SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) \u2014 A deepening mental health crisis within the construction industry is not only harming workers, it\u2019s also shrinking the workforce and driving up construction costs across the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re dealing with manpower issues that they have no control over,\u201d said Slade Opheikens, President of R&O Construction, which employs more than 100 workers. \u201cThey\u2019re dealing with a deadline that has already been set that likely isn\u2019t moving. They\u2019re dealing with Mother Nature and weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
Opheikens said the heavy workload isn\u2019t slowing anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been booked out for probably the last five years \u2014 at least six to twelve months in advance with all our teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
MORE | Suicide, mental health struggles reach alarming levels within construction industry<\/a><\/p>\n As Utah\u2019s population grows, so does the demand for rapid construction \u2014 adding more pressure on a workforce already stretched thin.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry generally is just getting faster. The expectations are getting higher,\u201d said James Smith, an Associate Professor at BYU.<\/p>\n Nationally, more than 5,000 construction workers die by suicide each year, and roughly 20% struggle with drug or alcohol abuse, according to industry research<\/a>. Smith said the labor shortage only deepens the crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cThe industry is experiencing a huge labor shortage across the board, and this is a big factor in all of this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Smith is currently leading a long-term study on mental health in the construction workforce. He said the lack of available workers worsens production pressure, makes the job less appealing to new recruits, and ultimately drives up project costs. Those costs can then trickle down to the consumer.<\/p>\n Addressing the full scope of worker health \u2014 physical, mental, and emotional \u2014 can make a measurable impact.<\/p>\n \u201cEven from a bottom-line perspective, it has a very positive effect,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n Opheikens agrees that the human toll cannot be separated from the financial one.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just the financial impact to the project,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the impact to those that are doing the work.\u201d<\/p>\n His company is working to reduce tight deadlines and make more mental health resources available.<\/p>\n