At its inaugural meeting, members of the CEO Advisory Board of the Industry Suicide Prevention Sector met in New York City in mid -March to develop their strategy to reduce the handmade workers’ suicide rate through a better awareness and support of prevention initiatives for the entire construction.
The meeting, organized in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, included C-site executives in Bechtel, Fluor, Turner Construction, America North America’s Building Trades Sindions, Kiewit, Clark Construction and Skanska, who have pledged to collaborate in prevention efforts and improve mental health throughout the industry.
Bechtel’s President and CEO Brendan Bechtel said that the high industry suicide rate “demands that we find new and better solutions to prioritize mental health as much as we do physical security,” he said.
The contractor announced last year an investment of $ 7 million for five years at the Foundation to help develop suicide prevention programs. Group’s CEO, Robert Gebbia, supported Bechtel’s comments asking the industry leaders to help speed up intervention efforts and education programs. “WHe will open the way to follow together to support construction workers now and in the future, “he said.
According to the Disease Control and Prevention Centersthe suicide rate Among men’s construction workers is 75% higher than men in the general population. Around 6,000 construction workers died by suicide in 2022, an increase in 2021, said the Center for Research and Training under construction.
“Addressing mental health challenges is vital to ensure the welfare of talented men and women who serve as the basis of our industry,” said Robert D. Moser, Jr., CEO of Clark Construction. George Pfeffer, CEO of DPR Construction, added that the “Numbers show why this matters.”
The Foundation notes on its website, a study published in January Yale School of Medicine and connecticut Healthcare System, which found main risk factors for suicide mortality, include the participation of the justice system, exposure to the suicide of others, accessibility of firearms, divorce, foster care experience, liberation of the incarceration and unemployment of the middle life. But religious affiliation was identified as a protective factor.
Doing his part
For many of the Council’s CEOs, joining the Advisory Board was an opportunity to amplify their own awareness -raising efforts and learning from each other.
“In recent years, and annually, the world’s posts and projects offices participate in the week of suicide prevention to raise awareness,” said David Constable, president of the firm and CEO. Business leaders also receive training on how to detect mental health and suicide warning signs and refer to employees, with workers and supervisors on the front line, also engaged in awareness -raising efforts.
One of the key goals for construction leaders is to allocate mental health challenges, he said, Richard Kennedy, President and CEO of Skanska USA. The President and CEO of Turner Construction Co., Peter Davoren, said that the company is “committed to creating and maintaining” an environment where people “are treated with respect and dignity”, while Kiewit’s CEO, Rick Lanoha, said the “significant opportunity … to make sure that our people and their families have access to support and services they need to successfully manage their mental well-being and services. emotional “.
Said the head of the McGarvey Union “Addressing the crisis of suicide in construction requires critical steps together as an industry … to build a culture that fosters mental well -being and saves life.”
