Each year in September the construction industry comes together to dedicate a week to raising awareness around the heightened rates of suicide among construction workers.

Construction Suicide Prevention Week (CSPW) launched in 2020 and has since developed resources, toolbox talks, and webinars to increase understanding of the industry’s risks and lower the stigma surrounding mental health. Last year, nearly 300,000 construction workers across 47 states and territories participated in the week.

To learn more about CSPW—and the suicide risks construction workers face—BUILDER caught up with CSPW steering committee member Kari English. English is the vice president of communications and strategy at the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City.

What are some of the unique challenges construction workers face that puts the group at higher risk?
There are a number of factors that contribute to the construction industry having a higher rate of suicide. One is that workers tend to travel more, which means they may be away from their support networks for extended periods or feel isolated by being away from home for long stretches.

Another is that construction is high-risk work that can result in injuries. Workers don’t get paid when they don’t work, so the mental stress on top of a physical injury keeping them off the jobsite can weigh heavy. That ties right into another factor, which is that workers may turn to opioids to be able to work through pain, and there is a high correlation between opioid addiction and suicide.

Finally, construction is a male dominated industry, and more men die by suicide than women. There’s a culture of “toughness” on many jobsites that may make workers feel shame about discussing their mental health or taking action to improve their mental wellness.

How can builders/employers address mental health and start the conversation?
One way employers can start the conversation about mental wellness is by participating in CSPW. One of the barriers we've heard from the industry about starting the conversation is that those tasked with doing so are often safety professionals who don’t have behavioral or mental health training. These individuals often want to have the conversations and be part of the solution, but they aren’t sure how to get started.

That’s where CSPW comes in – construction has a week for just about everything, so it’s a really familiar tactic to safety professionals with built-in approaches to involving workers on the jobsite. We’ve compiled resources to help, including toolbox talks in English and Spanish, a speaker sourcing guide, and printable materials.

But it has to go beyond the one week. Employers can post resources around jobsites, like the 988 number. They can continue to incorporate mental health toolbox talks throughout the year. They can take a look at their health benefits program to make sure the mental health benefits are strong. They can educate employees about using an Employee Assistance Program to seek help. They can provide workers with information about pain management options in case of injuries.

What are some ways to boost awareness?
CSPW has a supply shop where employers can bulk order materials with the 988 number on them to provide workers and display on the jobsite. We also think this information is too important to gate keep, so we provide all our resources on our website for free. We encourage employers to download the toolbox talks and use them on jobsites. Normalizing mental health conversations at the workplace is a great way to start building awareness and making sure workers feel comfortable asking for help when they need it.

Are there any common misconceptions surrounding suicide and the construction industry?
I think a lot of people in the industry worry that telling their employers they need help will end up with them losing their jobs. Employers are so much better-informed today about the need to support the mental health of their employees, but we have to find ways to shift the culture and make sure employees know they can ask for help, too.

How can builders/employers get involved in Construction Suicide Prevention Week?
CSPW launched the first-ever, nationwide stand-down in 2024, where we asked construction workers across the country to participate in one minute of silence at the same time on Monday, Sept. 9 to honor all those we’ve lost to suicide and all those who need hope. Employers could provide their teams with handouts to fill in the name of someone they wanted to honor, and we created a sample script organizations could customize for their own events. We hope participating companies will share their photos and videos from their stand-down with us to compile into a video to show the impact of this initiative.

We are hosting a webinar on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 10:30 a.m. CST where firms of varying sizes will talk about the different ways their organization is making mental health a priority. Anyone can register to attend the webinar.

We also want every company participating in CSPW to register their participation on our website. This helps us track the spread of the message, as well as to better understand the resources companies need to support their workforce. The website is full of resources and ideas about how to participate in the week, so it’s a great place to get started.