Prioritizing the Mental Health of First Responders

Lineworkers restore power to communities, work long hours in extreme conditions during storms and serve as first responders. They also have one of the most dangerous jobs in America. The fatality rate for electric power line installers and repairers is 23.7 fatalities per 100,000 workers, compared to 9.6 for all construction workers and 3.5 for all occupations, according to recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). 

As the owner of a California consulting firm, Maximo Fuentes provides training, education and expert witness services to the electric utility industry.  He said he thoroughly enjoys interacting with the young lineworkers and apprentices and sharing his knowledge and experience. At the same time, he’s challenged and frustrated by the litigation and catastrophic injuries he sees working as an expert witness. 

“I am disappointed in the direction that I see some companies going in our trade,” said Fuentes, who has 31 years of experience in line work and is the owner of Fuentes Consulting, LLC. “There’s not enough emphasis on education and training, and there are too many needless accidents. Too many times, I have seen accidents, discipline and a lack of professionalism in our trade, with the emphasis on making more money at the expense of the workers.” 

Electrical fatality rates have remained consistent year after year, and more needs to be done to reduce the number of electrical fatalities in the workplace, according to the Electric Safety Foundation International (ESFI). To drive down injury and fatality rates, the electric utility industry is investing in personal protective equipment and training its field workforce in safe work procedures and practices. 

Even so, the line trade loses dozens of lineworkers each year due to work-related incidents. The following story dives below the surface of safety in the line trade to offer some strategies on how lineworkers can come home safely to their loved ones each night and handle the stress of working as first responders in their communities. 

1. Understand the Toll of Trauma in the Line Trade.

As the electric utility industry continues to grow, evolve and expand, safety is always top of mind in the line trade. Even so, from the early years of line work to today, the industry has suffered from many accidents and learned lessons learned from them, said Randy Beckes, a journeyman lineworker who founded Utilitrain, a pre-apprenticeship training program in Maryland. 

“Over the years of hard work and training, I have seen a number of linemen, some close friends, seriously injured from accidents,” said Beckes, who started out in the line trade in 1977. “This drew me deeper into my commitment for safety and safety training.”

Lineworkers — whether they have just started in the trade or are nearing retirement — may one day experience a near-miss or the loss of a beloved coworker, and the toll can be complete self-destruction, said Ken Lulow, a journeyman lineworker and president of Line Worker Solutions.

“The guilt, the fear and the pain are crippling,” Lulow said. “Without proper care and support, it could lead to self-destructive behavior that can ruin their lives and have catastrophic effects on all those around them — peers, family, children and friends. Don’t try to self-cope and hold it all in. Share your struggles and find the support that is needed.”

A near-miss, or loss of a close coworker can be more difficult than being the victim yourself, in some ways, said Jon Backman, a journeyman lineworker with 25 years in the industry. 

“Watching a serious accident is a traumatic experience, especially if the victim is someone you know well,” Backman said. “The early and unexpected loss of a close person in your life is incredibly difficult to deal with, as you may be left feeling like you never had a chance to tell that person certain things before they were gone.”

Backman said he has only had one close experience with losing a co-worker due to an on-the-job accident.

“I was an apprentice at the time, and he was a more senior employee with a great reputation and safe work habits,” he said. “The biggest takeaway for me was seeing the heartfelt reaction from all the employees at the utility and the community we served.”

Danny Raines, the author of the book, Legends of an Old Lineman and owner and senior consultant of Raines Safety Solutions LLC in Griffin, Georgia, said a near miss can be a learning experience caused by a distraction or a loss of focus and may or may not cause severe injury. Often, a thorough investigation of the near miss will identify the procedures that were not followed, which could have prevented the incident. A fatality, however, is something that will impact not only the fallen lineworkers and their families, but also everyone on the crew and at the company. 

“A loss of life is a traumatic event with far-reaching, severe outcomes to all employees associated with the event and is very difficult to get over,” Raines said. “A thorough root cause analysis investigation must be implemented to prevent anything like that from happening again.”

Over his 58 years in the industry, Raines has seen utilities and contractors provide additional resources related to mental health, as well as tools and equipment to make the job safer.

“This prioritizes the importance and increases the awareness of doing the job correctly,” said Raines, who provides OSHA authorized training and skills training covering distribution coverup, system grounding and accident prevention and investigation. 

2. Provide Support in the Aftermath of a Tragedy, Near-Miss or Loss.

To help the field employees heal from the tragedy of a lineworker fatality, utilities can bring in a therapist or a specialist to provide information as to why and how the accident occurred, Raines said. 

