Contents Feature Article
SUICIDE PREVENTION
A low in the industry The alarming rate of suicide among male workers in the building and construction industry has led to a concerted effort to stop these tragedies from happening.
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onstruction workers are more than two times as likely to suicide than Australian men in general. Indeed, young construction workers are almost six times more likely to die from suicide than a workplace accident, according to Mates In Construction.
Mates in Construction is a charity that was set up to try and combat the terrible rate of suicide in the industry. According to CEO Brad Parker, every year 190 people who work in the construction industry, take their own lives. The charity has reduced suicide by almost 8 per cent since its formation in 2009. “We have a very simple model but it’s very effective. We have created a network of carers who will assist people to identify the signs of suicide and connect those people to help,” Mr Parker says. “The program uses world’s best practice that has been tailored into language that construction workers understand. It was the genius of construction industry management and employees who came together for the common good of everybody on a site, to prevent suicide in the workplace,” he says. Mates In Construction offers three areas of training across the industry: • General Awareness Training – site visits to train workers in suicide prevention • Connector – strategies to help people with suicidal thoughts • Asist – training of health and safety managers “It’s mates looking out for mates and mates helping mates. It goes further than preventing suicide attempts – our program develops a caring sanctuary for those with depression or mental health issues,” he says. There are many factors that contribute towards suicidal thoughts, including long working hours, job insecurity, bullying, financial concerns, relationship issues and there is a higher rate of drug and alcohol abuse within the industry –
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MBA NSW | Issue Three | June/July 2018
which exacerbates all of these problems. “We also need to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, which causes people to try to cover up thoughts of suicide,” Mr Parker says. As Mental Health Commissioner Lucy Brogden tells Master Builder: “I think there is a strong appetite for reform in Australia across the mental health sector. We’ve made a lot of progress in the past 30 years or so to improve access to care for people and quality of care, but we’ve still got a long way to go.” Indeed, at a time when one in 500 will attempt suicide in a year, and 1 in 20 will consider it as an option, Australia has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. “We spend the majority of our waking hours at work, so our workplace has a strong role to play in prevention and recovery,” Commissioner Brogden says. Projects like Mates In Construction, Mates in Mining, Mates in Energy and Beyond Blue are
all working towards to reducing the suicide rate but there is a need for higher levels of funding. As Mr Parker says: “Take-up of the service in NSW is currently outstripping supply significantly, where the service is not actively promoted…Additionally, our experience of work in regional NSW has confirmed significant need for service rollout, with high levels of lived experience of suicide in each session delivered.” Suicide in the Australian construction industry costs the economy more than $1.5 billion a year. However, over the past 10-15 years, we’ve seen increased investment in mental health at state and federal level. “There is every indication that these programs will maintain their support and that the government will aim to maintain the good mental health and the wellbeing of Australians. There is bipartisan support for mental health initiatives across Australia,” Commissioner Brogden says.
Picking up the pieces • A 35-year-old case worker and field officer with Mates In Construction NSW suffered depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Assimilation Disorder. • In the Army’s engineer core for 13 years, he fought in East Timor and Afghanistan in 2008, 2009 and 2010. His family have been in the Army for a total of 70 years. • Being discharged from the Army in 2014 was one of the most stressful things he had ever experienced. • He started smoking ice and cocaine until he quit drugs in 2016. • Remembering his mother crying was the only thing that stopped him suiciding. • While he does not take medication, he self-manages his illness through meditation and surfing. • Finds his work at MIC very rewarding as he draws on personal experience. • His favourite quote is by Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu: “If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.”
