Coinciding with Construction Suicide Prevention Week, a task force is calling on construction industry employers, trade groups and other stakeholders to join OSHA’s Suicide Prevention Safety Stand-Down, Sept. 5-9, 2022.

Studies have been looking into the effect of stress and other psychosocial factors on employees’ well-being for decades. One of the first efforts to recognize the connection between workplace stress and well-being was the Whitehall Studies from 1967 to the mid-1980s. And studies continue to document the link between the two.

The hardest questions I had to face after a co-worker died by suicide were the “What ifs?” What if I had known sooner? What if I had known more? What if I had been able to provide more support?