For example, Union Care Solutions, a 501(c)(3) organization, is helping support mental health and peer support across the industry and creating awareness about critical incident response and suicide prevention. In the aftermath of a fatality, the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams can provide “psychological First Aid” through debriefings, defusing sessions, crisis intervention and crisis management briefing. 

“Critical incident stress management is crucial to address the emotional and mental well-being of workers who may be exposed to traumatic events or stressful situations,” according to UCS. “The timely deployment of a CISM team can help mitigate the psychological impact of critical incidents, support workers in coping with stress and promote a culture of mental health awareness and support among the crew, and within the company, and ultimately throughout the industry.”

Advocates like Jenny Lavin, the president and founder of UCS, along with utilities, unions and contractors, are making significant strides in improving the lives of lineworkers by prioritizing mental health and wellness, said David Mendonca, the executive director of the Show Up Dad Foundation, an organization started in 2020 that helps young men with their mental health, marital, parenting issues.

“This collective effort not only enhances overall safety but also ensures that lineworkers return home to their loved ones each night, fostering a healthier and more resilient workforce,” said Mendonca, moderator of the Show Up Dad podcast, pastor, father and journeyman lineworker in Elsinore, California. “A supportive environment encourages open communication about mental health, reducing stigma and promoting a culture where workers feel comfortable discussing their struggles.”

Over the years, utility companies have implemented safety culture initiatives, which can decrease stress and improve mental health for lineworkers, Mendonca said. By addressing mental health proactively, lineworkers are less likely to experience burnout or fatigue, which can impair judgment and increase the risk of accidents, he said.

“Improved mental well-being allows lineworkers to concentrate better on their tasks, leading to safer work practices and decision-making,” he said. “Training and support also help workers develop resilience, enabling them to cope with challenges and stressors more effectively. In addition, peer support and community-building initiatives enhance teamwork, creating a network of support that can help workers look out for one another and prioritize safety.” 

3. Shift the Culture to Focus on Mental Health, Wellness and Support. 

Traditionally, the line trade hasn’t emphasized emotional health and wellness, but as the stigma of getting help has decreased nationwide, it is no longer uncomfortable to acknowledge struggles or stresses, and that’s important to build on, Backman said. 

“Many of us face similar challenges, and it helps to talk to other people who are in the same work and life situation,” he said. “You may not get solutions or answers, but it is reassuring to know you aren't the only one dealing with stress.” 

Backman said it takes time to truly have a meaningful impact on mental health and wellness.

“Creating and maintaining a workplace culture of trust, transparency and support is the most effective method,” he said. “This can’t be done virtually. It takes time, dedication and financial investment. Oftentimes, short-term goals eclipse the need for this culture development, but if utilities are willing to provide a secure environment, the employees will feel more relaxed and comfortable at work.” 

While technology has led to improved opportunities in many ways, Backman said it’s vital to keep in-person training and learning as the core foundation of improvement for electrical workers.

“We still work side-by-side in the field, and our working relationships rely on trust,” he said. 

Lulow, who serves as an advocate for frontline workers and leads training and culture-building programs that empower utility workers, said that in his time in the line trade, he hasn’t seen the level of care needed to support the mental health and wellness of field employees. While the tools are available and many organizations have good intentions, they haven’t asked the right question: What can we do to support you and where you’re at? 

“Because of this, our industry continues to decline,” Lulow said. “No matter how many resources we throw at the problem, it will never solve this issue until we create a psychologically safe workplace and treat people like people. I have sat in many conferences and other discussions where workers are seen and treated like a resource that can just be pulled off the shelf from the local hardware store — like they are a box of screws — especially when it comes to mutual aid workers following a storm. We must treat our lineworkers like people, recognize that they have families, real lives and the same struggles we have — not as just a resource to get the lights on when the storm hits.”

He said it’s human behavior to act according to how you’re treated. 

“There isn’t a quick fix for this, and no matter how many safety policies we implement, I don’t see the accidents decreasing unless we shift the culture,” he said. “There is more than enough data available supporting the benefits of psychological safety and shifting the culture. Some utilities with courageous leaders are already embracing this, but unfortunately, most others are still relatively unaware or satisfied with the status quo. I wholeheartedly believe this shift will change the industry; it’s just going to take time to catch on.”

4. Emphasize Safety — Not Just Productivity — in the Field.

As the line trade continues to feel the pressure to do more work in less time, safety often takes a backseat in the field. For example, frontline leaders may tell the lineworkers how to stay safe in extreme heat by following the rules they set — drink water, take breaks and set up shade, yet they did little to enable them to truly adhere to these rules in the actual condition of the field. At the same time, they say “safety first,” yet they may advise lineworkers to get the job done as quickly as possible because it’s a “hard-money job.

