Acknowledge that mental health struggles are common in the industry. In construction, you may feel pressure to bottle your feelings inside. You may worry about your reputation and not being able to get work. It’ s important to break this stigma.

Owners and management can work on this by scheduling mandatory meetings discussing the suicide epidemic and getting it out in the open. Encourage your crew to share feelings and reassure them that they’ re not alone.

Here are some resources to help you support your coworkers and crew:

• The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention( CIASP) can help you and your company get

started. They have a variety of resources that make promoting awareness easy.

• OSHA can also help inform employers of the obligations they have to get their workers through mental health issues. Watch out for each other.

Try to engage employees or coworkers if they seem down or off. They may be looking for an opening— asking them what’ s wrong and actively listening with empathy may be the lifeline they need to open up.

Organize gatherings during the offseason. Depression can hit hard, especially for someone who has little or no downtime during the rest of the year. Company barbecues or team-building exercises may be a great way to check in with your crew and make sure they’ re doing okay.

Awareness is one of the best tools for prevention. September is National Suicide Prevention Month— let’ s use this to inform construction workers that suicide is one of the risks of the job just like any other work-related injury.

And just like any injury, you shouldn’ t feel shame for seeking treatment.

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