Your job and your mental health

In 2021, men in construction and extraction jobs had a suicide rate of 65.6 per 100,000, about twice the rate for all working men (32.0). Men in farming, fishing and forestry jobs had a rate of 49.9.

Injuries and pain, seasonal work, money worries, heat, long miles alone and a “tough it out” culture can all stack up.

Service work asks you to stay calm and friendly, often for low or unpredictable pay. In 2021, chefs, head cooks and bartenders were among the highest-risk jobs for suicide among women.

Some jobs mean hearing about, reading about or watching other people’s worst moments again and again. This can leave its own mark, called vicarious trauma.

Night shifts and long hours disturb sleep and the body clock, and they cut into time with family.

Nurses, doctors, aides, paramedics, firefighters, police and dispatchers see pain and loss others don’t. In 2022, 45.6% of U.S. health workers said they felt burned out often or very often, and reports of harassment at work more than doubled from 2018 (6.4% to 13.4%).

Support matters. Health workers whose supervisors helped them get the job done were much less likely to be burned out.

Common stressors

• Harassment and violence
• Moral injury: being unable to give the care you know people need
• Night shifts and rotating schedules
• Seeing trauma, death and suffering
• Staff shortages and long shifts

NIOSH’s Impact Wellbeing campaign gives hospitals step-by-step ways to reduce burnout, and tips for health workers on talking about burnout and moral injury at work.

Care aides, nursing assistants and support workers in nursing homes, group homes and assisted living help people with the most personal parts of daily life. Many build close bonds with residents, and that care is a gift. But the work is physically hard, often short-staffed and often low-paid.

In a 2022 CDC survey, 45.6% of U.S. health workers said they often felt burned out, and harassment at work had more than doubled since 2018. Workers who trusted their managers and had supportive supervisors were less likely to be burned out.

Common stressors

• Aggression from residents living with dementia or distress
• Grief when residents you care about die
• Juggling several jobs or long shifts to make ends meet
• Lifting and moving people, and the injuries that can follow
• Moral distress when there’s no time to give the care people deserve
• Too many residents for too few staff

Grief is part of this work, but it is often unspoken. Some homes hold a short moment of remembrance when a resident dies, so staff can say goodbye. Even lighting a candle or sharing one memory together can help.

What can help

• Ask for training in safe lifting and in calming tense moments
• Lean on coworkers and share the hardest tasks
• Take your breaks, even short ones
• Talk to a supervisor about workload before you break
• Use your EAP or a clinical provider if sadness or exhaustion won’t lift

Teachers, aides, bus drivers, counselors and school staff give a lot of themselves. They carry the needs of many students, often with large classes and limited time. The work can be deeply meaningful, and deeply tiring.

Common stressors

• Heavy workloads, grading and planning at home
• Little control over curriculum or schedules
• Low pay compared with the work involved
• Pressure from parents and test scores
• Student behavior and safety worries
• Worrying about students facing hard things at home

Warning signs

• Dreading every school day, not just Mondays
• Feeling numb or cynical about students
• Getting sick more often
• Working every evening and weekend

What helps

• Ask leaders for clear priorities
• Lean on a teacher friend you trust
• Notice small wins with students
• Set a time each evening when work stops
• Share planning with colleagues

Military life brings deployments, frequent moves, time away from family, danger and a strong team culture. Leaving the service can bring a loss of identity and purpose too.

Music can be a source of joy and meaning. But making a living from it often means unpredictable income, late nights, touring, constant self-promotion and performing under pressure. CDC researchers found higher-than-average suicide rates in several fields, including the arts and entertainment.

Common stressors

• A culture where alcohol and drugs are often around
• Harsh self-criticism and comparing yourself to others
• Injuries from playing, like hand or voice strain
• Money worries and gig-to-gig work with few benefits
• Performance anxiety: shaking hands, racing heart, fear of mistakes
• Touring, travel and disrupted sleep
• Your identity being tied up with your art

Performance anxiety is very common, even among experienced players. Your body treats the stage like a threat, so adrenaline rises. Practicing slow breathing, rehearsing under mild pressure (like playing for a friend), and focusing on the music instead of the audience can help. If it starts to stop you playing, a therapist can teach skills to calm the body’s alarm.

What can help

• Build a money cushion and get help with budgeting for uneven income
• Find a community of musicians who talk openly about mental health
• Have friends and interests outside music
• Keep a steady sleep and meal routine even on tour
• Rest injuries instead of playing through pain
• Wind down after gigs without relying on alcohol

Running your own business or competing at a high level can mean your income, identity and self-worth all ride on results. These paths have their own guides.

