A survey conducted by the National Safety Council (NSC) found 58% of Americans working in construction think that safety takes a backseat to productivity and completing job tasks. Construction is the industry that sees the most workplace fatalities each year in the United States. According to this survey, 51% say management does only the minimum required by law to keep employees safe, and 47% say employees are afraid to report safety issues.
By contrast, 36% of the 2,000 full-time and part-time employees across the 14 industries (including construction) surveyed during February 2017 think their employers prioritize productivity over safety.
A total of 4,836 people died in workplace incidents in 2015, and 937 of those killed were construction workers.¹ Falls are the second leading cause of death in the workplace, and more than half of fall-related deaths each year occur in the construction industry.²
