Construction is teaching us to flip the script: don’t just expect leaders to hold everyone else — build systems that hold them. That’s how culture change sticks.
Poor mental health is already costing your organization in absenteeism, turnover, and safety incidents. The good news: every $1 invested returns $4, and up to $6 when you act early. Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas lays out the three-level workplace strategy that turns mental health from a line item into a business investment.
At the 2026 American Association of Suicidology conference, I felt the field shift. Beyond risk detection and safety plans, she sensed a hunger for healing — recovery-oriented care, belonging, and "muscular hope." From workplace prevention to solidarity across difference, this is suicide prevention moving from death prevention toward life reclamation.
Research confirms that supervisor behavior is a stronger driver of worker mental health than access to care itself. In construction, where pressure is relentless and stigma runs deep, the person running the crew can either open a door to help or silently close it. Here's how to get it right.
Seventeen hours awake produces the same cognitive impairment as a .05% BAC. Workers with sleep problems face a 60–62% higher injury risk. Yet most workplaces still treat sleep as a personal issue. Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas unpacks why sleep is a leading safety metric — and what to do about it.