Building labourers face high rate of suicide
The rate of suicide among construction workers has prompted efforts to counteract early signs of depression.
To say Greg Van Borssum has had his ups and downs is an understatement. To say that every time Van Borssum gets knocked down he gets back up might be selling him short.
The NSW central coast husband and father has not only chased off the black dog of depression and kept working where others might have hit the skids, he has made his recovery an intractable part of his being.
At first glance, Van Borssum, 46, is another likeable, upbeat carpenter, just like his dad. But he is also a public speaker on mental health and personal resilience, runs a martial arts school out of the back shed to help kids get a better start to life, and will shamelessly tell his story forever if there is a prospect it can help someone else.
After an average schooling, Van Borssum started out working with his dad on building sites but soon set his sights on other dreams. He became a fitness fanatic and Mr Australia, then worked on movie sets with the Hollywood A-list, until a production was cancelled in 2013 and he was suddenly unemployed. It was his birthday.
Moving back to Australia, he found himself one of many labourers on the huge Barangaroo site in Sydney. A year into the physically exhausting, emotionally isolating job, Van Borssum was shaken by a worker killing himself on the site.
He knew the man had been depressed and Van Borssum was unsettled thinking how close he too might be to death. Was he a week away, a rough day away, a bad conversation away?
“I was really close that day myself, and I knew I was not the only one,” Van Borssum says.
As construction companies brought workers together to discuss the incident — a reactive but also proactive response to trauma and mental health concerns, which has become a common part of workplace health and safety — Van Borssum opened up about how he was feeling. Soon, half a dozen workers were staying back, talking about similar things, all arriving at the same conclusion: without acknowledging it, without talking about it, without getting help and getting everything sorted, they too could be dead.
“The last part of the spiral is really very fast,” Van Borssum says.
“You can hang on for a long time and then you can’t. It’s like being in the corner pummelled by (boxer Mike) Tyson, you can take a lot of punches but then one will put you down.
“Punch after punch, and no one wants to talk about the hits. You lose your job, you lose your girlfriend, you lose your money, you lose your car, you lose your life.”
The construction and mining sectors, the most exposed to the boom and bust of Australia’s economy in recent decades, have the biggest suicide problem. Unskilled labourers are most at risk.
Data from the National Coronial Information System shows that in the three years to the end of 2014, tragically, 239 construction and mining labourers died by suicide. Of the number recorded holding such jobs, 0.15 per cent, or 15 in every 1000, were dead by 2015. That was almost double the suicide rate among skilled construction trades workers (0.07 per cent) who, with 261 deaths, had the highest number of deaths overall.
People working in blue-collar occupations, including farmers, experienced suicide more than other workers, which experts put down to myriad factors including the number of young men in the demographic and, sometimes, the lack of stability and support outside work. Of the 3738 suicides recorded by the NCIS over the period, all seemingly employed, almost 83 per cent were men.
This is where organisations such as MATES in Construction have sought to play a part, raising awareness of mental health issues and suicide, training people in how to respond and, crucially, encouraging men to look out for each other, knowing their mates might not ask for help.
Fiona Shand from the Black Dog Institute says stigma around mental illness remains an issue, and men in blue-collar jobs might feel unwilling to ask for help, or show their vulnerability, because of how they perceive their role at home and at work.
“There are a number of groups around who are trying to chip away at that, and often it is around people’s own set of beliefs,” Shand says. “For men, stoicism is a real risk factor for a suicide attempt, the belief that they have to fix everything themselves and not ask for help. We know that they can ask for help, and they can get help.”
Van Borssum has experienced 11 suicides around him. Knowing the complex and often explosive lives that some of his workmates lead, he points out that “no one is digging holes at 60 because they want to”.
Suicide can affect anyone, regardless of occupation. The NCIS data also shows that among white collar-workers, health professionals, of all people, have higher rates.
In the three years to the end of 2014, there were 153 deaths among health professionals as a result of intentional self-harm — and these are the people who set out to help others every day.
Shand says exposure to trauma is obviously an issue in the health sector, but notes also that female doctors and health professionals have higher suicide rates than women in other occupations. It is these distinctions that she and other suicide-prevention workers are examining in an effort to better target interventions.
“Levels of clinical perfectionism are relatively high among female doctors and that’s a risk factor for suicide,” she says.
“But so is the fact it is a high pressure job, their own expectations of others’ expectations of them are high, and some of those health workplaces are not female friendly, especially when you start having children.”
Governments and regulatory agencies are trying to improve the health workplace, and the level of support available, to better protect doctors and other professionals.
In construction, companies, unions and charities are doing their part. All the while, health organisations are trying to show everyone the best way to connect with experts and follow evidence-based strategies.
Sometimes, however, it comes back to the individual.
If you’re struggling, you’re not the only one. A recent survey of 3102 people, through Australia’s Biggest Mental Health Check-in, suggested 39 per cent of respondents were experiencing depression and 37 per cent met the criteria for anxiety disorders. Young people were particularly affected, and self-criticism, perfectionism and low self-awareness were the key contributing factors. Maybe that sounds familiar to you.
There is always a way out of a hole. Look to the light, ask for help, or build relationships strong enough that someone will offer help first. Go to the doctor and be honest about what is going on. Visit respectable websites to gain a better understanding of mental health issues. Get to know your thought patterns, your behaviours, your habits, and what works in your favour and against you.
This week, R U OK? Conversation Convoy embarked on a promotional tour that will cover 14,000km and visit 20 communities, highlighting the four steps to a conversation — ask, listen, encourage action and check in.
Three years after discovering himself in a “very dark place”, Van Borssum is still conscious of his mood, even when he is focused on helping others. Like any good tradie, he carry out maintenance to keep things running smoothly.
“If I find the wheels aren’t spinning and things aren’t working out, as they do from time to time, I do something about it.”
If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide call Lifeline (13 11 14), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or see your doctor.