Editor’s Note: This story focuses on the topic of mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
The rates of fatal drug overdose and death by suicide have fallen among construction workers, according to recent data released by the construction unions of North America and CPWR, the Center for Construction Research and Training.
According to the report, drug-related overdose deaths decreased by 28.8% between 2023 and 2024 among US construction workers aged 16 to 64. This represented about 4,600 lives.
The overdose death rate fell from 135.0 to 94.8 per 100,000 workers, CPWR said. For context, work death rate for construction in 2023 it was 9.6 deaths per 100,000 workers.
That meant more than 10 times as many workers died from overdoses compared to workplace injuries in 2023. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release 2024 workplace fatality data on February 19.
CPWR and NABTU attribute the decline in overdose deaths to a few key factors, including:
- Opioid risk education.
- Fewer opioid prescriptions between 2019 and 2023.
- Widespread availability of naloxone in workplaces and the public.
- Reducing stigma around substance use and mental health.
- Improving treatment and supporting recovery in industry.
The decline in construction worker suicide deaths was more modest, falling 1.7% from 2023 to 2024. The suicide death rate fell from 43.2 to 41.9 per 100,000 workers, still more than four times the rate of on-the-job deaths in the industry.
CPWR highlighted its suicide prevention toolbox speak as a resource, available in both English and Spanish. The organization targeted interventions such as reducing injuries that cause pain, increasing paid leave, anti-bullying training and promoting a culture of safety.
Contractor’s response
The construction crisis has hardly been a secret as contractors have held events, stands and talks to raise awareness and help remove the stigma associated with mental health issues.
In 2023, Reston, Virginia-based Bechtel, one of the largest contractors in the US, gave $7 million over five years at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This represented the largest donation to the nonprofit in its history.
Last summer, Bechtel launched a brand campaign combined with a set of suicide prevention tools for contractors, called “Hard Hat Courage”. Built in partnership with AFSP along with a CEO advisory board, the initiative aims to provide businesses of all sizes with construction-tailored mental health and suicide prevention education and resources.
And Bechtel is not alone. Skanska has rolled out a program that highlights workplace workers who are training in mental health supportmodeling a practice the Sweden-based company tested in the U.K. In the previous two years, Chicago-based Clayco conducted a survey of executive and workplace workers to better understand its fears and anxieties around speaking. By doing so, the contractor had the knowledge to deploy support.
As a result of the survey, workers have been encouraged to seek psychological safety training and Clayco has provided on-site mental health support, Dan Lester, the company’s vice president of field culture and inclusion, told Construction Dive last year.
“One thing all leaders have to do is model vulnerability,” Lester said. “If you’re vulnerable first, if you talk about how things challenge you, it gives people the license or the green light to say, ‘Oh, my leader is talking about it.’ They took a mental health day. It must be okay for me to take a mental health day.”
