RESPECT WORKS PLAYBOOK
Section three: Jobsite planning guide
This section of the Respect Works Playbook provides jobsite leaders practical guidance for planning respectful workplaces: creating project plans, meeting minimum duty-of-care obligations (PPE fit, jobsite scanning, bathroom facilities, nursing accommodations), establishing communication channels (orientations, toolbox talks, signage), and offering engagement activities like mentoring, plus/deltas, recognition, and skip-level meetings.
Introduction
Every successful construction project takes planning. Respectful jobsites are no different; they also require a plan in which culture, climate, and behaviors are both specified and intentional. The Respect Works Jobsite Planning Guide is designed to support construction jobsite leaders with the implementation of respectful workplace practices on their jobsites. Its main objective is to provide jobsite leaders with practical actions and tools that can be incorporated into the jobsite’s daily routines. Jobsite leaders are encouraged to review the guide and select practices and activities that work best for them and the size of the project. The Jobsite Guide is organized into four sections:
Section one outlines requirements for jobsite-level plans, including definitions of inappropriate behavior, behavioral expectations, referenced company policies, and how leaders will foster respect through communication, training, and crew engagement.
Section two covers baseline safety and dignity standards—properly fitting PPE for all body types, daily jobsite scanning for harmful graffiti/objects, clean and private bathroom facilities, and dedicated nursing accommodations for breastfeeding workers
Section three details how to communicate respect expectations through orientations (for leaders and employees), toolbox talks, daily huddles, banners/signage, and electronic messaging—emphasizing consistent, accessible messaging since most workers don't receive email communications.
Section four offers optional engagement tools including mentoring/coaching, plus/delta feedback sessions, picture boards, recognition programs, skip-level meetings, brown-bag learning sessions, and participation in industry events like Construction Inclusion Week.
The effectiveness of actions and activities within this guide relies on jobsite leaders who are committed to creating high functioning teams for everyone on the project. Leadership that drives the core elements of a respectful workplace and demonstrates respect for others during meetings, toolbox talks, and one-on-one interactions are critical to creating a respectful workplace.
Respectful workplace practices should be planned for during pre-construction and introduced at project kickoff. Ideally, project owners and the lead contractor(s), such as the contract manager and/or general contractor, will incorporate Respectful Workplace guidelines into the project’s general conditions.
A Respectful Workplace Project Plan outlines how project leaders will foster a respectful workplace at the jobsite level by developing standards of practice for identifying and responding to instances of inappropriate and disrespectful behavior. The plan must:
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Include definitions for inappropriate behavior such as exclusion, harassment, discrimination, and bullying.
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Spell out behavioral expectations on the jobsite and how instances of disrespect will be addressed.
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Clarify which company policies and procedures will be referenced in the project plan.
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Indicate how project leaders will foster respect on the jobsite through ongoing communications, training, and crew engagement.
The Respect Works Project Plan outline provides a useful starting place for developing site specific plans.
2.1 Personal protective equipment
Providing personal protective equipment is a basic duty of care requirement for jobsite worker safety. Providing PPE that properly fits all employees, meets their needs, and provides adequate protection without creating other hazards, is foundational to creating a respectful workplace.
PPE considerations that increase worker safety and demonstrate respect include:
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Gloves for extra-small hands and extra-wide hands.
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Multiple and varied types of hearing protection, including earmuffs for those who wear hearing aids or cannot wear ear plugs.
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Bluetooth-enabled earmuffs for equipment operators.
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Safety vests for smaller people that do not balloon on the sides, creating a safety hazard.
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Safety vests for larger people that properly close in front.
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Sized full-body harnesses instead of one size fits all.
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Crossover full body harness options.
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Different shape and style safety glasses, or adjustable arms.
2.2 Jobsite scanning
Scanning the jobsite, including all fences, site signage, bathrooms, and portable toilets, should be conducted daily to identify and promptly respond to unacceptable graffiti, signage, drawings, or objects intent on causing harm. All site supervisors, including trade partner supervisors, should share this responsibility. Employees must be aware of the role they play in identifying and reporting such unacceptable behaviors as well. Every newly delivered portable toilet should be inspected before acceptance to ensure it is clean of graffiti. If jobsite scanning uncovers unacceptable graffiti, signage, or objects, management should review and follow the organization’s response guidelines.
