From left to right: Ylan Mui, managing director, strategy, Penta Group; Sean McGarvey, president of North America鈥檚 Building Trades Unions; Christine Moutier, chief medical officer, AFSP; Bechtel chairman and CEO Brenda Bechtel; Robert Gebbia, AFSP CEO.

That鈥檚 according to Brendan Bechtel, chairman & CEO of Bechtel, and Robert Gebbia, chief executive of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), who struck a five-year, $7 million partnership in March to tackle the issue.

It is the largest pledge AFSP has ever received and the single-largest donation the Bechtel Group Foundation has ever made, with the intention of providing resources and programming to 500,000 US construction workers.

Speaking to Construction Briefing, Brendan Bechtel and Gebbia explained more about how the partnership came about and how it aims to offer to support to the workers on the ground who need it.

鈥楽omething has changed鈥�

鈥淭his is groundbreaking. There hasn鈥檛 been anything similar in the US for any occupation before on such a scale,鈥� says Gebbia. 鈥淚 feel strongly that this wouldn鈥檛 have been feasible 10 years ago. The stigma surrounding mental health and certainly in terms of suicide just wouldn鈥檛 have made it possible 鈥� there would have been such resistance.

鈥淏ut something has really changed. In the US, we know that about 90% of the public now believes that suicide is a preventable cause of death, according to surveys. With that as a backdrop, you say wow, here鈥檚 an industry that has high rates. The rate of suicide within this occupation is four times higher than the general population.鈥�

In fact, Gebbia says, five times more construction workers die by suicide than as a result of jobsite accidents.

In light of that, construction employers are starting to view mental health as a safety issue, he asserts. 鈥淚t just cuts across all of the stigma, all of the misconceptions and myths.鈥�

Brendan Bechtel 鈥渨ill not rest鈥� until the situation changes.

鈥淭his industry has proven that it excels at doing hard things that no one else can do,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a playbook 鈥� a set of strategies and tactics 鈥� that our industry knows how to execute really, really well. We鈥檝e done that with physical safety, and once we get the right expertise and get pointed in the right direction, there鈥檚 no reason why we couldn鈥檛 do the same with mental health. Particularly since the construction business has one of the highest rates of suicide for any industry out there. That is a shameful statistic for us.鈥�

Gebbia is keen to work with Bechtel to create a programme that is tailored to the construction industry.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 just want to take what we know works with schools and other settings and just apply it. We know that the culture and the environment really matter to how you message this and how you carry these programmes forward.鈥�

AFSP has already undertaken some work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to look at mental health and suicide prevention in the workplace more generally. And it was this that Gebbia thinks encouraged Bechtel to reach out to the organisation.

鈥淔undamentally, it鈥檚 about saving lives, 鈥� says Brendan Bechtel. 鈥淭his issue is personal for us. The people it affects are our friends and our colleagues. And the impact is devastating. 

鈥淏ut it鈥檚 also about improving lives by restoring something that has somehow gotten lost along the way, which is the sense of dignity and purpose within the construction trade. There鈥檚 a special kind of person that chooses to make this industry their career. It鈥檚 really hard work. It鈥檚 very stressful. It鈥檚 very demanding. And one of the reasons people in our industry choose to take their life is they don鈥檛 feel like they鈥檙e getting that dignity and respect that they deserve.鈥�

How the partnership will work

In terms of how the programmes that result from the partnership will operate and how they will help the people who need it, the first step will be to do a lot of outreach, says Gebbia.

鈥淲e know suicide prevention, but there are folks in the industry that know their industry. We don鈥檛 live in the world of construction. So we are reaching out to leaders not just at Bechtel but to other companies, their health providers, and the trade unions to understand from them what would be a good way to approach this.

鈥淭he target is to reach 500,000 construction workers [in the US] over five years with information, education and tailored messaging materials on how to help a colleague. One of the things that we know from other fields 鈥� and we know this even with students 鈥� is that peers know when something is going on with somebody. They see it. They can see when someone is not being themselves or becoming withdrawn.鈥�

Image: Adobe Stock

The challenge is not necessarily identifying that there is problem but knowing what to do with that information, and doing so in a way that doesn鈥檛 violate their confidentiality or hurting a friendship.

