b'MENTAL HEALTHBREAKING THESILENCE ONMENTAL HEALTHCONSTRUCTION COMPANIES NEED TO START IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS TO DEAL WITH THE RAPIDLY GROWING PROBLEMBy Warren HeeleyBECAUSE CONSTRUCTION INVOLVES significant physicalproject a macho image at work. This image breeds workers work, one would think that physical and muscular injurieswho are reluctant to talk about mental health for fear of being would be the leading health concerns reported to workplacecriticized or mocked by fellow workers. safety authorities.According to the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control In actual fact, the highest annual reported health issue in recentand Prevention, a competitive and stressful workplace also years across all industries is work-related anxiety, depressioncontributes, as do high incidents of alcohol and substance and stress. Weekly, more than 500,000 Canadians are notabuse, and anxiety over maintaining a steady income in an able to work because of mental health problems, according toindustry regularly impacted by seasonal layoffs. the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Annually, workplace losses due to mental health cost employers about 14 per centBREAKING THE SILENCEof net annual profits. Mental health affects the productivity ofStemming the tide of mental illness will require the construction workers and the bottom line of companies.industry to break the silence on the crisis and get it out in the open so workers can feel safe to speak out. Sadly, despite the On any given day, approximately 25 per cent of [the] populationconcerning statistics, corrective action to manage the problem is experiencing some type of mental health issue or illness,has fallen significantly behind H&S measures being taken to says Bill Howatt, chief of research, workforce productivity at theaddress other risks.Conference Board of Canada.Despite all the indications of poor mental health in the In construction, the problem is particularly acute. Suicide is theworkplace, especially in construction, in 2016 the Conference second leading cause of death for men in the industry betweenBoard of Canada reported that fewer than half of Canadian the ages of 25 and 59, and statistics show that nearly nine peremployers had a mental health strategy in place. Employers in cent of construction workers suffer from some form traditionally male-dominated industries like construction were of depression.even less likely to develop such a program than thenational average.These sobering figures reflect a disturbing trend that is global in nature. At a recent health and safety conference in theWhat can be done? According to the Canadian Mental Health U.K., Kevin Fear of the U.K. Construction Industry TrainingAssociation (CMHA), it is integral to raise awareness that mental Board called it a silent epidemic. He went on to say that thechallenges are serious health issues. One group active in this construction industry has the highest rate of suicide in the U.K.area is the Infrastructure Health & Safety Association of Ontario versus any other profession.(IHSA), which advocates for psychological health measures to be incorporated into businesses H&S programs. So why is the mental health problem so prevalent in the construction industry? Some experts say its rooted in the factPsychological health is definitely a prominent and rising issue that the industry is dominated by males who are expected toin the health and safety program area, says IHSA president 16Quarter 4 2019 BUILDERSDIGEST'