A century ago, it was common to expect one worker fatality for every million dollars spent on a construction project. Thanks to industry-wide safety reforms, occupational fatalities are now 90% lower than in the 1940s. These improvements didn’t happen by chance. They are the result of decades of collaboration among all stakeholders to prioritize worker well-being and establish effective jobsite safety protocols that protect workers, limit injuries, and save lives on jobsites.

Yet despite this progress, the construction industry now faces a different kind of challenge; a deepening mental health crisis where stigma and fear often keep workers suffering in silence rather than seeking support. Addressing this issue will require buy-in from the entire construction industry to achieve a cultural shift where psychological safety is prioritized as much as physical safety and where workers feel valued and supported enough to realize that seeking help for mental health issues is as an act of strength, not weakness.

The unfortunate reality is that construction workers experience a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, substance misuse and suicide than almost any other profession. The combination of long hours, tight deadlines and physically demanding work combined with a culture that values toughness and discourages vulnerability creates an environment where workers often feel ashamed or afraid to seek help.

Unfortunately, new data shows that the problem is growing. A national

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