[On Demand Webinar] Suicide Prevention: Immediate Steps You Can Take to Protect Your Construction Workers

How do I make the case within my organization to allocate more resources and integrate this into a business strategy?

Most strategies need to start with the discussion of financial return. While you can’t put financial value on a life, you can put financial value on the time and resources needed to address and invest in suicide prevention. There is a return for these efforts, as investing in mental health treatment has been shown to be cost effective, and many evidence-based treatments can save $2 to $4 for every dollar invested in prevention and early intervention. All companies spend significant amounts of budget on safety and risk mitigation, and suicide prevention can easily be integrated into these areas. HUB can help you identify resources and efficiencies that should be part of your company’s risk mitigation strategy.

The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates across all industries. Why is that – and how can I help change it?

The nature of construction work is demanding, cyclical and inconsistent, which creates a fast-paced but unreliable work environment. The nature of work – physically demanding and repetitive – causes many workers to have severe and chronic physical injuries. There is also a known stigma against mental healthcare, contributing to a work culture in which it is difficult to speak up and as for help. All of that, mixed with the fact that many organizations have not yet integrated suicide prevention into their risk mitigation strategy, creates an environment where many do not know where to start, who to approach, or if asking for help will impact their career or someone else’s.

How can my organization strategize putting mental health front and center?

Get in front of your employees and make mental health care and self-care awareness a part of the ongoing conversation. Simply having a conversation about the heightened risk within the industry creates awareness and that is a solid starting point. Doing something will yield far more results than doing nothing. It’s important to invest in mental healthcare support and other resources and consistently reiterate to your employees how and where to find and utilize the information needed – before they need it. Whether it’s a HUB resource, a Canadian website, the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) or your employee assistance program (EAP) provider, there is free education available for you. CIASP has partnered with Living Works – an organization that gives people the tools and confidence they need to intervene and ask the questions they need to ask.

What if I notice an employee needs help but I feel uncomfortable – or unprepared to assist?

If you’re unprepared to help and you find yourself in an urgent situation where you’re needed, the best thing you can do is be present and listen without judgement. Next, you should reach out to your Human Resources department for assistance. Whatever you do, don’t allow an employee’s need for assistance with their mental health sit with you. Timing is incredibly important when someone is in need. Having the suicide prevention lifeline number and a crisis text line are easy ways to provide support to someone in need should you find yourself without the words to help. Even without saying anything you can help someone in need.

Are there specific signs or symptoms I should be looking out for proactively?

Front line managers are most closely in touch with employees on a regular basis and likely the first to notice a change in an employee’s mood, attitude and activity pattern. Some signals that an employee may be in need of mental health care are uncharacteristic anger, a negative attitude, a consistent change in job performance, an uptick in safety issues or accidents, insubordination, lack of cooperation, resistance to help, poor concentration (which can cause incidents of other kinds), withdrawal, depression, or talking about self-harm or suicide. If a change is noticed, the time to act is now.  HUB can help you integrate mental health check-ins and factors to watch for with your safety and risk observations.

What are some easy steps to start addressing mental health needs in my organization?

Any step you take to receive additional tools, resources and information is a good first step to integrating mental health into your company’s overall safety protocol. Remember, doing something is far better than doing nothing – the industry is in need! Open lines of well-being communication and awareness across the entire company to build trust, tackle stigma, teach stress management and offer immediate support resources such as peer check-ins. Employees need to know that their employer is paying attention, wants to help and is able to provide the resources needed. Equally important, leadership within your organization should be trained in how to address employee mental health care needs. For additional and immediate tools and resources, reach out to HUB, your employee assistance program (EAP) provider, the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) and Living Works to get started.