In their inaugural meeting, members of the construction sector CEO Advisory Council on industry suicide prevention gathered in New York City in mid-March to develop their strategy to lower the higher-than-average craftworker death rate through better awareness and support of construction-wide prevention initiatives.

The meeting, hosted at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, included C-suite executives from Bechtel, Fluor, Turner Construction, North America’s Building Trades Unions, Kiewit, Clark Construction and Skanska, who have pledged to collaborate on prevention efforts and improved mental health across the industry.  

Bechtel Chairman and CEO Brendan Bechtel said the industry's high rate of suicide “demands that we find new and better solutions that prioritize mental health as much as we do physical safety.” 

The contractor announced last year a $7-million investment over five years for the foundation to assist in developing suicide prevention programs. Foundation CEO Robert Gebbia backed Bechtel’s comments by calling on industry leaders to help expedite intervention efforts and education programs. “We are going to pave the way forward together to support construction workers now and in the future,” he said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate among male construction workers is 75% higher than that of men in the general population. Around 6,000 construction workers died by suicide in 2022, an increase from 2021, according to the Center for Construction Research and Training.

“Addressing mental health challenges is vital to ensuring the well-being of the talented men and women who serve as the foundation 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 noted on its website a study released in January from the Yale School of Medicine and VA Connecticut Healthcare System that found major risk factors for suicide mortality include justice system involvement, exposure to others’ suicide, firearm accessibility, divorce, foster care experience, release from incarceration and midlife unemployment, with religious affiliation identified as a protective factor.

Doing Their Part

For many of the CEOs, joining the advisory council was an opportunity to amplify mental health awareness efforts in their own companies and learn from each other.

“Over the last several years and on an annual basis, Fluor's global project sites and offices participate in STAND Up for Suicide Prevention Week to raise awareness,” said David Constable, firm chairman and CEO. Company leaders also receive training in how to spot mental health and suicide warning signs and refer employees for help, with frontline workers and supervisors also engaged in awareness efforts. 

A key goal for the construction leaders is to destigmatize mental health challenges, said Richard Kennedy, president and CEO of Skanska USA. Turner Construction Co. Chairman and CEO Peter Davoren said the company is “committed to creating and sustaining" an environment where people “are treated with respect and dignity,” while Kiewit CEO Rick Lanoha noted the “significant opportunity ... to make sure our people and their families have access to support and services they need to successfully manage their mental and emotional well-being.”

Union chief McGarvey said “addressing the crisis of suicide in construction requires taking critical steps together as an industry ... to build a culture that fosters mental well-being and saves lives.”