鈥淪ometimes it is very difficult to engage in those conversations. So it is about training people what to do with that information. How do you engage in a conversation that鈥檚 constructive and not just: 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not being yourself, what鈥檚 wrong with you? Get your act together!鈥� That only turns people off. So it鈥檚 about trying to have a meaningful conversation and then how to connect them to help.鈥�

In addition to training individual workers in these skills, Gebbia also advocates more intensive training for leaders as well.

鈥淲e know from some work with the US Air Force that it wasn鈥檛 just the work on the ground, it was also creating a culture that says it鈥檚 okay [to be struggling with mental health]. Because what do people think if you鈥檙e in the military, or law enforcement, as another example? 鈥業f someone knows I鈥檓 not doing well emotionally or I鈥檓 struggling with mental health problems, I鈥檓 going to lose my job.鈥� When you change that mindset [you can teach people] it鈥檚 actually the opposite 鈥� if you get help, you are going to function better, be more productive and that is going to help your career.鈥�

鈥淲e want to make sure that the culture makes it okay for workers to get help. So it鈥檚 really about education, training, linking people to services when they need it, and making it okay to get help.鈥�

The AFSP is also considering a tailored screening programme that would allow workers to obtain an anonymised self check that flags up if they are struggling emotionally or with their mental health before directing them to help.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 not part of the initial work, but that鈥檚 something we鈥檝e talked about,鈥� he says.

An industry-wide initiative

Brendan Bechtel says that he wants the initiative aims to reach well beyond Bechtel workers to offer support across the US construction sector.

鈥淲e want to change the mindset and understanding around mental health. We want to make available the best resources possible. We want to lift up the whole construction industry, so that we can change the conversation and save lives,鈥� he says.

Gebbia adds, 鈥淭o Bechtel鈥檚 credit, when we entered into the conversation this wasn鈥檛 about them. Certainly they are part of it but they wanted this owned by the industry with an advisory made up of other industry leaders.

Looking further into the future, Gebbia sees the opportunity for replication of what comes out of this partnership for other occupations.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very exciting and it fits with our organisation鈥檚 strategy to work more closely with high-risk populations like certain industries like construction, veterans, people in rural communities or people from different ethnicities. We have seen trends in the US that are not good in terms of suicide risk and completed suicide. This is a great example of working with at-risk groups directly.鈥�

Equating mental wellbeing to physical safety

Brendan Bechtel says he hopes that soon, mental health and safety is regarded on construction sites in the same way as physical health and safety.

鈥淟et鈥檚 imagine a future for our industry, hopefully no more than five years from now, where consideration for mental health on the job and support for people who need help is as natural an act as putting on your hard hat. You don鈥檛 go to work without your hard hat. Why would you go to work without thinking about a mental health toolkit? That鈥檚 the vision,鈥� he says.

He explains that every Bechtel project works up a project-specific mental health plan before it goes to the field, in the same way that it has a project-specific environmental safety and health plan. 鈥淲e will not let a project go to the field without a plan that includes a full inventory of available resources, scenarios for what鈥檚 going to happen under what kind of circumstances, who do you call in that situation, and what鈥檚 the first response?,鈥� he says.

It鈥檚 a vision that Sean McGarvey, president of North America鈥檚 Building Trades Unions, shares. Commenting on the launch of the partnership, he said, 鈥淎ll of us who work in construction have seen gains in physical safety that were once unimaginable, become the standard for success. It鈥檚 time to bring the same mindset, resources, and innovation to the issue of mental health and suicide prevention.鈥�

Gebbia says that this can be achieved by making it sustainable and part of the industry culture. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone complains when they have to wear protective gear. When you get hired, you get trained in these things. The same can be done with mental health. It is not as obvious but when you see people withdrawing or drinking too much then you know when somebody is struggling. You need leaders to step up 鈥� not just at management level but site leaders too. But if we can create that culture then it can be regarded in the same way as physical safety.

鈥淲e鈥檙e convinced Bechtel and the leaders of North America鈥檚 Building Trades Unions are serious about this. It鈥檚 not just about the PR 鈥� they want results.鈥