ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--McCarthy Holdings, Inc., a premier national builder and one of America’s 100 largest employee-owned companies, recently announced a new integrated approach to breaking the stigma surrounding mental health to better meet the needs of employees, the craft workforce and their families.
Designed to create more discussion around mental health awareness, acceptance and treatment options, the initiative establishes collaborative strategies and practices across McCarthy’s safety, human resources and operations teams — all under the umbrella of the firm’s award-winning Build for Life health and wellness program.
“Mental health has historically been a challenge across our industry and has been an important part of McCarthy’s health and wellness program,” said Scott Wittkop, McCarthy president and chief operating officer. “As one of America’s leading construction companies, we believe it is our responsibility to set the precedent for expanding mental health awareness and increasing conversations to help more people get the assistance they need.”
The Mental Health Index™ provides a measure of the current mental health status of employed adults in a given geography as compiled by Morneau Shepell. According to the December 2020 report, “The mental health of Americans has been significantly lower than prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” with construction standing at the seventh lowest mental health score, among 22 industries.
As part of the expanded outreach, McCarthy’s integrated team developed new and updated materials, resources and tools to emphasize and support mental health awareness on jobsites and in offices. Materials are available at any time through the company’s intranet and include toolbox talks on mental health, suicide prevention and signage to increase awareness. Helpful information is also available for all employees and families through the McCarthy Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
On jobsites, McCarthy is distributing hard hat stickers to all employees with important contact information and conducting meaningful discussions with all teams about the company’s approach to mental health, as well as immediately available resources.
Future plans range from adding more support, resources and training for managers and employees to considering an evidence-based mental health crisis response system.
“As a community builder, McCarthy believes that investing in mental health awareness, acceptance and treatment not only benefits our employee-owners, craft professionals and their families, but also the communities where we live and work,” Wittkop said. “Just like the critical importance of safety on our jobsites, the overall health and well-being of our employees and their families directly impacts our ability to deliver a great experience on our projects and is vital for the long-term success of our company and industry. Elevating the focus on mental health benefits us all.”
About McCarthy Holdings, Inc.
McCarthy Holdings, Inc. is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country – with more than 150 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients. McCarthy Holdings, Inc. is comprised of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Castle Contracting, Inc. Repeatedly honored as a Best Place to Work and Healthiest Employer, McCarthy is ranked the 9th largest domestic builder (Engineering News-Record, May 2020). With approximately 5,000 salaried employees and craft professionals, the firm has offices in St. Louis, Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Denver; Dallas, Houston; and San Diego, Newport Beach, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned. More information about the company is available online at www.mccarthy.com or by following the company on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
