The Mental Price Construction Workers Pay

The high-pressure, physically demanding environment construction workers face every day takes a mental toll. According to one study, 83 percent of these mostly male laborers have suffered from some kind of mental health condition. They put in long hours and push their bodies hard physically, while dealing with chronic pain and extreme working conditions. All these factors lead to an increased risk for drug and alcohol abuse and a suicide rate four times higher than the general population.

An Atlanta-based construction supply company with more than 10,000 employees has stepped up and started a mental health employee resource group to promote conversation and increase awareness about resources available to its workers spread out across 49 states. As many as 500 employees have participated since its inception a year ago, with numbers increasing steadily. Feedback and response have been overwhelmingly positive.

What programs and services do you direct specifically towards the unique issues blue-collar workers face when you serve them at your facility?

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