The number of suicides pertaining to mental health problems and depression has become prevalent in the recent past, especially in the construction industry. However, these numbers are now slowly decreasing due to the increasing awareness among employers as well as employees. Thanks to the construction industry which has initiated mental health awareness programs on a large scale basis aiming to improve the mental health of their employees.
Today, the construction industry has become one of the safest places for employees having mental health problems to work for. Many people think that only top-level executives and office workers are the ones who are prone to mental problems as they tend to bring home their workplace issues.
However, this is not entirely true. Even blue-collar employees’ working conditions can induce unwanted stress on them and cause them to burnout.
Construction Industry and Workers with Mental Health Problems
The construction industry is one of the first to recognize the kind of risk their employers are running in terms of increased suicidal tendencies and mental stress. Suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths for men in the US (in fact second) and the construction industry, as we all know, employs males predominantly.
Generally, it is hard to find if a worker in the construction industry is suffering from any mental issues because most of them pretend to be tough due to the nature of their work. It is this pretention that is stopping them from admitting their mental conditions and seeking proper counseling.
To overcome this problem and to make the construction industry a good job type for people with mental health problems, it has developed a blueprint.
How can the construction industry help workers with mental issues?
- The construction industry has formulated a clear blueprint known as, “Construction Industry Blueprint,”.
This aims to help managers and supervisors help their sub-ordinates fight mental illnesses and prevent suicides. The blueprint can be accessed online as well. It provides employers and higher-level management with tips on how to properly educate and support their employees in dealing with mental problems.
- It helps ground-level managers and construction supervisors to make necessary changes to the workplace culture
This enables workers find it is less stressful while performing their duties. Studies show that less stressful workplace culture can improve the overall mental health of the workers.
- Construction Supervisors are also provided with scripts to talk to the workers who are showing signs of having mental problems.
This aims to decrease the risk of them committing suicide. They are also provided with ideas on how to lead a conversation with construction workers having mental health issues.
- Construction Industry has made its top priority to improve the mental health of their workers and prevent suicides.
It has now become the industry leader in doing so. It is educating the workers, providing them with the required resources, and is also trying to resolve their issues in a timely manner through personal intervention, all of which are likely to save a lot of lives.
This is the reason why the construction industry has become a great place to work for people facing mental challenges. They can find solutions to their mental health problems and suicidal tendencies by taking the help of in-service therapies, expert counseling and other resources the construction industry has to offer.