Builder Magazine: The construction industry has made progress in addressing suicide prevention and mental health, but challenges remain. From demanding schedules and workforce shortages to stigma around asking for help, many workers continue to face pressures that can impact their wellbeing.
5 comments:
As mental health awareness is getting more and more prevalent in society, it is refreshing to hear that construction worker suicide has dropped by 29% in the past year. I feel there is are many similarities in corporate construction and the theatrical technical direction and carpentry. I'm curious if there are any crossovers in the blueprint this article laid out to continue to lower construction worker suicide and raise awareness.
Learning about the statistics of construction workers being majority male and having a large veterans population is an uphill battle, as mental health awareness is difficult to indoctrinate with this demographic. I appreciate the approach of changing the working conditions and not the coping mechanisms. While the technical direction and carpentry scene have different demographics, the work environment they are in is the same. This may be why burnout is so prevalent in the industry, and I hope some technical directors reference this article when managing their shop.
The construction and theater industries are similar in many aspects; while the actual work being done is different, the long days, hard physical labor, hours spent away from family and loved ones, and a rapidly changing industry are all common factors. All of those things build upon each other, exacerbating stress and making bad days much more likely to turn into mental health crises. I really appreciated the point Draffen made about the construction industry having a very outdated outlook on strength and resilience and the ability to do things for yourself, especially because I think that the technical theater and live event industry had a very similar outdated outlook about that. Mental health is such an important part of our well-being, and yet it is often neglected in more physically demanding fields, and that's just not a sustainable outlook for workers to have or for employers to expect from their employees. I sincerely hope that managers and employers of stagehands take a moment to read this article and check in with their workplace practices to ensure the health and safety of their employees.
The parallels able to be drawn between the world of commercial construction and theatrical stagehands and fabricators are profound due to their innate physical and psychological tolling nature. I found it shocking that the suicide rate among construction workers is so high. At the same time, I am sure the stagehand rate must be similar, but also underreported. The physical toll of being a stagehand is intense, with long hours, heavy lifting, repetitive tasks, and working in physically demanding environments. There is also a psychological toll that comes from the irregular hours, tight deadlines, and pressure to complete work safely and efficiently. Stagehands can often work late nights, weekends, and long production calls, which can make it difficult to maintain a healthy balance outside of work. I think the similarities between these industries show how important it is to recognize both the physical and mental challenges that workers face, even in creative fields.
While reading this article, I appreciate the CMU Scenic and PTM offices even more. Coming from a non-theatre background, I have been asking a lot of very trivial and possibly dumb sounding questions, yet everyone has been extremely kind and patient with me in answering the most basic things. I can still remember my first week in the shop, asking about the difference between ripping and crosscutting. Looking back now, after a month and a half in the shop, that feels like a long time ago. I really like one thing the author says in the article: "Needing support isn't a character flaw. It's the most human thing there is." And her point is that nobody calls fall protection weak, so asking for help is the same idea. Everything might seem overwhelming at the start, but thanks to all the kind and good people in the office, my experience has been extremely fun!
As someone who has advocated for mental health awareness from a young age, navigating through the theater tech/construction world has been an interesting experience. The most supportive and understanding shows that I have worked on have been the best shows that I have been a part of. I, as head carpenter, asked my scenic designer at a summer stock one summer to not talk to my crew during their break about what they are working on next especially since she just took one of crew members who had almost fainted mere minutes before due to heat stroke and pulling a lot of weight in the grid of an old theater in Virginia and she yelled at me about how I did not care about the show and “Where is the passion?!” I care very deeply about every show I work on because it is a way for people to get together and share ideas and create something together. However, I care about the people I work with more than the end result.
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