JemmyConstruction workers are dying from suicide at an alarming rate, with an estimated 6,000 construction workers dying as a result of suicide in 2022
return2ozmawww.nbcnews.com/politics/economics/construction…
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Flying SquidThe article doesn't even bring it up, but I have to wonder how many of those suicides, considering how many of them are working construction in the U.S., are people here illegally who realize it's either that or get deported to wherever country they were in where they had to flee the death squads...
That's an interesting thought. They flee here seeking safety and a better life, only to find a large portion of the country very hostile towards you and your fellow immigrants. Finding decent paying work is very difficult, but at least construction is typically in high demand in many larger metros. You hate the job and would rather be a teacher, IT professional, nurse, or whatever but can't due to being an undocumented worker. I can easily see that causing a strong sense of feeling trapped and hopeless.
You bring up a good point. They're absolutely underreporting their suicides. This part below also has a huge factor in whether they seek help...
But Niles said there is an industry culture that discourages many from asking for help and a fear that showing any perceived weakness could jeopardize their job prospects.
Are they not unionized? If this problem is caused by unreasonably long hours doing unreasonably hard work with no paid vacation, as the article suggests, all of the "trying to solve this" bullshit coming out of employers' PR departments isn't going to do anything near as much as shorter hours, paid time off, more staff, longer project timelines, and job protections.
Only about 11% are unionized
https://www.agc.org/news/2024/01/24/union-membership-rate-construction-declines-in-2023
I don't think there's anything inherent in construction that is causing a higher suicide rate. Construction labourer is a job just about anyone can get and male dominated.
I've hired some people who seemed like they weren't in a great place. It's low skill and it doesn't hurt to take a chance on someone and hope the stability will help get them on the right track.
I haven't had any coworkers take their own lives, but I could see someone at the end of the rope being more likely to find a job on a construction site instead of a dentists office
A huge part of the issue(From what I have seen on my years working insurance) are injuries. A day laborer lives by the day, has little to no savings and has an accident or gets hurt. They know two weeks off + hospital fees will bankrupt them, so they go to work with their bodies already in a bad state, which only furthers their existing injuries, until they either fall into despair, finally seek attention and their lack of support networks makes the situation so dire, the only option they can see is a noose.
Heartbreaking really. That is one of the reasons why I left that job market, I simply could not bear telling more people, the corporate version of "You've ran out of money, good luck with your cancer though".
I can at least anecdotally confirm this isn't just a US issue either. Here in Germany, I met a guy at a psychiatric clinic as a fellow patient with a very similar story (in this case working in logistics, not construction, but also in a position requiring hard manual labour).
His German wasn't all that good, so that made exploiting him easier - and while his medical bills were covered and he in theory had the legal rights to have his de-facto disability from work recognized, his work environment and pressure had made him ignore his own health and rights out of fear of not being able to support his ex-wife and children, who were everything to him. He had also internalised that his self-worth stems from his superior work ethics. In the end, the bosses/owners of his medium-small employer downsized heavily and pocketed a lot of money, but with no way to prove any illegal stuff going on in the process easily. He was dropped because he couldn't work as self-destructively any more with his chronic injuries/issues. That broke him.
This social dynamic is appaling and probably very universal in the majority of the world.
The focus on construction is a distraction, the point here is that men of lower socio-economic status in the US are killing themselves at a horrific rate. From the actual paper this article is based on: