There are some people who immediately form connections. Take the case of Stephen Dummit.
“I was speaking about the importance of mental health in the construction industry, and that evening someone from the audience called me to talk about his anxiety and panic about having to work with a teammate on a new job,” explains Dummit, founder of Tradewinds Leadership. “Why was he pouring his heart out to me? Wasn’t there anyone at the company he could talk to – a teammate, manager, or someone higher up in the company?”
This frantic call hit a nerve for Dummit. ”I was an electrician by trade and saw firsthand the disconnect between the training offered to the field versus what was provided to the office side of construction. The mental health of the blue-collar workforce needs to be addressed. These workers have not been given the tools on how to process what they are feeling.”
Part of being unable to process feelings is not having connections to those who can provide support. While this might be a particular issue in industrial workplaces, it is a widespread problem that leads to isolation.
The level of isolation in the U.S. has gotten so high that in 2023, then-Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy declared it an epidemic and a public health crisis.
Translating the emotional toll to the physical toll, Murthy provided some context. “The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity,” he said when announcing the epidemic.
And isolation can hit especially hard in a community where the stigma of expressing feelings is still prevalent. Not only is there fear of talking about mental health, but there is also a fear of repercussions of being open about this issue.
“I come from the industry and never knew how high the rate of suicide was, as well as other mental health issues,” said Dummit. According to CDC data, 53 construction workers per 100,000 die by suicide, making it the second-highest rate across all industries.
“And I felt I had to do something about it,” said Dummit. So, he added mental health to his training programs. He earned certifications, including one for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), which develops suicide first aid skills. It teaches people to recognize when someone may have thoughts of suicide, to discuss suicide directly with that person, and how to intervene and work with the person to create a plan that supports their immediate safety. He also holds one for safeTALK, which helps overcome common barriers like fear and dismissal of suicide, and fosters open conversations about mental health in the community.
These certifications represent the importance of communication around these issues. And companies can find strong communicators within their own workforce. “To find the champions in your organization, look around and identify the person who is most able to influence others,” says Dummit. “This is the person who is connected to others and can create a path for others to follow. They can break the stigma that many people have about discussing mental health problems. For many generations, blue-collar workers have been told to stuff their feelings. It’s time to end that mentality and instead offer people concrete ways to process these feelings.”
Help is available from organizations such as the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the Associated General Contractors and The Center for Construction Research and Training, which provide toolbox talks, training and other resources focused on mental health.
With the increase in awareness of the issues and the practical methods to address them, Dummit is optimistic that more methods of communication will push change at a faster rate than we have seen before.
“I believe that if we improve the experience we have at work, we can dramatically improve our lives,” says Dummit. “And that improvement starts with how we communicate and connect to one another.”
