California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) on September 9 encouraged employers and workers to raise awareness of Construction Suicide Prevention Week, September 9-13.
Hundreds of thousands of construction workers throughout the country are participating this week, according to Cal/OSHA, calling attention to support and resources for work-related mental health and suicide prevention.
Construction workers’ rate of death by suicide is 5.5 times the rate of all other construction fatalities on the jobsite, according to federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The rate of suicide in construction is more than four times higher than in the general population.
The state worker safety and health agency added new webpages about Construction Suicide Prevention Week and Mental Health Resources to provide employers and workers with information to support awareness and reduce barriers for workers to acknowledge mental health concerns related to work.
According to Cal/OSHA, employers have a unique opportunity to be leaders in making their workers feel comfortable addressing mental health concerns by providing information on mental health and discussing available resources. The agency encouraged construction industry employers to cultivate a supportive work environment that champions mental well-being as a part of their employees’ safety and health.
The agency urged employers to consider the factors that add to physical and mental stress for construction workers, including mentally or physically exhausting work and short deadlines.
“At Cal/OSHA, protecting the safety and health of all California workers is a cornerstone of who we are, but under the hard hats and safety gear are our friends, sisters, brothers–who are fighting battles we can’t always see,” Cal/OSHA Chief Debra Lee said in an agency statement. “Together, let’s help prevent suicide.”