Over the weekend I heard of the sad news of a Site Manager who committed suicide a week ago. He was close to the same age as my husband, who is also a Site Manager and had young children and a wife. Although I didn’t know him personally, he was considered a happy person with a good job and this news was a surprise to many people, who did not ‘see it coming.’
I was still shocked, especially when you feel that there is no ‘logical’ explanation or warning signs for this sort of action. Then I realised, what are the warning signs? Do I really know and if so, would I be equipped to actually deal with the situation or know what I could do to help them further?
We can become very desensitised to this type of news and after the initial shock, move on with our lives. Not personally knowing them can also remove any sense of ‘action’ to review the larger question of why is this happening?
This is actually not unusual as the Building and Construction industry actually has one of the highest rates of suicide in Australia. There are also many more in this industry who develop serious mental, physical and health issues. This can be seen in the costs to deal with these issues being in the hundreds of million each year.
I was heartened to know that there is an organisation called ‘Mates in Construction’ (MIC) that was started in 2008 that helps to raise awareness on suicide prevention in the Construction Industry. They are a charity organisation that works towards improving the mental health and wellbeing of workers and highlights that it’s important for all of the industry to be involved in a preventative way. They have many tools and community development programs that can be utilised on sites and should be considered an important element of site safety and wellbeing.
I’ve learnt that it only takes a moment to stop for a minute and think what can you do to improve this issue. It can be a very simple action that often will come to you if you make the space do this. What are you able to do to offer some level of support in this area (be it in or out of the building industry)?
See what small or large action you can do to improve awareness and promote the importance of mental health and wellbeing over this particular week, which focuses on Mental Health (8-14th October 2017) in Australia. You never know how far your actions may reach.
Further Information:
Mates in Construction:
http://matesinconstruction.org.au
Mental Health Week Australia:
https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/injury-prevention-safety/mental-health-at-work/mental-health-week-8-14-october?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=WorkCover+Update+September+2017&utm_content=Mental+Health+Week&utm_source=www.vision6.com.au
Courier Mail Article on Suicide in QLD Construction Workers (09.07.17):
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/dozens-of-construction-workers-dying-or-facing-serious-injury-each-year-because-of-suicide-attempts/news-story/b10a346bbd0cb4dfccdbf80df88d73e4
Main Image Credit: http://www.hseinternational.co.uk/mates-mind-way-forward-mental-health-construction/
‘By the Numbers’ Image Credit: http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/dozens-of-construction-workers-dying-or-facing-serious-injury-each-year-because-of-suicide-attempts/news-story/b10a346bbd0cb4dfccdbf80df88d73e4
