Is safety an employer priority? Construction workers say no

The culture on your jobsite determines many aspects of your day-to-day life in Texas. According to a recent survey by the National Safety Council, construction workers across the country believe the companies they work for make productivity the primary value, rather than developing an environment that puts safety first.

Construction is one of the industries with the highest complaint of this issue. If your employer rates your performance based on output rather than your adherence to safety standards, you join the 67 percent of survey participants in your field with this response. This news may not come as a surprise, since over 900 construction workers died in 2015—almost 20 percent of the total work-related fatalities across all industries that year. Like 47 percent of the survey respondents, you may also worry that reporting a safety hazard could lead to retaliation.

The NSC notes that as a construction worker, falling is one of your highest fatality risks. Although workers in every industry die from fall-related injuries, over half of the construction workers who die on the job each year are killed as a result of a fall. The problem is so serious, the federal government has instituted an awareness campaign to draw attention to fall prevention on construction sites, and this is targeted at both employers and employees.

Even if your employer does not seem concerned about your safety, the NSC is. That agency points out that most workplace accidents are preventable, which makes them all the more tragic. These facts and statistics are provided for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as legal advice.