2.3 Bathroom facility best practices
Bathroom facilities play an important role in shaping workers’ expectations regarding the level of care for a jobsite. The following measures have been demonstrated to be effective ways to maintain a high standard of care that extends to the entire jobsite and help reinforce a culture of respect for one another:
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Follow the ANSI/PSAI Z4.3-2016 standard for determining the number of required toilet facilities, or one toilet facility for every 10 employees (or for every 15 if serviced more than once weekly).
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Ensure all toilets and toilet groupings have soap and running water in addition to anti-bacterial hand cleansers.
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Provide trash cans for disposal of hand towels adjacent to handwashing stations.
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Ensure that trash cans provided for disposal of feminine hygiene products have a lid and are located within the portable toilet/bathroom facilities used by women.
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Supply feminine hygiene products to meet female employees’ needs.
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Ensure an adequate supply of toilet paper and paper towels or hand dryers.
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Ensure single unit and gender-neutral facilities lock to afford privacy.
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Display diverse and gender-neutral signage on, at minimum, a portion of single toilet units.
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On high-rise construction projects, ensure the portable toilets afford privacy and are located every three floors.
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Ensure bathrooms and portable toilets are clean, lit, and located for safety and privacy.
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Are the women’s and gender-neutral portable toilets immediately adjacent to the jobsite entry or where people must cross through gathering places, both of which afford minimal privacy?
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Regularly inspect all bathroom facilities to ensure they are being maintained in a sanitary condition, are absent graffiti, and are being serviced often enough to maintain a sanitary condition.
2.4 Nursing worker accommodations
Creating an environment that allows nursing mothers to return to work is good for the employer and good for the employee. Many states require employers to provide accommodations for nursing employees to pump breast milk. These accommodations must be private, dedicated spaces that are other than a bathroom, lockable, and free from intrusion. There must be convenient hygienic refrigeration available for the storage of milk and a convenient water source in a private location near the nursing space to accommodate the worker to be able to clean and wash hands and equipment.
Creating respectful workplaces takes daily practice. Modeling respectful workplace behaviors during project meetings and daily interactions is critical to success, as is regular communication. Communicating expectations is key to intentional leadership. Once the Respectful Workplace Project Plan has been developed, outline the key points and incorporate them into your communication schedule and activities, including training and education of site personnel. Engage your trade partners collaboratively so that they understand their role in creating a respectful workplace. And remember that most jobsite workers are not receiving communications via email; they rely on orientations, huddles, toolbox talks and jobsite postings.
General Communication Guidelines:
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Gloves for extra-small hands and extra-wide hands.
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Multiple and varied types of hearing protection, including earmuffs for those who wear hearing aids or cannot wear ear plugs.
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Bluetooth-enabled earmuffs for equipment operators.
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Safety vests for smaller people that do not balloon on the sides, creating a safety hazard.
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Safety vests for larger people that properly close in front.
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Sized full-body harnesses instead of one size fits all.
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Crossover full body harness options.
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Different shape and style safety glasses, or adjustable arms.
3.1 Respectful workplace orientations
As the saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Employee orientation is that first impression. A major psychosocial risk factor that increases worker stress is role ambiguity and uncertainty about work tasks and standards. A well-crafted and communicated orientation is the first step toward clarifying roles and expectations and reducing ambiguity. Employees care about workplace fairness. It is not fair to hold workers accountable for rules, policies, and behaviors that have not been clearly communicated. Orientations are a key opportunity to connect with and communicate expectations with jobsite leaders and project personnel.
Key points:
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Outline content that fits the needs of the project.
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Incorporate related policies, project values, goals, codes of conduct, and incident reporting procedures.
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Determine who should lead the respectful workplace orientation and other related trainings.
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Keep information relevant and engaging.
