Most would agree the holidays can have their stress points. With distraction and over-activity comes threats to job site activity that aren’t worth the chance. Onsite Safety’s blog features some pretty prevalent concerns and how they can be avoided as best as possible. The main message is often forgot: despite urgency to exceed expectations, always remember that safety is the highest priority.
As a whole, accidents increase on Fridays, holiday weekends, or when jobs are running late. Don’t be a statistic—avoid rushing. This will substantially enhance your level of workmanship and ultimately maintain a client relationship. If a project is running late or has a shifted timeline, see what possibility there is for work on weekends or an unconventional schedule so that there is more time made available.
Whether frustrated or fatigued, employers need to ensure that their field staff are able to control their emotions. Onsite Safety mentions that “Having the right tools to manage frustration and turn negatives into positives is key to being able to avoid accidents and injuries. Creating a workplace that prevents frustration from developing is key. Employees can get frustrated at poor procedures, bad communication, wrong or insufficient materials and problems at home. Not all situations can be managed and controlled, but hiring employees that can control their emotions is a valuable practice to any company.” Especially around the holidays, an employee that can channel their stress effectively is a necessity.
With the hustle and urgency of the holidays, fatigue is likely. While balancing the demands of a project and being severely low on rest, there are extreme dangers presented to individuals and their job requirement. Safety meetings and team connects are a great forum for discussions on how these issues can be combated, however the dialogue should be addressed if there is concern.
In some circumstances, workers can feel complacent if they aren’t specifically recognized. Management should be quick to tackle this mindset, as it increases probability of mindlessness in tasks, leading to accidents. Whichever the state of mind may lead your team to distraction around the holidays, it’s important to make needs and controls known so that these obstacles can be overcome.
Sources referenced:
https://www.onsitesafety.com/construction-safety-company-news/article/four-accident-mindsets/