“The last thing the crew heard was ‘hurry up,’ Lulow said. “This message leaves the crew feeling that the boss really cares about speed — not safety — and human behavior and fear of job security will have the crew cutting safety concerns to ‘hurry up.’ The guys are going to get the job done — it’s who they are.”

If an accident happens, and the investigation reveals that safety protocols were not followed, Lulow said, human error will be to blame. 

“If it’s found that ‘the crew disobeyed safety protocols,’ we tend to reactively set new safety rules to prevent this mistake,” he said. “We are only treating symptoms when we do this. What’s the real reason the crew felt like they couldn’t follow safety protocol? Does the frontline supervisor take responsibility for pressuring them to speed up?”

By taking a different approach, utilities and their field workforce could get a completely different result. For example, the human error may be due to a lack of training, a toxic work environment or chronic dehydration, which could contribute to cognitive decline with slow reaction time or tunnel vision. 

“Honestly, this happens more than we think,” Lulow said. “Eighty percent of Americans are already dehydrated, and we create high-stress environments for lineworkers where their cortisol levels are at extreme highs. They cope by drinking alcohol after work — further dehydrating themselves — and then they’re right back out to work again on the same cycle.” 

Because lineworkers are needed to perform the job, many companies turn a blind eye and don’t take accountability for putting lineworkers in a losing situation. For example, lineworkers are required to wear arc-rated PPE to protect themselves from arc-flash burns. In response, some utilities may purchase the least expensive PPE available to check the box, but this may create additional hazards, he said.

“Not all PPE is the same,” Lulow said. “Some is heavy and doesn’t breathe or wick away sweat,” he said. “In high heat, we could be causing our people to overheat or get heat illness. If they remove their PPE, they could get fired. This is a leadership miss — not a field error. If we know the conditions that our people are faced with, asked how could we create better conditions and gave them the ‘why’ behind the ‘how,’ we would be empowering them to mitigate their risk and fewer accidents would happen,” he said. 

5. Extinguish Toxic Bravado in the Line Trade. 

For decades, lineworkers, especially those new to the trade, may have been reluctant to speak up in an unsafe work environment. 

“The old way of control and command is broken,” Lulow said. “This method didn’t work, and never truly did, and we all know it. We are on a plateau, and we’ll drive right off the ledge if we don’t recognize this and change our approach. It’s a people problem, not a safety problem.” 

To truly make a difference in improving the safety of lineworkers, it starts with culture. He encouraged apprentices and journeymen lineworkers to be human and identify their purpose — the driving force that gets them out of bed every day.

Years ago, Lulow asked a first-year apprenticeship class to fill out an anonymous poll providing three to five reasons why they chose to be lineworkers. He told them “money” couldn’t be a reason as money is a result of the work, and you can make money from a thousand other occupations.

“I told them that they are treated poorly their first few years, away from their families, struggling to get by, drug all over the country and forced to work obnoxiously long hours in terrible conditions,” he said. “So, I asked them, ‘Why on earth would you choose to be a lineworker? The results were mind-blowing.” 

There were three commonalities — a sense of belonging, especially to the union and the brotherhood and sisterhood of the line trade; a sense of helping others and doing something rewarding by getting the lights back on during a power outage or making sure everyone had electricity to keep their life running; and a physical and mental challenge to overcome the odds and test their limits. 

“Line work is unique in the sense that it feels special to be a lineworker,” Lulow said. “You are tasked with impossible odds to bring power to others, and the group belonging feel is even further connected by the challenges and obstacles you face with your crew. Risk and miserable conditions bond and connect this group even more.”

He said lineworkers are often unique individuals who may have been told they weren’t good enough for college and to go the trade route, which could cause some subconscious resentment for some.

“Line work provided us with a home where everyone was the same,” he said. “Now we have a group mentality of bonded individuals with a desire to help people and prove the world wrong—a band of misfits treated like outlaws who took on the outlaw persona — and lineworkers loved this label.” 

Management, which historically consisted of former field employees, has now been replaced by career office individuals, creating a knowledge gap from the office to the real conditions in the field, Lulow added.

“Technology now allows management to micromanage the field, demand more, and faster, turning lineworkers into a resource,” he said. “Management recognizes production — it’s what drives profits.” 

As a result, utilities and contractors often honor the high producers, which has unknowingly caused damaging consequences, he said.