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Remember location: the message will get lost if orientations are competing with equipment, temperature and weather, or other meetings.
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Provide related resources, such as bystander intervention, mental health, and suicide prevention handouts.
3.2 Jobsite leader orientation
Jobsite leaders are the key to respectful workplaces. Orientation for jobsite leaders is about garnering a commitment from all jobsite leaders across all trades and trade partners and providing tools and resources to guide their success. Provide an orientation for jobsite leaders that incorporates the core elements of a respectful workplace and the project-specific respectful workplace plan, and that communicates their role in leading a respectful workplace. Get a sample jobsite leader orientation here.
3.3 Employee orientation
Respect Works has developed an employee orientation template you can use and customize to make goals, expectations, and procedures clear. This orientation material can be incorporated into the project safety orientation.
3.4 Routine project communication
Utilize routine project communications and meetings as key opportunities to demonstrate leadership commitment to respectful workplaces, reiterate project goals, create feedback loops, and provide knowledge tools to the workforce. Routine project communication that is conducted respectfully and demonstrates psychological safety also provides opportunity for feedback, demonstrates coaching and mentoring methods, encourages innovation, and builds consensus.
3.5 Toolbox talks, daily huddles, and pre-task planning meetings
Construction sites, large and small, should always have a weekly toolbox talk meeting that includes all project personnel. Best practices will include a template to ensure critical safety topics are always addressed and incorporated into documented meeting minutes or notes. Toolbox talks, or weekly all-project safety meetings, are a prime opportunity to incorporate respectful workplace policies, practices, resources and educational information.
The messenger matters. Leaders of toolbox talks must be committed to workplace physical safety as well as psychological safety or they can create irreversible damage to jobsite trust, respect, and culture.
Daily huddles and pre-task plan reviews are key opportunities to create respectful workplaces at the worker level. A well-run daily huddle/pre-task plan review meeting should afford everyone on the crew an opportunity to clarify the day’s work, ask questions, meet new workers, obtain new information, and share concerns in a civil and respectful manner.
Toolbox talks best practices
Site signage best practices:
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Afford crew members opportunities to ask questions without fear of embarrassment or punishment.
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Do not allow harmful behaviors in the huddle.
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Recognize workers for a job well done.
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Never discipline or dismiss crew members publicly.
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Provide information in a respectful manner, using civil tones and common courtesies.
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If you must yell to be heard in gatherings, consider a communication tool such as microphone and speakers.
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Include all crew members by asking questions designed to elicit engagement, i.e., not just asking yes or no questions.
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Ensure apprentices are/have been assigned to competent journey workers willing to teach their trade/skills.
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Provide time for crew members to share any lessons learned from the day before.
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Lead plus/deltas.
Effective toolbox talks and daily huddles on large projects may need to be crew specific or limited in size. Small projects may benefit from an all-project huddle or toolbox talk meeting. Find toolbox talks and other resources on our Respect Works program assessment and implementation resources page.
3.6 Banners and signage
Banners and site signage can be used to support the project’s Respectful Workplace project plan. Examples of banners and site signage include:
Site signage best practices
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Banners and signs should be discussed, highlighted, and updated or rotated periodically; otherwise, they become background static conditions that employees no longer notice.
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Construction elevators, bathrooms, jobsite posting boards, and offices are great places to post signs about expectations and reporting guidelines.
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Suicide hotline phone numbers, mental health and drug and alcohol addiction resources, and/or employee reporting hotlines should be posted where employees frequent, where orientations occur, in jobsite offices, and, most importantly, in private locations such as bathrooms.
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Don’t forget to have signage and banners that are multilingual.
Find jobsite-level resources on our Respect Works program assessment and implementation resources page.
3.7 Electronic messaging
If utilizing an electronic mass communication platform, consider if it would be appropriate to incorporate respectful workplace messaging and well-being, mental health, suicide prevention, and safety resources through the platform.
Creating a welcoming work environment where everyone feels safe to engage, learn, contribute, and thrive takes purposeful engagement and daily work. There are a wide range of activities that can support and advance respectful workplace goals. Review the activities below and consider how to incorporate them into your daily project routine or brainstorm your own engagement opportunities.
