Why do so many construction workers kill themselves?
This article is interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly it gives me the opportunity to draw attention to Farming (all farm workers not just land owners) and Fishing, which have equally high levels of suicide. Secondly it is a good opportunity to flag up the need to understand the particular challenges of mental health brought on by living in rural areas, often stimulated by isolation. Thirdly it helps us reflect that rural areas tend to have a higher proportion of construction workers than the national average. The story itself tells us:
Construction knows it has a problem. Working on a building site has become the deadliest profession in the UK, but the dangers have nothing to do with cranes or ladders.
More than 1,400 construction workers took their own lives between 2011 and 2015, according to national statistics. In 2016, the figure was put at 450. The rate is more than three times the national average for men.
Labourers, plasterers and crane operators are more likely than ever to be off sick, but it won’t be bad backs or broken bones that get them signed off, but anxiety, stress and depression.