Total employee health reaches maturity

Taking care of mental health in this sector is crucial because the construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates in the United States. According to the CDC, approximately 6,000 construction workers died by suicide in 2022, an increase from 2021. By comparison, for every personal injury incident, there are potentially 6 suicides.

Designing effective programs

Creating a culture of support is difficult when you have an industry made up of employees who don’t feel comfortable talking about mental health. Moreover, industry metrics are a contributing factor to the lack of discussion. “Historically, the industry has rewarded high-challenge, low-support environments,” explains Kagerer. “We put people in situations where there are risk factors that multiply the problems. One factor is that sometimes a construction worker doesn’t know where his or her next job will be. So if you go where the work is, you leave your support system behind, and that can be a challenge.”

Kagerer met this challenge with a personalization approach. “We have identified people, not only within our security team but also those working in the field, to deal with this issue. We wanted to create a better environment by listening to the people doing the work. For this purpose, the leaders were identified by superintendents or foremen as the person to whom others naturally turn when looking for help.”

Once identified, these leaders participate in year-long activities where they learn safety protocols in addition to learning them they also learn communication and leadership skills, and part of this training is related to mental health. Once certified, field safety leaders place mental health certification stickers on helmets for easy access.

“This program was a game changer,” Kagerer says. “This is a signal that we are all in this together. Perhaps someone wouldn’t feel comfortable going to a probation officer, but feels comfortable going to someone they consider a peer.

This year, the company launched Mind Saver, created by Asma Bayunus, the company’s operations manager for health and safety. Adds mental health training to CPR and first aid training.

Reluctance to ask for help

Finding programs that employees prefer is essential. For example, it turns out that employees are unlikely to take advantage of the standard EAPs (employee assistance programs) that their companies offer. In a 2024 survey conducted by Firstup of employees who have access to wellness programs, only 28% had used them and 23% said they were unlikely to do so. Kagerer learned this from her own experience.

“I am very fortunate to be able to speak at national conferences and have been in a room full of security and safety professionals construction professionals, and I asked the question bluntly: If you had an employee assistance program and you had a problem, how many of you would raise your hand and take advantage of it? And there is silence in the room.”

That’s why Jordan Foster delivers short safety bytes to employee phones on a wide range of topics, including stretching and flexibility and total employee health. Research conducted by Firstup confirms that these changes actually work. The survey found that 32% of employees said they would be more likely to use wellness benefits if information was easier to find.

In addition to carefully designing extensive programs, Jordan Foster monitors changing working conditions. As heat stress increases, the company is aware of employee working conditions and hours and makes appropriate changes. A study of working conditions led the company to establish a standard number of hours that employees could work. This is contrary to general industry standards for very long working hours.

The way companies view TWH continues to evolve, Kagerer explains. “As an example of the issue of suicide in our industry, there are many resources both at the industry level through various associations and at the company level where people talk about this issue. Awareness has really increased. Overall, I believe the industry has made great strides with TWH as it broadens our view of security, but we still have a long way to go.”