In March 2022, at Mid-City Electric Co.’s, Westerville, Ohio, mega-sized data center project, work had to be done fast as home crews blended with out-of-town workers. The hours were long and the weather still cold, yet there were no complaints from one foreman who seemed to sojourn on in good humor, unphased by shortened timelines and a three-hour daily commute.

“I knew he must not have had much time for family, but I didn’t think there was anything wrong,” said Brian Finck, a general foreman for Mid-City Electric. 

Like others at Mid-City Electric, Finck was astonished to learn the foreman had died by suicide, leaving behind a wife and four children. The man’s family requested his name be kept private, but Finck and Paul Lawson, risk management coordinator for Mid-City Electric and mental health advocate, believe strongly that the story of what followed may benefit others.

Business did not resume as usual at Mid-City Electric. 

Contributing factors

To put what happened into perspective, the suicide rate in the construction industry—particularly among men—is many times the national average and second only to the mining industry. In 2021, 53 out of every 100,000 male construction workers took their own lives. That ratio rose to 56 per 100,000 in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

Precipitating factors are larger construction projects, longer hours in high-stress environments, time away from family and a pervasive masculine culture that discourages workers from discussing their feelings.

Construction workers overall also have higher death rates from overdose compared to employees in other occupations, according to the CDC. That correlates to the high number of pain prescriptions for injuries.

Education and training

Under Lawson’s leadership, Mid-City Electric launched an employee wellness program that includes suicide prevention, opioid abuse education and other components intended to encourage resilience and relieve stress. 

A former minister, Lawson himself once considered suicide while struggling to overcome a second bout of cancer. 

“Giving full consideration to the mindset that can lead to self-destruction,” he said, he now makes the rounds to Mid-City Electric work sites, serving up breakfasts and lunches, as well as plenty of encouragement and life-saving information.

The information takes the form of hard hat stickers listing a suicide prevention hotline number and business cards for Mid-City Electric’s digital employee assistance program. 

The program includes virtual or in-person counseling sessions, a wellness assessment test, personal recommendations for a wellness improvement plan and stress management techniques. The program also connects employees with online peer support groups. 

Besides explaining those resources, Lawson encourages a culture of sharing, which also has brought about changes for Mid-City Electric’s management.

“I’m much more direct when it comes to asking if employees are doing OK,” Finck said. “If one of our guys is acting off, I’ll ask him to come with me to where we can talk in private. And I’ll ask him to tell me what’s going on.”

As a result of more open communication, Finck said he was able to reach a young apprentice struggling with housing insecurity, as well as another apprentice who had expressed suicidal thoughts while struggling to deal with an alcoholic parent. 

“In both cases, communicating and connecting them with resources seemed to help,” Finck said. 

Mid-City Electric’s wellness program also connects employees with financial advice, legal services, childcare and parenting services, adult daycare and online legal forms, as well as professional webinars and trainings.

To quell stress, Mid-City Electric also began rotating foremen out of hot projects after prolonged periods. With each rotation, the standing general foreman works for two weeks with the new one to facilitate a smooth transition, Finck said.

Partners in mental health

To better connect Mid-City Electric employees and others with local resources, Lawson forged partnerships with the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Board of Franklin County, Ohio, and the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio. 

Because Mid-City Electric is not alone in having weathered suicides and opioid abuse, Lawson has also taken the employee wellness program to other members of the local construction industry. He has engaged 64 construction contractors in the region in what has become a wellness movement.

 “It’s important that we don’t see each other as competitors, but instead allies in this endeavor,” he said.

Header image: Paul Lawson, a mental health advocate and risk management coordinator for Mid-City Electric, Westerville, Ohio, visits a job site to check in with employees and talk about the company’s employee wellness program. Photo courtesy of Mid-City Electric.