New research reveals that workers across industries are turning to AI for emotional support. Here's what that means for construction.

Construction has one of the highest concentrations of veterans of any civilian industry. Estimates suggest veterans make up somewhere between 9 and 12 percent of the construction workforce, and that number doesn't capture the full picture. It doesn't count the workers who have a spouse, sibling, or child currently deployed. It doesn't count the reservists on your crew who may be watching their phones for a call that changes everything.

With U.S. forces actively engaged in a military conflict in the Middle East and the possibility of expanded operations ongoing, this is a moment that warrants attention from construction leaders. Not because your workers will tell you they're struggling. Most won't. But because the signs will be there, if you know what to look for.

Gambling addiction is rising fast among young men. Construction employs more of them than almost any other industry. And unlike substance misuse, nobody has built a system to see it coming.

Within months of each other, Engineering News-Record published two stories about construction industry employees who took their employers to federal court. One was an Army veteran with PTSD. The other was a Gen Z engineer with ADHD, depression, PTSD, and bipolar disorder. One case is still active. The other was dismissed on evidentiary grounds.

Different companies. Different generations. Different diagnoses. Different outcomes.

But the same pattern.

When we launch something new, it's tempting to lead with statistics and heartbreak. There's no shortage of either in this industry. But the Center for Construction Mental Health opens with a different message — one grounded in the same data, yet aimed at a different outcome: momentum.

Because if leaders like you don't know that progress is possible, it's much harder to sustain the commitment required to achieve it.