Macho culture deadly in building
New Zealand’s construction industry has the highest percentage of suicide for employed men of any industry, according to research by the Building Research Association of New Zealand (Branz).
At 6.9 per cent of all suicides, it is marginally higher than that of farming and forestry, which sits at 6.8 per cent.
Macho and bullying culture was the main reason suggested by 15 interviewees who also cited intolerance of different people on the work site as main contributors to poor mental health.
The study cited a culture of ‘‘toxic masculinity’’, or the ‘‘take a concrete pill and harden up’’ attitude, as well as boom and bust cycles, drug and alcohol abuse, a career that was undervalued, and conflicts between young and older men on site.
The authors of the study, Kate Bryson and Anne Duncan, said research in Australia indicated construction workers were six times more likely to die by suicide than in a work accident.
As a result, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have introduced initiatives such as the Mentoring and Tutoring Education Scheme (MATES).
Interviewees also provided examples of change for the better. One described a time when a fellow tradie checked in with him every day to make sure he was OK after he confided that he was going through a difficult time.
Another interviewee said the increasing number of women entering the industry was changing the culture on work sites and it was good for the industry.
An interviewee who moved from commercial to residential building said the work environment on residential sites was healthier and more enjoyable.
There were also encouraging stories from interviewees in leadership positions who described fostering a more supportive working environment where employees were encouraged to ask for or accept help when offered.
‘‘There was an indisputable appetite for culture change among interviewees,’’ the report authors concluded.
The boom-bust industry cycle and resulting pressure was seen as a major factor driving stress. Those interviewed said the boom cycle was the most stressful, because of the pressure to deliver quickly and in quantity.
During boom times there were not enough people to keep up with demand, resulting in long hours, fatigue and lack of worklife balance with separation and divorce becoming risk factors for mental illness and suicide, the study found.
One interviewee said ‘‘the boom cycle breaks people’’ because they let their ego drive
business decisions and overcommitted firms.
Branz’s general manager of industry research, Dr Chris Litten, said poor mental health or distress caused absenteeism, lower productivity and increasing costs.
He said the intergenerational issues were enlightening – older workers who had been on the job
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for 20 or 30 years were more inclined towards the ‘‘harden up’’ mentality.
‘‘Younger men are more connected with social media and more open to expressing their feelings, as we often see on the rugby field nowadays.’’
Drug and alcohol abuse was mentioned by the majority of interviewees, who believed some people were self-medicating to deal with stress at work and at home. Some interviewees said the companies they worked for offered drug counselling to workers who had failed a drugs test.
One interviewee said they dreaded each drug-testing round as they knew there would be valuable employees who might fail a test and some companies kept drug testing to a minimum to avoid losing staff.
One interviewee said construction sites were generally overtly homophobic, and no-one could be ‘‘openly gay’’ on site.
Other interviewees noted that increasing numbers of migrant workers in the construction industry raised the potential for racial tension on worksites.