Signs the problem is the workplace

• Mistakes are punished, so people hide them
• Overload is normal and nobody fixes it
• People are afraid to speak up
• Put-downs, yelling or exclusion are treated as “just how it is”
• Several people are struggling, not just you

Steps to consider

• Find allies: coworkers, a union rep or a trusted manager
• Keep notes of what happens, with dates
• Look after your sleep, health and life outside work
• Use your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if you have one
• Learn your rights before you decide what to do

Ideas to try

• Have a way to wind down that isn’t alcohol
• Notice your early warning signs
• Protect sleep like you protect your safety gear
• Stay connected with people outside work
• Talk to a clinical provider or therapist
• Use your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) if you have one

An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a free, voluntary and confidential program offered by many employers. It can include short-term counseling, referrals and follow-up for work or personal problems.

How to find yours

• Ask HR or your union rep
• Check your benefits booklet or staff website
• Look for a poster in the break room

Coworkers often notice changes first. Peer support is one of the ways CDC suggests workplaces can help prevent suicide.

How to check in

• Pick a private moment
• Say what you noticed: “You haven’t seemed yourself lately.”
• Listen without fixing
• If you’re worried, ask directly and calmly: “Are you thinking about suicide?”
• Help them connect to support, like 988 or the EAP

Health experts say the most important changes are to how work is designed and managed. Workplaces are important places for suicide prevention.

Steps that help

• Build peer support and limit access to dangerous means
• Make it easy to reach mental health care
• Offer flexible hours and reasonable accommodations
• Reduce work risks, like overload and harassment
• Support people returning to work
• Train managers to spot distress and listen
• Train workers in mental health basics to reduce stigma

Construction groups now treat suicide prevention as a health and safety priority, just like fall protection. Normalizing conversations about mental health is part of a safe jobsite.

Talking about suicide openly can save a life. If you’re worried, ask clearly and calmly, then help the person connect with 988.

Job stress happens when demands don’t fit a worker’s resources. Short staffing, harassment and little support all raise burnout, while a supportive supervisor lowers it.

Mental health emergency visits rise on extreme-heat days. Heat makes it harder to cope.

Choose a private, relaxed moment, like a drive, a break or a walk. Say what you’ve noticed without judging, then give them space to answer.

Words that can help

• “You haven’t seemed yourself lately. How are you really doing?”
• “That shift sounded rough. Want to talk about it?”
• “I’m not trying to fix anything. I just want to listen.”
• “You’re not the only one who’s felt like this in this job.”
• “Would it help if I sat with you while you called someone?”

If you’re worried about suicide, ask directly and calmly: “Are you thinking about suicide?” A clear, calm question shows you care and that you can handle the answer.

Try to avoid

• “At least you have a job.”
• “Everyone’s stressed. Deal with it.”
• “I know exactly how you feel.” (Better: “I can’t know exactly, but I want to understand.”)
• “Toughen up, it’s part of the job.”
• “You should just quit.” (It may not be possible, and it can feel like a judgment)
• Telling their story to others without permission

In tough work cultures, people worry that admitting stress will make them look weak or cost them their job. Keeping what they share private, unless their life is in danger, builds the trust they need to keep talking.

At work

• Check in again a few days later. One talk is rarely enough
• Cover a task or swap a shift when they’re struggling
• Invite them to breaks or lunch so they’re not alone
• Share the EAP or peer-support contact quietly
• Speak up about unsafe workloads or harassment, together if you can

At home

• Don’t take their tiredness or short temper personally
• Have a meal ready after a long stretch away
• Keep routines steady, especially for children
• Plan small things to look forward to together
• Protect their sleep after night shifts: keep the house quiet and dark

If they agree, help them find care: look up the EAP, a therapist or a clinical provider, offer to make the call with them, or drive them to the first appointment.

If someone is in crisis, helping keep dangerous items like firearms away from them for a while can save a life.

Partners and children of people in high-stress jobs feel the effects too: missed holidays, a parent who comes home quiet or tense, and worry about their safety. These feelings are normal.

Ideas that help families

• Agree on a “landing” routine after long shifts or trips
• Explain the job’s stress to children in simple, honest words for their age
• Keep your own friendships and routines going
• Seek help for yourself if you’re struggling
• Talk openly about how the job affects home life, without blame

Supporting someone through a hard time can be draining, especially if you work in the same tough field. It’s okay to have limits.

Look after yourself

• Have someone you can talk to as well
• Keep up your own sleep, meals and movement
• Know you’re not responsible for fixing everything
• Take breaks from hard conversations when you need them
• Use your own EAP or a therapist if you need to