Financial Stress and its Impact on Mental Health in Construction

Director’s Note: It is my honor to introduce the incredible Jonathan Andersen who you will see here as a guest columnist as well as working for the CCE behind the scenes to update and create the Toolbox Talks available on our website and the Toolbox Talks App available for iPhone and Android. I recently asked Jonathan to write an industry-specific piece as we navigate suicide awareness month. Resources are listed at the end of the article. First, a bit about our guest columnist.

Jonathan is a Northwest native and is passionate about raising awareness of worker health and safety.  His experience is diverse and spans more than 20 years in several unique industries, including the technology sector, construction, health care, military, several municipal, state, and local governments, and the U.S. Federal Government. He is also credentialed as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Instructional Trainer (CIT), Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), and Registered Environmental Professional (REP).  

Image of Jonathan Andersen, CSP, CHST, CIT

Financial Stress and its Impact on Mental Health in Construction

We can all agree that construction work is inherently dangerous and impacted by unsafe conditions and behaviors, which, if not controlled, can lead to injuries or even death. In the construction industry, workers need to be aware of a variety of hazards to ensure that they go home in the same condition as they arrived at the end of each day. The combination of inherently dangerous hazards and an industry that possesses the second-highest suicide rate[1] of all major industries is not a good formula for keeping workers free of injury and mentally healthy.  Something needs to be done.

While the hazards of construction work are absolute and can lead to physical injury if not effectively controlled, our mental well-being is often neglected, and many construction workers suffer in silence.  When we go to work, we bring our whole selves, including all the good and the bad, and many types of stressors can affect our mental health.  Some are wholly in our control, and others may be impacted by things entirely out of our control.  In this article, I want to get granular on a specific emotional stressor affecting many.  That is financial or economic stress. 

The connection between financial stress experienced by the worker and worksite safety is a topic that has only recently been researched and explored. It is even more pertinent during this renewed period of global economic crisis. To give some context on our current situation, according to Forbes and the New York Post, 61% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.  This is even more pronounced when we consider that 49% of those earning $100,000 also live paycheck to paycheck.  Another troubling economic indicator that impacts worker mental health is persistent inflation undercutting the spending power of our income. According to the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM), “More than one-third (36%) of employees are concerned about inflation, and 14 percent are concerned about a recession, according to data from Telus Health, which compiles a monthly mental health index to gauge how employees are feeling. Its latest index surveyed 5,000 U.S. workers[2].”  I do not intend to get much into the weeds on the direct or indirect impact of inflation, interest rates, and overall adverse economic conditions, as that is not within the scope of this article, and frankly, I am no expert.  However, I would like to make this final point. More than one-third of American workers say they’re stressed out over day-to-day finances, impacting their mental health.

Understanding the correlation of financial stress to worker mental health has been an understudied topic until fairly recently. However, a data point to consider as we explore this correlation includes a study conducted during the 2008 global economic crisis that established a clear correlation between worker’s mental health and the ongoing financial crisis[3]. Some of the impacts identified in this study included the effects of increased unemployment, increased workloads, staff reduction, lower productivity, and wage buying power reduction.  These factors were determined to directly impact various mood disorders, anxiety, depression, suicide, and workers' overall general mental health. In fact, according to a survey conducted by PR Newswire, 92% of workers are stressed about their finances due to economic uncertainty, and the cost of this financial stress and its direct impact on worker mental health potentially costs U.S. employers $200 billion annually[4]. Seems like we might want to listen, pay attention, and look for solutions to this growing problem.

So, what can be done?

Recognize warning signs

Look for common warning signs that indicate a mental health problem may be in play.  These include lack of concentration, decreased productivity, uncharacteristically late or absent, increased conflicts with team members, isolation or withdrawal, increased risky/unsafe behaviors, mood swings including being overwhelmed or hopeless, and increased use of drugs or alcohol.

De-stigmatize the struggle with mental health

Construction workers struggle with mental health, too.  Close to 60% of construction workers reported mental health struggles, but only one-third said they would communicate this to their employers[5]. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more construction workers die from suicide each year than every other workplace-related fatality combined[6]. Additionally, more than 60% of workers report that their anxiety or depression is going untreated. Let’s not contribute to the problem by acting like it doesn’t exist or someone is weak for admitting a mental health struggle. Mental health should be part of the daily conversations on construction job sites. Doing this can prevent workers from being reluctant to seek appropriate help. 

Take a holistic approach

A holistic approach is more than just preventing and treating injuries that occur on a job site.  It is care for the whole person.  Conversations on the job site should include more than just reviewing a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) or talking about schedule.  A holistic approach frees workers up to discuss the physical hazards they face in their work and the mental health hazards they may face at or away from work. This is not to say managers and supervisors should impede workers’ privacy and probe into personal discussions.  It means being aware that there is more to a person than the work they can accomplish on the job site and that their mental health is part of the package.

Summary

While financial and other stressors cannot be instantaneously removed from the workplace, we can help by taking care of each other, understanding and looking for mental health warning signs, de-stigmatizing and having open discussions about the value and impact of mental health, allowing open communication among our teams, and considering the impact that mental health has on the job site by leading from the front.

If you’re in crisis, please use the following resources:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (Press 2 for Spanish) https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988 or https://988lifeline.org/ in Spanish https://988lifeline.org/es/home/

Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 (to connect with a Crisis Counselor) https://www.crisistextline.org/

Veterans Crisis Line (call, chat, or text) 1-800-273-8255, Press 1 or https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/

Crisis Service Canada: 1-833-456-4566

Additional Resources:

https://preventconstructionsuicide.com/ - Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention

https://qprinstitute.com/ - Question. Persuade. Refer. Institute

https://sprc.org/ - Suicide Prevention Resource Center

https://www.osha.gov/preventingsuicides/ - OSHA Preventing Suicides in Construction

https://sprc.org/lgbtqia2s-youth-resources/ Suicide Prevention Resource Center: Mental Health Promotion and Suicitide Prevention for LGBTQIA2S+ Youth

https://workplacementalhealth.org/employer-resources/guides-and-toolkits/mental-health-and-well-being-in-the-construction-i - Mental Health and Well-being in the Construction Industry

Upcoming Suicide Awareness Month Events:

September 19 | Facebook Live: Youth Suicide Prevention Time: 2 - 2:30 p.m. ET

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is hosting a Facebook Live event for Suicide Prevention Month. The event will focus on strategies for preventing suicide among youth.

[1] Suicide Rates by Industry and Occupation — National Violent Death Reporting System, 32 States, 2016 (cdc.gov)

[2] Inflation Is Taking a Toll on Employees’ Mental Health (shrm.org)

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8156033/#B13-ijerph-18-05265

[4] 2023 Wellness Barometer Survey (brightplan.com)

[5] Divided Together | Westfield Health

[6] Partnering to Prevent Suicide in the Construction Industry | NIOSH Science Blog | CDC