Respect, Dignity and Active Caring: Promoting Mental Health Conversations in Construction

When asked what it’s like working with Lakeside Alliance to build the Obama Presidential Center, carpenter's steward Tenna Monroe replied, “It’s very peaceful.”

While peaceful may not be the first word that comes to mind when describing a construction site, it resonates with many on the OPC project who see the impact of Lakeside Alliance’s “active caring” model at work, one of the many ways they set themselves apart in the industry.

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health and behavioral issues and make room for critical conversations about reducing the stigma that many people experience when they’re struggling, including at work.

Currently, one in five construction workers struggle with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. The construction industry has earned a decades-long reputation as being a rough business, but Lakeside Alliance has broken that mold — adopting an “active caring” protocol to support the mental well-being of every employee who steps foot onsite.

It’s another reason the project is unique and what Monroe calls “the Cadillac of the trades.” Describing the pressure that can accompany meeting difficult construction schedules, Monroe, who has 27 years of experience working as a carpenter in Chicago, continued: “Usually everything is push, push, push. But they (Lakeside Alliance) really take care of you out here.”

This is part of Lakeside Alliance’s intentional approach to ensuring the Obama Presidential Center (OPC) project is safe and welcoming for all, setting out to create a construction site that prioritizes mental health and wellbeing.

“The industry doesn’t have to be rough,” said Peter Davoren, CEO Turner Construction Co., one of the five firms that make up Lakeside Alliance. “Lakeside Alliance is deliberately trying to create an environment where people can be at their best, be authentic and be treated with respect and dignity at all times. To achieve that, our fundamental philosophy is active caring."

The active caring model encourages anyone on the team who notices a colleague in distress to do all they can to see that they get the help and resources they need. There is no stigma in asking for assistance or someone to talk to, whether that be a peer, our on-site medic or a supervisor. Achieving job-wide unity in construction can be challenged with a workforce made up of multiple employers and trades partners, but Davoren says active caring is most effective when everyone shares the same message.

“Turner has been talking about mental health in construction for a long time, but that hasn’t always been the norm. I am so encouraged by our partners on this project who share those values and exude active caring behavior in every encounter. That strength in numbers, critical mass, is momentum. Job-wide, we hope people will say when something isn’t right so we can meet with them and comfort them through what they’re going through.”

Davoren goes further to say that if a partner or employee cannot embrace that philosophy, “there is no room for them on our job site. As the construction managers, our job is to stitch all of the employers and employees together so they feel that they’re part of something extraordinary. When you visit the site, it should be a safe place, a nurturing place, and an active caring place where you can be who you are — the best you can be. That requires teamwork.”

Discussions around mental health in construction, such as how to recognize warning signs of distress, have occurred fairly recently but are overdue in an industry with one of the highest suicide rates in the nation. Workers on the OPC site are given space for restorative practices, such as morning stretch and flex to prepare themselves mentally and physically for the day.

Monroe said she thinks Lakeside Alliance is doing a great job making sure every team member has what they need. Even ensuring women have clean, separate port-o-johns and proper fitting work gloves, to her, is a sign of respect that positively impacts her mood and wellbeing on-site.

“I’ve never worked at a job site like this. I wish that the other job sites would do a protocol like this. That’s what I’m praying for.”