Like many people, Lea Rummel learned just how serious a problem mental health can be through personal experience.
After struggling with anxiety and depression while in college and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after her mother unexpectedly died in 2017, Rummel learned firsthand the mental and physical toll such illnesses can bring.
Many mental health problems are as serious, sometimes more so, as many medical or physical maladies. They can not only prevent people from showing up and doing their jobs, but, in the most severe cases, keep them from meeting basic human needs like sleeping and eating.
Construction’s acute problem
Even though workers in all industries face mental health challenges, construction workers appear to be struggling more than most.
The construction industry has one of the highest rates of suicide at 53.3 per 100,000 US workers, according to a 2020 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This rate is four times greater than the national average and five times greater than that of all other construction-related fatalities combined.
“We spend so much time on physical safety and health in construction,” said Rummel, who works as an electrical estimator at general contractor Rudolph & Sletten. “We need to be making a similar effort around mental health and safety.”
There are many reasons construction tends to be more troubled by mental health challenges compared to other industries. Most of its jobs come with an immense physical toll on field workers, who also endure pressure-packed workdays and long commutes from jobsite to jobsite. Layoffs are common and uncertainty abounds.
Moreover, physical injuries suffered on jobsites can lead to drug use and abuse, particularly with potent pain killers and other doctor-prescribed medications, as workers fear missing a shift because of injury will put their job or financial security at risk.
Men in focus
One major risk factor, however, hangs above these stressors that makes the problem especially profound.
“One of the primary risk factors that we have in the construction industry is that it’s still very male-dominated,” Rummel said. “And, unfortunately, toxic masculinity still plays a big role in this industry. Toxic masculinity is a danger to women, to be sure, but it’s a danger to men as well.”
This leads to stigma around men getting help when they need it for possible mental health challenges, Rummel said, leading some to turn to suicide. Although women are statistically more likely than men to have a mental illness, men are far more likely to die by suicide. “Women are more likely to reach for those coping strategies that they need vs. men who are suffering in silence,” Rummel said.
The problem of suicide in construction again became personal for Rummel when one of her former colleagues at a previous job, who she also considered a friend, died by suicide. And like many cases, the signs that he was struggling mentally were evident in hindsight but hard to discern beforehand.
“There was one day a few months before he passed where he called me and he was telling me he was having a lot of struggles and really going through it, and he really seemed like he was going through a hard time,” Rummel recalled. “But then at the end of the phone call he said, ‘But you know me, I’ll be fine.’”
“Part of the problem for those that do spot these warning signs and symptoms in someone, the vast majority of people have no idea how to approach someone or what to do,” Rummel added.
Proactively tackling the problem
The construction industry in recent years has started to be more proactive in solving its mental health problem. While the topic of mental health has by and large shaken a lot of its stigma in society as more people talk openly and seek help when needed, so has construction.
This includes contractors taking direct action by investing in benefits and programs internally that address mental health. Rudolph & Sletten is one such contractor.
Even before Rummel joined the company in 2023, Rudolph & Sletten had initiated efforts to encourage dialogue and support around mental health among employees. But Rummel, in addition to her skills as an estimator, brought a fresh sense of intent and passion around the subject.
Rudolph & Sletten had established a committee to oversee the company’s mental health programs before Rummel’s arrival, establishing small-yet-powerful efforts like planning for a 988 hardhat sticker to raise workers’ awareness of the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Jobsite stickers featuring a QR code with more detailed mental health awareness information were also distributed.
Rummel, for her part, has started writing a regular mental health column that appears in the company’s quarterly newsletter; the upcoming article will feature a list of book recommendations to help colleagues continue to explore positive mental health practices outside of work.
Rummel has also been selected to speak to internal and external industry groups about mental health awareness in construction. She also has lended her voice to internal video communications that are distributed to employees, reminding them of crucial mental health practices and concerns.
“At this point in my career, I’m very comfortable talking about mental health and suicide awareness,” Rummel said. “For me, it’s easy, so I don’t mind being the voice to speak up because I know how challenging it can be, and I hope that by me speaking up that helps others feel better or more comfortable speaking about it as well.”
A continuous effort
Most companies in construction that offer employee health insurance and Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) already have mental health benefits included in those offerings, Rummel said. Simply making employees aware that their benefit covers, say, access to therapy, counseling or other mental health treatments is a powerful action they can take.
But besides making workers aware that their benefits cover mental health, construction companies also need to continue to create a positive culture of openness around the issue. Continuing to drive awareness both on jobsites and in the office will go a long way toward destigmatizing mental health, especially among the many men who still may be suffering in silence.
Rummel said there isn’t much industry data yet showing the degree to which mental health awareness efforts are paying off, though she mentioned some anecdotal studies that have suggested suicide rates have started to drop in some cases.
Still, even though the hard data doesn’t yet exist, Rummel said the return on investment construction companies get by investing in mental health awareness and other supporting efforts is an invaluable and worthy pursuit.
“What’s the return on investment?” Rummel said. “It’s saving people’s lives. And that is more than worth pursuing.”
