an instance that could've been averted had staff been better prepared." Read More

TACKLING MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

By: Cal Beyer & Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas

Workers in the construction and extraction industries have a 53.3 per 100,000 rate of suicide, which is second only to workers in the farming, fishing and forest occupational group (84.5 per 100,000), according to statistics released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 1.  Mental health and suicide prevention have been called a “management imperative,” a “missing link” in human capital risk management, and a “vital element” in a company’s safety, wellness and employee benefits program. Yet historically, the construction industry has been characterized by a stoic, tough-guy culture that keeps personal matters out of the workplace.  After generations of this old school mentality, the times are changing as progressive contractors weave mental health and suicide prevention into a dominant “new school” culture.  Following are the stories of two construction employers that are leading the movement. Read more...

SUICIDE PREVENTION: A HEALTH AND SAFETY PRIORITY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

By: Nate Traylor

A new report from the CDC places laborers in construction among those most at risk of suicide. Now a group of finance executives have placed themselves on the front lines of prevention.

 Construction is an industry where you are more likely to self-destruct.  That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. The agency examined the frequency of suicides across different occupational groups and found that construction had the second highest rate, with 53.3 suicides per 100,000 workers. (Those in forestry, fishing and farming are most at risk, with 84.5 suicides per 100,000.)

The findings, published in the CDC’s July 1 “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,” came as no surprise to the Construction Financial Management Association. In the past year, the group of approximately 7,500 accountants, controllers, CFOs and HR professionals — some within the pool industry — has committed itself to eliminating self-inflicted deaths by promoting mental health services and encouraging construction firms to create cultures of care.  Read more...

MENTAL HEALTH ON THE MINDS OF UNION SHEET METAL WORKERS

FAIRFAX, Va. – For decades, when a member of the International Association of Sheet Metal Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, or SMART, (formerly the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association) had a personal problem, they would turn to a fellow member for help. For small issues, friends and mentors dispensed good advice just fine. However, for those members with deeper problems such as thoughts of suicide or drug and alcohol abuse and substance use disorder, friends and mentors were lost as to what advice to give.

The Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT) is working with SMART’s Member Assistance Program (MAP), formally the Union Member Assistance Coordinator (UMAC) program, to train members to guide their peers in the direction of professional assistance such as therapy, rehabilitation and eventual recovery. Read more...

SUICIDE PREVENTION: A HEALTH AND SAFETY PRIORITY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

By: Cal Beyer & Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas

When the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released its milestone report on occupation and suicide earlier this month, many construction industry leaders took notice.

For the first time, researchers were able to rank industries by highest rates and the largest numbers of deaths by suicide across 17 states. Construction was ranked number two for highest rates of suicide and number one for highest numbers. 

WHY IS THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SUICIDE RATE SO HIGH?

Two reasons for the high suicide rate are the workforce and the nature of the work.  Read more...

LEADERS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

By: Emily Alvarez

Cal Beyer: My Journey to Find Meaning After My Friend/Coworker's Suicide

Stories of lived experience can be used to fight the stigma of mental illness and suicide and to help get people involved in the movement. These journeys humanize the suicide prevention movement and help other people seek help. This series on lived experience is a great chance to highlight a loss survivor's story and the search for meaning after loss.

Cal Beyer is a friend of our CEO Sally Spencer-Thomas, as well as a friend to our organization. He lost a coworker last February and has been making meaning out of the loss ever since. This is his story.

CDC: CONSTRUCTION HAS SECOND-HIGHEST SUICIDE RATE ACROSS ALL INDUSTRIES

By: Kim Slowey

n its report, using 2012 data from 17 states (12,312 total suicides), the CDC said that construction workers might be more susceptible to suicide because of the unstable nature of employment, which causes financial and relationship problems as well as isolation.

In an acknowledgment of how high the suicide risk is in the construction industry, the CDC said that the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (NAASP) has developed special assistance programs for those workers.

In February, The Carson J. Spencer Foundation, in cooperation with the NAASP and RK Mechanical in Denver, announced that it had published a construction industry suicide prevention guidebook to help executives in the business identify risk factors. The guidebook explains how contractors make mental health a priority through open discussion of topics considered sensitive to construction workers.  Read more...

SUICIDE RATES BY OCCUPATIONAL GROUP — 17 STATES, 2012

n 2012, approximately 40,000 suicides were reported in the United States, making suicide the 10th leading reported cause of death for persons aged ≥16 years (1). From 2000 to 2012, rates of suicide among persons in this age group increased 21.1%, from 13.3 per 100,000 to 16.1 (1). To inform suicide prevention efforts, CDC analyzed suicide by occupational group, by ascribing occupational codes to 12,312 suicides in 17 states in 2012 from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) (2). The frequency of suicide in different occupational groups was examined, and rates of suicide were calculated by sex and age group for these categories. Persons working in the farming, fishing, and forestry group had the highest rate of suicide overall (84.5 per 100,000 population) and among males (90.5); the highest rates of suicide among females occurred among those working in protective service occupations (14.1). Overall, the lowest rate of suicide (7.5) was found in the education, training, and library occupational group. Suicide prevention approaches directed toward persons aged ≥16 years that enhance social support, community connectedness, access to preventive services, and the reduction of stigma and barriers to help-seeking are needed. Read more...

SUICIDE AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES—UNSPOKEN TOPICS IN THE CONSTRUCTION BIZ

By: Lauren Elkies Schram

Last year, an ironworker named Gary Russo, dubbed the “Second Avenue Sinatra” by the tabloids for singing karaoke during his lunch breaks while working on the Second Avenue subway line, took his own life.

If you saw him perform or read about him five years ago, this news might have come as a shock; one can still find clips of Russo sweetly crooning “Summer Wind” on YouTube to passersby on the Upper East Side. But after he hung himself last August, it became clear that Russo had been growing ever more depressed over life circumstances, including a breakup. Read More

A SURGE IN SUICIDES

By: Cal Beyer and Bob Vandepol

Recent data highlights a surge in suicide rates in the United States to its highest levels in decades.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent between 1999 and 2014. Suicide deaths increased from 29,199 in 1999 to 42,773 in 2014. Suicide rates for men and women aged 45-64 increased by 43 per­cent and 63 percent, respectively. Men still account or almost 80 percent of the total number of sui­cides in the United States. Read More

WHAT CONSTRUCTION WORKERS COULD TEACH OTHER INDUSTRIES ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

By: Amy Morin

In the 14 years since I started my career as a psychotherapist, I’ve seen some shifts in the way society views mental health. Slowly, the stigma attached to mental illness seems to be decreasing. And each year during the month of May–Mental Health Awareness Month–I’m always happy to learn about organizations and industries who are working hard to promote workplace mental health.

Although the construction industry may be about the last place you’d expect workers to talk about depression or anxiety, they’re becoming industry leaders in mental health awareness. They’re doing some incredible work to reduce the stigma attached to mental health and they’re saving lives. Read more...