b'portance of language as a factor in worker mental health and Be In Tune with Workers to Assess suicide prevention Their Well-Being, Presenters Say Its critical to know employees in order to spot warningSonya Bohmann, executive director of the Frankfort, Illi-signs when one is struggling with mental health issues, saidnois-based Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Pre-presenters at the ASSP Conference + Expo last month.vention and Loretta Mulberry, a Spanish-to-English inter-preter and industry advocate, discussed the importance of the ORLANDO, Fla.Workplace safety experts have longvocabulary used to talk about mental health issues. been focused not just on workers physical wellbeing but their mental health as well. That rang true at the AmericanFor example, Bohmann and Mulberry encouraged attendees Society of Safety Professionals 2025 Expo and Conferenceto use the term die by suicide rather than commit as well in July.as describing someone as having a mental illness, rather than being mentally ill. It definitely is [our responsibility], said Wesley Wheeler, executive director of safety for the National Electric Con- Doing so, Bohmann said, can underscore that mental health tractors Association. We are the eyes and ears of our con- is part of a greater health issue, and thereby make it easier to tractors.talk about. Wheelers comments came during a panel discussion, but itIts not just the verbiage on the jobsite, but the actual dialect was far from the only event at the conference where workerused to communicate that can have a profound effect on mental health was brought up. worker mental health. Panelists also discussed the need to remove the machoAbout one-fourth of people employed in construction overall stigma in industries like construction that can negativelyare Hispanic, Mulberry said, but Hispanic people make up impact men in particular and how to spot the warning signsabout half of all laborers. Many workers report low confi-of someone struggling with mental health issues. dence in their ability to speak English, and rely on one lead-er to interpret, Mulberry said. That can also increase risk for Those indicators include workers who dont regularly main- hazards on the jobsite. tain their hygiene, have a sudden rapid drop in productivity or increasingly keep to themselves when they may have oth- It also has an impact on worker mental health, Mulberry erwise been social.said, as those who speak a different language can feel more isolated and be even less likely to speak up about an issue. You will notice these things if you are in tune with your workers, said Georgia Bryce-Hutchinson, mental healthThe rate of Hispanic people in the U.S. dying by sui-consultant for Exton, Pennsylvania-based healthcare provid- cide grew from 5.7 per 100,000 in 2011 to 7.5 in 2020, ac-er Carebridge.cording to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, a faster increase than the overall population experienced during that Constructions long hours, demanding physical labor andtime period. tough-guy mentality can contribute to mental health issues, said Chris Trahan Cain, executive director of Silver Spring,There is simply not enough being done to bridge those lan-Maryland-based CPWRThe Center for Construction Re- guage cultural gaps, Mulberry said. search and Training. Too often, Mulberry said she hears firms indicate they will A growing number of deaths are not from falls or electrocu- prioritize a safety program using multiple languages, but she tions. Theyre from suicide on the job or drug overdose onrarely sees any sense of urgency. the job, Cain said. I would like to impress upon people that peoples lives are Conference organizers handed out ASSP poker chips withon the line everyday, Mulberry said. 988 on the backthe national suicide hotline numberbefore and after the panel. Wheeler said that the poker chipBy Zachary Phillips can be used as a tool in a personal or group setting to openEditor pathways to conversation around mental health. Cain suggested that a safety manager give a chip to a worker they are concerned about with no further discussion, high-lighting the option for a subtle nudge rather than an immedi-ate discussion, which might not be comfortable.Language, Literally At another presentation, two speakers stressed the im-16'