The Human Side of Construction Safety Leadership

Gardner strives to be a place where we feel valued, challenged, and love to come to work This requires us to lead with empathy while continuing to elevate the platinum standard as we define it – standard by which all others are compared.

This should weigh heavily on us as leaders, especially within an industry challenged by severe labor shortages, inflated material cost, and pressing production demands. But it’s also something that sets us apart as we lean into and own our vulnerabilities and make it okay to express uncertainty, frustration, and concern where appropriate.

Humanizing the experience we share in this, I personally reflect on the individuals who’ve brought me up over the years and leverage their inner strengths: 1) Hard workers, often hardened men, who’ve had my back; 2) Visionaries who’ve persevered in pursuit of a better state – what could be; and 3) Underdogs in a rough + tough industry who’ve earned their chops – myself + others, too.

Confronting the Mental Health Crisis in Construction

In a predominately male-dominated industry, an inordinately high value is placed on being ‘tough’, so that anything resembling a mental health condition, something human in all of us, has traditionally been stigmatized as a perceived weakness.

As a result, with nearly two-thirds of workers reporting some degree of anxiety or depression, the construction industry is experiencing a mental health crisis with suicide rates among the highest of any industry, due to several contributing factors:

• High stress, deadline-driven work

• Long, hard work hours leading to fatigue

• Limited job control

• Cyclical work contributing to financial strain

• Separation from family when traveling

• Chronic pain

• Substance misuse

Using Data and Training to Strengthen Safety Outcomes

In an industry so heavily dependent on human performance, data is an invaluable asset used to identify strengths and gaps in terms of both knowledge and aptitude. Training and different forms of education are critical in ensuring our workforce is fully equipped to perform their jobs safely.

"In a predominately male-dominated industry, an inordinately high value is placed on being ‘tough’, so that anything resembling a mental health condition, something human in all of us, has traditionally been stigmatized as a perceived weakness."

As leaders, we must involve our employees throughout the process – planning, problem solving, and decision making. Through actions and decisions, we must trust our teams to understand and communicate to us what works and, perhaps more importantly, what doesn’t.

The Evolving Role of Safety Leadership in a Technology-Driven Industry

From wearable technologies and drones to virtual reality and artificial intelligence, safety is being revolutionized, though one thing remains the same - the human element, irreplaceable in construction.

While leaders are moved to embrace technology for the sake of advantage, both comparative + competitive, we’re obligated as such to advocate for our teams now more than ever:

• Mental Health + Wellbeing

• Psychological Safety

• Purpose

• Inclusivity

• Training + Development

• Growth + Advancement

Building the Next Generation of Safety Leaders

Though training, knowledge, and a technical understanding of regulatory principles will serve as an elementary foundation, it’s an individual’s soft skills that ultimately prove to be the real differentiator:

• Lead with integrity

- Always, no harm intended

• Learn how to communicate

- How you make someone feel is often what they value most

– even in construction.

• Lead with empathy - Enrollment versus enforcement

Safety is not a ‘priority’. Priorities change a lot of the time.

Safety is a ‘non-negotiable’. To honor this is the greatest thing we can do as safety professionals to ensure our teams return home better than the way they came to work.