SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A deepening mental health crisis within the construction industry is not only harming workers, it’s also shrinking the workforce and driving up construction costs across the country.
“They’re dealing with manpower issues that they have no control over,” said Slade Opheikens, President of R&O Construction, which employs more than 100 workers. “They’re dealing with a deadline that has already been set that likely isn’t moving. They’re dealing with Mother Nature and weather.”
Opheikens said the heavy workload isn’t slowing anytime soon.
“We’ve been booked out for probably the last five years — at least six to twelve months in advance with all our teams,” he said.
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As Utah’s population grows, so does the demand for rapid construction — adding more pressure on a workforce already stretched thin.
“The industry generally is just getting faster. The expectations are getting higher,” said James Smith, an Associate Professor at BYU.
Nationally, more than 5,000 construction workers die by suicide each year, and roughly 20% struggle with drug or alcohol abuse, according to industry research. Smith said the labor shortage only deepens the crisis.
“The industry is experiencing a huge labor shortage across the board, and this is a big factor in all of this,” he said.
Smith is currently leading a long-term study on mental health in the construction workforce. He said the lack of available workers worsens production pressure, makes the job less appealing to new recruits, and ultimately drives up project costs. Those costs can then trickle down to the consumer.
Addressing the full scope of worker health — physical, mental, and emotional — can make a measurable impact.
“Even from a bottom-line perspective, it has a very positive effect,” Smith said.
Opheikens agrees that the human toll cannot be separated from the financial one.
“It’s not just the financial impact to the project,” he said. “It’s the impact to those that are doing the work.”
His company is working to reduce tight deadlines and make more mental health resources available.
The U.S. is projected to need more than 600,000 additional construction workers every year to keep up with demand. As projects accelerate and expectations rise, the mental health of workers is becoming an urgent concern that industry leaders said can no longer be ignored.
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