Stress in the Construction Industry

Throughout my short-term career in the industry, and the quizzes I took before writing this blog post. I realized I need to take better steps to manage my stress throughout my career because of it’s importance to supporting my overall health. It will also support my ability to perform daily tasks and really excel in the field of construction. I have gotten a lot of advice from those within my company and around me about how to put my health above the performance of my work, regardless of the outcome. There are a lot of different pressures to deal with in the construction industry that can affect overall stress, deadlines, delays, issues, and more. The quizzes have made me realize how even just working part-time while going to school has put a ton of stress on me both mentally and physically. I did not realize the amount of stress I am feeling, it came to me as a shock. I knew I felt stressed at times by jumping back and forth between going to class, getting assignments done on time, and still performing to my regular standards at work. It has really opened my eyes to how stress can go unnoticed even if you think or know you are stressed, what the underlying amount of stress can add up too. I have had the opportunity of having people around me who are willing to take a kind ear, listen to me, and give an outsider perspective of what I may be going through. It has helped me to realize how to manage my stress to a greater extent. One thing that has definitely helped me is being around people that I enjoy working with. Being able to go into work everyday and enjoy the company of those around you, has helped me manage my stress to not reaching even greater or critical levels. Also, having those around me that genuinely care about my well-being has led me to put myself first in certain situations. Such as, once I log off at work, work is over, I do not need to worry about the problems going on on-site. Hearing from my coworkers about how important it is for me to put myself first, has been a huge help in helping me to relax and enjoy my days after work.

I think organizations need to do a better job of putting employees well-being above company outcomes, especially, in construction. Laborers are out there sometimes working 10 – 14 hour days, barely able to make it home before they have to turn around and go back to work. With the amount of pressure from as mentioned earlier, meeting deadlines, performing daily task, and the pressures of staying on schedule, it can lead to severe mental and physical health issues. As put in the article by Shannon Pettypiece (NBC, 2022), suicide rates in the construction industry are about 4-5 times the national average. If this does not tell a story of the amount of stress and mental fatigue construction can lead too, then we need to really begin to think about how we are addressing these current issues. I know the construction industry has a suicide prevention week as we did this on our jobsite, where for a couple hours of the workday, those working on-site are treated to a free lunch, and quick seminar about the importance of mental health and not being afraid to speak up.

In the end, I think we need to put more effort into putting the well-being of the employee above the company outcomes, especially, in the construction industry.