Page 67 - OHS, July/August 2022

Creating a healthy dialogue around mental health with workers is key and can be done by routinely having mind, body and safety talks. Some may consider bringing engaging guest speakers onsite and hosting wellness events where an honest, free- flowing dialogue is encouraged. Allowing workers to seek help on their own terms through access to more resources like online mental health providers is another way construction leaders can break the stigma and make it easier for employees to get the care they need.
Improving Working Environments
for Employee Wellbeing
In today’s construction landscape, the focus put on worksites has expanded beyond environmental safety into environmental wellness. According to the National Institutes of Health, environmental wellness is about creating clean, safe and healthy surroundings. Construction leaders are beginning to tap into new, innovative services that go beyond providing a clean worksite.4
Services like stretching stations to help prevent on-the-job injuries and water stations at every level of the job site to promote hydration are popping up at more and more construction sites. To further tap into environmental wellness, construction leaders should consider introducing lifestyle services like onsite haircuts, food trucks and smoothie stations. Simple add-ons like these show workers they are valued and their employer is willing to go above and beyond to ensure they’re taken care of, leading to higher retention rates and lower turnover.
Environmental wellness is also a component of the industry’s shift to a new safety perspective of whole-person health. When workers aren’t at their healthiest, both physically and mentally, they could be putting themselves and their coworkers in danger on construction sites. Construction leaders are putting more focus on employee’s well-being as a way to prevent accidents and promote safety. Creating a work environment that is conducive to their well-being is part of that.
The Expanding Role
of Safety in Construction
Today, safety involves much more than addressing environmental hazards on construction sites. Promoting employee
health and wellbeing is becoming an essential safety strategy to ensure workers are performing at their best. As the concept of safety evolves, construction leaders are putting more focus on preventive care, mental and behavioral health, and creating a worksite culture of well-being.
Paul Goren is the Director of Business Development at Pivot Onsite Innovations leading the company’s construction services to implement occupational health and wellness programs.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/ wr/mm6903a1.htm
2. https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/ cd_r31_2020.htm
3. https://www.psychiatry.org/newsroom/ news-releases/new-report-in-construction- industry-concern-for-mental-health-is-high-but- willingness-to-discuss-mental-health-is-low
4. https://www.nih.gov/health-information/ environmental-wellness-toolkit
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Circle 6 on card.
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JULY/AUGUST 2022 | Occupational Health & Safety 63
The
is no accident.