A Hidden Epidemic
January 3, 2023
Raising Awareness of High Suicide Rates.
A case study from the construction industry.
By Nick Fortuna
If Vince Hafeli had stuck to his plan back in 2007, you wouldn’t be reading this article, and he’d no longer be alive.
While going through a divorce, Hafeli figured he’d never earn enough money to support two households and put his children through college, so his family would be better off without him.
He was driving to the place where he had planned to commit suicide when a family member called him on the phone and convinced him to change course. Hafeli realized that he had a lot to live for, even if the living isn’t always easy.
“I went down a dark path, and I felt like a failure,” he said.
Fifteen years later, Hafeli is on a mission to increase public awareness of the epidemic of suicide. Hafeli is on track to earn a doctoral degree in business administration from the University of South Florida next December, and his research is focused on suicide in the construction industry.
Much like the mental health struggles facing the material handling industry, Hafeli, who is President of Ajax Paving Industries of Florida and a board member with the National Asphalt Pavement Association, is focused on suicide prevention in the construction industry. Hafeli’s story is not unique to him or the construction industry, and there are many sharable and teachable opportunities for MHEDA members.
Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, president of United Suicide Survivors International, said many factors contribute to the construction industry’s elevated suicide rates, including the high-stakes, stressful work environment. These same factors apply in many cases to the material handling sector.
“There is unrelenting pressure to do more with less – under budget, on time, without any incidents or safety problems –so everybody’s completely squeezed with pressure all the time,” she said. “And then you couple that with pretty scrutinizing regulations, rules, standards and compliance issues, and it leads to a lot.”
Hafeli said employees struggle with the same problems as everyone else, including financial difficulties and marital issues, but are sometimes sleep deprived from working too many shifts or alternating between daytime work and nighttime work. Others are experiencing chronic pain from workplace injuries and are self-medicating with alcohol or drugs, Hafeli said. For some, long stretches away from family and friends lead to depression and suicidal thoughts.
Some military veterans are battling issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Hafeli said. Veterans are coming from a military culture that prizes toughness in the face of adversity, and they often find a similar culture in blue-collar work, with employees expected to deal with physical or mental pain without complaining.
So-called macho cultures typically fail to acknowledge that mental illness is a common problem. One in five American adults experiences a diagnosable mental-health condition, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and depression is the leading cause of disability among Americans ages 15 to 44.
But only 45 percent of those with mental-health issues get treatment, and the average patient waits 11 years from the onset of symptoms before receiving effective treatment, Hafeli said.
The Sobering Statistics
Among all Americans, men are four times as likely as women to die by suicide, according to the CDC, and men also are more likely to use firearms, which account for more than half of all suicide deaths, increasing the probability of a successful attempt.
The steep rise in suicide rates made national news during the pandemic, as the toll of social isolation became increasingly clear. But in reality, the problem had been getting worse for years. From 2000 to 2020, the suicide rate per 100,000 Americans climbed 30 percent from 10.4 to 13.5.
Suicide now ranks as the second-leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 and the fourth-leading cause of death among those ages 35 to 44. In 2020, there were nearly twice as many suicides (45,979) in the United States as there were homicides (24,576).
“Most people don’t know how prevalent an issue this is, and they’re shocked to hear the numbers,” Hafeli said.
Hafeli’s Story
When Hafeli was deciding on a doctoral research topic, he initially considered examining lower-level leadership positions on construction jobsites, such as paving and grading foremen. But a professor challenged him to find a topic that hasn’t been researched as thoroughly, so he chose suicide in the construction industry.
For 14 years, Hafeli never told anyone he worked with that he had come close to killing himself, largely because of the stigma associated with mental health issues. Back in 2007, he was Vice President of Ajax Paving, a successful asphalt producer and transportation construction company based in North Venice, Florida, and he worried that sharing his story would hurt him professionally.
That all changed in 2021, when Hafeli opened up to his colleagues.
“Once I finally told my story, the reaction was the opposite of everything that I thought would happen,” he said. “People were compassionate. The owner of the company congratulated me on telling my story. That’s one important message to share with people: If you’re willing to discuss this, you’ll find that people generally are a lot more compassionate than you might think.”
Taking Action
Several years ago, an Ajax Paving employee named Mark, who always seemed so cheerful and affable, finished his work shift, drove off and killed himself. Hafeli remembers smiling and waving to Mark in the parking lot that day as they both drove off, unaware that Mark was struggling so mightily.
Now, Hafeli is determined to see that Ajax Paving never loses another employee to suicide, and he hopes his research will raise awareness of the issue within the industry. He said his company is developing a suicide prevention program for employees, an initiative he announced at Ajax Paving’s semiannual Safety Day last January.
Later that day, Hafeli received an email from one of his managers about an employee who seemed to be struggling. After a long conversation with the manager, the employee decided to get help. And at the most recent Safety Day, that employee approached Hafeli, thanked him for sharing his experience, and told him that he now takes medication and is doing much better.
Since taking on this topic, Hafeli has heard from people across the country who have either contemplated suicide or have lost a family member. He now keeps a journal that includes their personal letters to him.
“I’m shocked at the number of people who have contacted me,” he said. Ajax Paving is rolling out its new program slowly, but it’s already been embraced by workers, including a small committee tasked with promoting it and helping to develop it.
Workers now wear stickers on their hard hats that display the phone number of a suicide prevention line. Managers regularly discuss mental health at their morning toolbox talks, making it as much a part of the average workday as discussions about safety and that day’s scope of work. There’s also a quarterly toolbox talk devoted to this topic.
“Beyond that, I try to go out and see crews in the field weekly, and I discuss it with them,” Hafeli said. “The program is really about acknowledging that there is an issue in our industry and encouraging people to come forward and talk if they have issues, either with leaders in the company or with outside assistance that we provide for them.”
On April 15, 2023, Ajax Paving plans to hold a charity walk in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The goal is to increase awareness about suicide in the construction industry and to raise $250,000 for prevention programs.
Spreading the Message
Once reticent to share his story, Hafeli now emphasizes that there’s nothing embarrassing about mental health challenges. After his presentation to the National Asphalt Pavement Association, the group decided to include suicide awareness as a health and safety initiative in its three-year strategic plan. The association also added mental-health and suicide-prevention resources to its website.
Suicide prevention shouldn’t be a one-time discussion with new hires, Hafeli said. Instead, it should become engrained in the company’s culture and should be covered in the company newsletter, during open-enrollment periods for company benefits, at safety meetings and in training programs for managers and supervisors, he said.
Managers should be taught to recognize the warning signs of suicide, including “presenteeism,” the practice of coming to work despite illness, injury, anxiety or impairment and simply going through the motions. Besides reduced productivity, presenteeism can result in employees becoming distracted, increasing the risk of accidental injury, Hafeli said.
“The first step in reducing the numbers is for organizational leadership to acknowledge that this is an issue,” he said. “Once leaders address the topic and say, ‘We are going to tackle this,’ the employees quickly begin to discuss their life experiences and seek treatment.
“We as an industry, particularly road workers, are always discussing work-zone safety and the danger to our employees, yet we avoid discussing mental health and suicide, where we lose five times as many workers each day. Is that acceptable?”
Recognizing the Warning Signs
The following behaviors may indicate that a person is in danger of committing suicide and may need help, according to the National Institute of Mental Health:
Talking about wanting to die or to kill oneself
Looking for a way to kill oneself
Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose
Talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain
Talking about being a burden to others
Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
Acting anxious, agitated or reckless
Sleeping too little or too much
Withdrawing or feeling isolated
Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
Displaying extreme mood swings
