The focus on construction is a distraction, the point here is that men of lower socio-economic status in the US are killing themselves at a horrific rate. From the actual paper this article is based on:
The overall suicide rates by sex in the civilian noninstitutionalized working population were 32.0 per 100,000 among males and 8.0 per 100,000 among females.
Major industry groups with the highest suicide rates included Mining (males = 72.0); Construction (males = 56.0; females = 10.4); Other Services (e.g., automotive repair; males = 50.6; females = 10.4); Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (males = 47.9; females = 15.0); and Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting (males = 47.9).
Major occupation groups with the highest suicide rates included Construction and Extraction (males = 65.6; females = 25.3); Farming, Fishing, and Forestry (e.g., agricultural workers; males = 49.9); Personal Care and Service (males = 47.1; females = 15.9); Installation, Maintenance, and Repair (males = 46.0; females = 26.6); and Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media (males = 44.5; females = 14.1).
It doesnt have to be adversarial, but if either party decideds to make it so, it is. For larger companies in particular its pretty much institutionalised to be adverserial from day one.
Companies, by their very nature, are authoritarian structures. You receive orders from on high and by and large are only able to discuss how to implement them (if even that) with the threat of removing your livelihood as discipline. Unless there is some level of worker ownership or worker representation at senior management level companies are more akin to feudal power structures than modern ones.
Construction workers are dying from suicide at an alarming rate, with an estimated 6,000 construction workers dying as a result of suicide in 2022 ( www.nbcnews.com )
Employees Who Stay In Companies Longer Than Two Years Get Paid 50% Less ( www.forbes.com )
Gen Z is forcing a workplace reckoning that should have happened years ago ( www.businessinsider.com )
There's a steep decline in pay compared to the value workers add to the economy, closely tracking the fall in union membership. ( lemmy.world )
Join a union➡️