Construction projects might be vast and varied, but all of them have one critical component in common: the safety briefing.
This is when we get together to talk about the importance of wearing good, quality steel-toe boots, about where flaggers will go, and we do everything to prevent incidents, including human trips, slips and falls.
And then we go out and work beside people who might be battling grief, trauma, burnout or anxiety.
Yet, we never stop and ask ourselves: how emotionally safe are we here?
Because I’m not a magician, I can’t answer the emotional safety question for anybody but my own team. But I can tell you that adding emotional safety discussions into the mix of your daily safety briefings and other regular interactions makes a huge difference.
I mean huge.
Emotional Safety Is As Real And Important As Physical Safety
In the construction world, trauma-informed practices sound like a luxury. But when we look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, for example, we see that the requirements for a human being to function all come back to feelings of physical and emotional safety.
For us to solve the problem of emotional safety on construction sites, we’ll need to start with the basics.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a theory from the 1940s by psychologist Abraham Maslow. His idea was that people generally have to meet their most basic needs before they can focus on things like confidence, creativity, or personal growth. To illustrate this, he laid it out like a pyramid:
At the bottom are the basics—food, water, sleep—then safety, love and connection, self-esteem.
At the very top is self-actualization (basically becoming the best version of yourself).
Maslow’s work was a big shift from the darker, more clinical views of psychology at the time. Instead of focusing on what was wrong with people, he wanted to explore what helps them thrive.
His hierarchy has stuck around because it’s such a simple, human way to look at motivation. Maslow’s framework still makes a lot of sense, especially on a jobsite, and has made a place in our company culture as something to strive towards recognizing.
If someone shuts down or is too afraid to ask a question because of how they’ve been treated in the past, they’re not necessarily being difficult. But they might be reacting from a place of unmet safety or belonging, which is equally distressing in another way.
Key Steps to Normalize Emotional Safety
- Train Managers in Emotional Risk Awareness
- Provide accessible training that equips supervisors to recognize signs of stress and respond supportively.
- Embed Quick Check-Ins In Daily Routines
- Start each shift with a 30-second round of “How are you doing?” to spot early burnout or rough days.
- Conduct Regular Psychosocial Risk Assessments
- Treat emotional hazards like physical ones by periodically assessing potential workload and social pressures.
- Establish Clear, Open Communication Channels
- We can’t repeat this one enough! Workers should be able voice concerns without fear of retaliation no matter their “status.”
- Launch a Peer “Buddy” System
- Pair team members with other team members for daily check-ins. This can help because sometimes buddies notice changes in mood or behavior and can escalate concerns early.
- Offer and Promote Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
- Ensure workers know how to access confidential counseling, and remind them routinely that support is free and stigma-free.
- Maintain an Up-to-Date Resource Library Post quick-reference guides, hot-line numbers, and local mental health clinic info in break rooms and digital hubs.
The people who often carry the most weight on a job site—day laborers, immigrants, non-native English speakers, women, and workers from underrepresented backgrounds—are also the ones who are least likely to be asked, “Hey, how are you doing?”
They’re the most likely to hold in stress, push through pain and keep quiet about trauma.
When people feel seen and supported, a lot of good things happen: fewer incidents, better communication, stronger accountability, higher morale, and less turnover. At the end of the day, people stick around where they feel respected—and emotional safety? That’s just respect in action.