Safety Beyond Personal Protective Equipment

Mental Health, Conflict and Leadership in Residential Construction

By Ruby Jones, Director of Operations, SafeLogic Alaska

Alaska’s construction industry carries a unique set of risks like high winds, ice and snow, remote project sites and the occasional wildlife encounter. Supervisors check the safety boxes including gear, training, hazard assessments, toolbox talks and housekeeping. But there’s a quieter risk people rarely name. It doesn’t show up in a hazard report but it’s present on every job. It’s the mental and emotional stress crews carry with them every day.

The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates. In Alaska, that risk is compounded by long winters, geographic isolation and high rates of substance use. These factors don’t disappear when the workday starts. They follow workers onto the jobsite and affect everything from morale to productivity to long-term safety.

Safety That Goes Beyond the Surface

Gloves, harnesses and hard hats protect against physical hazards but psychological distress, chronic stress and unresolved conflict are harder to identify. These risks are often dismissed as part of the job. In nearly every industry, talking openly about anxiety, trauma or burnout is difficult but that doesn’t mean those challenges aren’t present. It just means we’re not talking about them.

Leaders, superintendents and foremen are not only managing their own stress, most lack training in mental health support. Skills like de-escalation, conflict resolution and recognizing signs of burnout or substance use are not part of the standard OSHA checklist. But the ability to recognize these issues, in others and in ourselves, can improve crew morale, jobsite safety and the quality of the work. 

Mental Health Is a Safety Issue

Mental health challenges can look like absenteeism, high turnover, equipment misuse or interpersonal conflict. Leaders who normalize low-pressure check-ins like “Everything good at home?” or “Need a breather today?” are more likely to catch small problems before they turn into big ones.

At SafeLogic, we encourage clients to invest in Mental Health Awareness training. We urge leaders, business owners and crew members to talk honestly with each other about stress, mental health and substance use. We aim to create work environments where psychological safety is part of the culture and where team members know they can speak up without fear. 

Early Conflict Resolution Saves More Than Time

Construction jobs are fast-paced, high-pressure environments. Conflicts happen, it’s how we prepare for them. Leaders should make it clear that stepping away to reset is not weakness, it’s professionalism. Whether it’s taking a walk, using a code phrase or hitting pause on a conversation, cool off before tension turns into a blowout. 

Escalation damages trust and slows everything down but avoidance isn’t the answer either. Suppressed emotions don’t disappear. They show up later as resentment, disengagement or burnout. Leadership means creating space for stress to be acknowledged and handled in real time, without shame or drama. 

Support Doesn’t Undermine Strength

One of the most damaging myths in the trades is that support equals softness. The strongest teams are built on trust, not toughness. Trust is built through consistent, small actions that carry weight like noticing when someone isn’t themselves, covering a task for a teammate and letting the new guy know that when mistakes happen, they can be fixed. Support requires authenticity and a genuine interest in how your team is doing. 

Construction’s challenges aren’t going away but we can build jobsites that are not only safer physically but mentally. When we look out for each other, we strengthen teams, improve work and protect the people we build alongside.