“Many of these high producers are often the individuals who have an ego, have embraced the outlaw label too much and aren’t true leaders,” he said. “They are the individuals who may cut corners for speed, take safety risks and make dangerous decisions to compete for the ‘I’m the best’ title. Organizations promote these people, setting the example to other lineworkers what they should model to get promoted. This has caused a cancerous culture.”

He said it’s time to stop the toxic bravado and embrace psychological safety and accountability. To truly drive down the number of accidents, injuries and fatalities in the line trade, it is going to take a culture reset, he said. 

“Reward the individuals who embrace the positive safety cultures and whose mission is building people and not money,” he said. “Recognize the leaders in this industry who champion safety and do what is right. Make this the standard, and the toxic bravado will die out.” 

He likened it to a flower garden. If you don’t cultivate it, it will be overrun with weeds (toxic bravado), but if you nurture your flowers (culture champions), you will wind up with a beautiful flower garden. While you may get a weed here and there, you can just pluck it from your garden before it can spread.  

“It’s a complex and challenging issue, and it’s a commitment and a journey that must be nurtured, just like a flower garden,” he said. 

6. Encourage Apprentices and Experienced Lineworkers to Learn From Each Other. 

Culture changes don’t happen overnight. On the path to improved mental health and wellness, however, apprentices can find senior employees, or even other apprentices, who have a reputation for being safe and accident-free, Backman said.

“Watch how they work and pay attention to the decisions they make,” he said. “These established habits build the foundation for a long career without accidents.” 

Raines agreed, saying apprentices should learn the rules and regulations, follow the safe work practices and seek advice from more experienced lineworkers, especially in today’s industry, where more responsibilities and accountabilities are placed on the field workforce. 

When new apprentices come into the trade, many get caught up in the cycle of a heavy workload and a lot of overtime, Backman said. Instead, they should try to truly embrace work/life balance.

“There is a great deal of pride in lineworkers' dedication, but the effect is cumulative,” Backman said. “You may not feel it yourself, but there are people at home who need you and who rely on you. It's important to give them that time. It's the company's responsibility to adequately staff up for the workload, not the employees'.”

Trying to achieve the perfect balance of life in the field and at home, however, can be nearly impossible for some lineworkers, especially for those new in the field, Mendonca said. For these individuals, it may be better to try to focus on being present in each environment — dedicate themselves to work when they’re on the job and fully engage at home when they’re there.

 “If you’re dealing with personal issues at home, consider asking your foreman if you can share your spouse’s or a loved one’s phone number with them,” Mendonca said. “This way, if there’s an urgent need to reach you, they can contact your foreman directly, allowing you to avoid constant distractions and worries about what’s happening at home.” 

The challenges with mental health and balance not only apply to apprentices but also to veteran lineworkers with decades of experience in the field. For those nearing retirement, they must avoid complacency to maintain safety in the field, he said. 

“Remember that complacency can be dangerous,” he said. “Shift your perspective to consider, ‘What could potentially harm me?’ For every situation, take the time to identify hazards. By doing this, you’ll have a mental plan in place for what could go wrong, which helps you stay prepared. It’s important to share this mindset with the younger generation as well. Always be aware of your surroundings and prioritize safety.”

Raines advised experienced lineworkers to never quit learning and focus on job planning, hazard analysis and following OSHA regulations.

You will never know it all,” Raines said. “Make sure the management team understands regulations, can be the resource the fieldworkers need and monitor the practices in the field.”

Lulow said lineworkers’ legacy isn’t what’s left in the field—it’s the generations that they will influence. 

“Give your legacy something to celebrate and be proud of and mentor these next generations,” Lulow added. 

Backman encouraged veteran lineworkers to not only continue the tradition of pride in the past but also remain open to learning new things and trying new tools, materials or techniques. He said the line trade is changing more than at any other time in history due to evolving technology, automation, load growth, customer expectations, legislation and other factors.

“While lineworkers are expected to evolve with these changes, we are also expected to have the knowledge and experience to work with a system that is oftentimes decades or centuries old,” he said. “Sometimes you need to listen to and learn from younger or newer employees. Not only will this make us safer lineworkers, but we will also be more efficient and effective, which makes us more valuable to our employers.”’

Safety programs, which are driven by OSHA to educate the workforce, have changed the landscape of how utilities operate, Beckes said. 

“We now can not only help those wanting to become linemen, but we’re also helping our electric utilities and contractors that are hiring lineworkers,” Beckes said. “As a result of OSHA standards, new technology and well-trained lineworkers, we are seeing the trend of accidents decrease, yet the job isn’t over. We need to continue to train and educate the electric utility industry to become even better. Safety is our number 1 priority.”