The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates among all professions. The rate among male workers is 75% higher than that of men in the general population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is estimated that 6,000 construction workers committed suicide in 2022, an increase from 2021, according to the latest available data. This compares to about 1,000 workers who died due to work-related injuries in construction.
Although wages in construction are on the rise and jobs are abundant, industry professionals fear that the pressures on the mental health of their workers are worsening. A recent increase in construction projects, fueled by billions of dollars in federal investments for infrastructure and clean energy, has placed growing pressure on an already overburdened workforce.
The labor shortage across the sector is a reality. By early 2024, the construction industry needed an additional 500,000 workers beyond the normal hiring pace to meet expected demand, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors.
As a result, workers are working more than 10 hours a day in adverse conditions and having to spend months away from home, living in hotels, temporary worker housing, or their own vehicles.
One of the biggest construction booms at the moment is being driven by the semiconductor industry. Companies are planning to spend $450 billion on 80 new semiconductor manufacturing projects in 25 states as part of a national effort led by the Biden administration to increase U.S. manufacturing of high-tech chips used in everything from cars to military equipment.
In Arizona, workers building Intel’s $20 billion facilities typically work two weeks of 60 hours, followed by a week of 50 hours for months on end, in the hot Arizona climate, without paid vacation. Due to the shortage of local workers, many come from out of state, leaving behind friends and family and living for months or years in hotels or temporary housing.
On the Intel project, the general contractor on site, Hoffman Construction, is trying to address the risk of suicide in various ways at its job sites after the company lost two of its supervisors to suicide in recent years.
The company has created community centers at its job sites where workers can have some personal space, participate in meetings about substance use, or talk to a colleague who can help connect them to mental health resources. It has also started including discussions about mental health in its regular team meetings.
The alarm bells about the high suicide rate began to sound in the construction industry in 2016 when a CDC report showed that construction workers had one of the highest suicide rates by profession, leading several industry groups to begin seeking solutions.
For every 100,000 male construction workers, 56 died by suicide in 2022, according to CDC data. This compares to 32 suicide deaths per 100,000 men in the general population. Men have a significantly higher suicide rate than women.
One of the main focuses of the industry has been to try to combat the taboo of talking about mental health and seeking treatment. There is that image that construction workers are so big and strong that they never need help. This hinders the search for assistance.
Source: NBC News