On RUOK Day, tradies across Australia are coming together to raise awareness of mental health, which takes more than twice as many lives of construction workers, than workplace accidents.
MATES is an organisation that works to encourage tradesmen to speak out about their issues, particularly because suicide rates in construction are disproportionately high when compared to other industries.
MATES is an integrated industry intervention program that works to “raise awareness of suicide as a preventable problem, build stronger and more resilient workers, connect workers to the best available help and support and partner with researches to inform the industry” around best mental health practices.
MATES NSW CEO Brad Parker explained that the volatile job market, bullying at worksites and lifestyle factors can create a poor working environment for those in the construction industry.
“Men are not real good at opening up; they tend to bottle things up so they’re not good at discussing problems with anyone but especially their peers,” he said.
“We have insecure work – the life of the project is as good as the life of the job. Where do they go next? There are bullying behaviours, heavy alcohol use and some drug use as well.”
Australian statistics show that 75% of those who die by suicide are men, and those aged between 15 and 44 are over-represented. Construction trades have an 80% higher rate of death by suicide, compared to the rest of the working population.
Alongside RUOK Day, MATES has arranged for more than 500 construction sites across Australia and close to 60,000 workers to take part in their version of mental health awareness day, known as Fly the Flag Day. It is an “outward display to the broader community of the important work our industry does every day toward improving mental health and preventing suicide.”
Image credit: Fly the Flag Day Organisation.