THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Thursday, March 12, 2020 |B5

company also has trained

around 250 managers and

foremen in mental-health

awareness and outfitted their

hard hats with “Need to Talk?”

stickers encouraging co-work-

ers to reach out if they need

assistance.

One of the largest general

contractors in the U.S.,Hoff-

man ConstructionCo., is also

encouraging workers to talk

frankly about their emotions.

The company has begun con-

verting part of their on-site

construction trailers into “safe

rooms” where workers can

come before their shifts for

peer-to-peer discussions about

mental-health struggles they

may be facing. Hoffman is

planning to roll out similar

initiatives across its work-

force, said Sheri Sundstrom,

MANAGEMENT

the industry has been gather-

ing momentum. The industry

group Construction Financial

Management Association has

developed suicide prevention

guides for companies, with

chapters holding around a

dozen summits on the topic in

recent years. Other industry

task forces to address the is-

sue have sprung up in Wash-

ington and Oregon.

Many say suicide preven-

tion is a safety imperative. In

2018, for example, 10 con-

struction workers in Washing-

ton state died on the job. Yet

far more died by suicide: At

least 125 people classified as

working in the state’s con-

struction and extraction in-

dustries—which includes min-

ing and oil drilling—killed

themselves that year.

Nearly 38,000 working-age

Americans died by suicide in

2017, a 40% jump in less than

two decades. Jane Pearson,

special adviser on suicide re-

search at the National Insti-

tute of Mental Health, said she

is encouraged that more em-

ployers are addressing the is-

sue. In the same way many

workplaces offer opportunities

for employees to have their

blood pressure taken or cho-

lesterol evaluated, she said

mental-health training ses-

sions can make workers more

sensitive to their colleagues’

needs—and aware of their

own.

In recent years, construc-

tion fatalities nationwide have

remained stuck at around

1,000 a year despite advances

in safety technology, said Eric

Stenman, president of U.S.

buildings at infrastructure

groupBalfour Beatty.Asa

potential distraction from of-

ten physically dangerous work,

mental health should be firmly

on the industry’s agenda, he

said.

“All firms of any size or

competence level—whether re-

modeling homes or building

hospitals—need to be aware,”

he said.

Balfour Beatty’s safety

posters now include illustra-

tions emphasizing the impor-

tance of mental wellness. The

workers’ compensation pro-

gram manager.

“We have an obligation,”

said Michael Bennett, vice

president at the Cianbro Cos.,

a construction firm that oper-

ates in more than 40 states.

“You could turn a blind eye

and say that’s not us—but it is

us.” The company is having

200 supervisors undergo men-

tal-health training, part of a

program it kicked off in July.

“We don’t pretend to be

professionals, but if we can

raise our awareness and rec-

ognize the signs, we should

provide people with help,” he

said. Such help could include

referrals to counseling, leaves

of absence and temporarily re-

assigned work duties, he said.

One challenge is the con-

struction industry’s frag-

mented nature. There are hun-

dreds of thousands of

companies in the U.S., most of

which have fewer than 10 em-

ployees, with no human-re-

sources departments and often

minimal benefits.

Eleni Reed, who works on

sustainability for construction

company Lendlease, said the

company hopes to use its plat-

form to try to help influence

others. To date, around 10% of

its 1,600 U.S. employees have

taken an eight-hour workshop

on mental health and suicide

prevention. Lendlease also is

piloting a shorter, similar

training it hopes to eventually

roll out for thousands of its

contractors.

“We want to drive change

through the entire sector,” she

said.

When mental-health posters

first started appearing at

Lakeside Industries work sites

a few years ago, Mike Schute,

then in plant operations, said

he and co-workers laughed.

“We were rough and tum-

ble, loudmouth, judgmental

guys just there to make fun of

each other,” Mr. Schute said.

But the culture is changing, he

said, with more workers will-

ing to talk about mental health

on the job: “It’s definitely still

uncomfortable. But it’s out

there, and not as shocking as

it was.”

Bayview Asphalt is a small
paving company, employing
about two dozen people. Over
the past decade, the Seaside,
Ore., business has lost two
employees to suicide.
The company isn’t alone in
the industry in dealing with
such tragedy. Among occupa-
tions in the U.S., workers in
construction and extraction
face the highest rate of sui-
cide, according to a January
report from the Centers for
Disease Control and Preven-
tion, which was based on data
from 32 states participating in
the National Violent Death Re-
porting System.
“I don’t want to lose more
employees,” said Tim Wirk-
kala, Bayview’s operations
manager.
In an effort to lower the
risk, Bayview has begun show-
ing all new hires a safety
video featuring a discussion of
mental-health awareness. The
company also recently printed
up shirts for workers with
mottoes such as “Never lose
hope” and the number for a
suicide hotline.
Thegoalistoshakeupthe
construction industry’s cul-
ture. While the industry might
project a tough-guy image, its
workers are especially vulner-
able to suicide, according to
experts. They point to the high
concentration of men—who
are more at risk for suicide—
as well as the transient work,
low pay, tough schedules and
physical rigors that can lead to
self-medication and substance
abuse.
“It’s almost in our DNA. We
don’t talk about our feelings,”
said Cal Beyer, director of risk
management for Lakeside In-
dustries, Bayview’s Seattle-
area parent company. “The
culture is stoic, as is typical of
male-dominated industries.”
The push to curb suicides in

BYTE-PINGCHEN

Construction Industry Confronts Suicides

Highest-risk sector

looks to change its

culture, boost mental

heath for employees

Oregon paving firm Bayview Asphalt, which lost two workers to suicide, promotes awareness.

BAYVIEW AS[HALT

0 10 20 30 40 50

Construction/Extraction

Installation,MaintenanceandRepair†

Arts/Entertainment/Sports/Media

Farming,FishingandForestry†

TransportationandMaterialMoving

Production

BuildingCleaningandMaintenance

ProtectiveService

PersonalCareandService

HealthCarePractitioners

HealthCareSupport

ArchitectureandEngineering

Life,PhysicalandSocialScience

FoodPreparationandServing

Sales

Management

Legal

ComputerandMathematical

CommunityandSocialService

OfficeandAdministrativeSupport

BusinessandFinancialOperations

EducationTrainingandLibrary

Occupation Rate per 100,000 civilian, noninstitutionalized workers*

Female Male

*Ages 16-64 †Not calculated for females

Note: Data are from 32 states that participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System for 2016

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

ConstructionandextractingjobshavethehighestratesofsuicideintheU.S.

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