4.1 Coaching, mentoring, and sharing skills
Successful mentorship begins with a willing mentor. Ensuring that apprentices and non-apprentices new to the jobsite and industry are paired with a qualified journey level or experienced coworker willing to share their knowledge is an important responsibility of jobsite leaders and supervisors.
Journey level and experienced employees partnered with apprentices should have the opportunity to develop their coaching skills, and evaluating their performance as mentors should be part of a jobsite respectful workplace program. Apprentices should learn from their coaches not only how to perform their assigned tasks but why the task fosters project success. This demonstrates psychological safety and serves to develop qualified and experienced team members.
Mentoring should combine both formal and informal experiences for apprentices. Where available, apprentices should also be encouraged to take advantage of mentoring programs provided by apprenticeship programs and trade associations beyond the jobsite. Mentoring is different than coaching in that it focuses on the development of the worker and their work skills. Mentoring in construction serves to guide individuals through the many challenges of working in the construction industry.
Mentoring in construction can be difficult due to the commitment required and the rotational aspect of job assignments. Larger employers and projects can overcome these challenges by creating mentorship circles—small groups that meet regularly regardless of job assignment to support each other’s professional and personal growth. These circles can be structured around specific trades or job functions or across trades, or organized around employee groups such as mentoring across generations.
4.2 Plus/Delta
Plus-deltas are an easy-to-use tool that can be utilized to encourage all voices and ensure all ideas are heard, especially on projects that encourage innovation, continuous improvement, and cross-team learning. The plus/delta discussion drives productive conversation and allows feedback on an activity or experience, collecting ideas for improvement. Plus/deltas can be utilized to review a specific process, as a day’s end check-in or during daily huddles. They are also effective strategies for the evaluation of mentorship practices and jobsite experiences.
How can plus/deltas contribute to a respectful workplace? Plus/deltas, when practiced effectively, provide the opportunity for jobsite leaders to exercise all four of the core elements of a respectful workplace and can be used to address common work-related psychosocial risk factors. The key is to invite feedback from everyone, utilize psychological safety, and ensure participants are supported and not embarrassed.
Plus/delta suggestions to address work-related psychosocial risk factors.
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Procedure reviews, for clarity and meaning
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Work demands, i.e., crew size, tool and material availability, overtime
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Project access and organization
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Task(s)—new or ongoing
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Bathroom issues
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Toolroom access
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Water/PPE/safety equipment access
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Toolbox delivery/topics
4.3 Family and hobby "Why we work safe" picture boards
Picture boards are often used as a catalyst for safe work and in the right environment can foster employee engagement and familiarization with similarities, unique hobbies, talents, etc. Contests and celebrations centered around “Why We Work Safe” boards can be a tool to increase engagement. Example picture boards include new babies, birthdays, weddings, who caught the largest fish over the weekend, best golf score, sand dunes race, chili cookoff, etc. Whenever picture boards are used, jobsite leaders must be vigilant to prevent exclusionary behavior and foster belonging among all individuals. If not monitored, this practice can create isolation, expose individuals to hazing, or be weaponized to create harm. If you elect to adopt such a board, monitor reactions among workers and foster a climate of curiosity among peers.
4.4 Recognition and awards
Recognition and reward are about providing positive feedback on job performance. This is especially important for workers who are new or are learning new skills. Lack of feedback contributes to work-related stress, whereas positive feedback, recognition, and reward build confidence and competence and demonstrate jobsite leader support.
Recognition and reward are not about money. Everyone likes to be recognized for their work and thanked occasionally. Recognize employees often by expressing appreciation and gratitude. Like safety, create a system to recognize and reward individuals for their work. Be cognizant of the differing ways in which people do and do not like public appreciation. All supervisors should actively seek opportunities to express their gratitude and appreciation of employees’ contributions.
4.5 Skip-level meetings
Skip-level meetings are one-on-one conversations between a senior leader and an employee who reports to a subordinate manager. On busy construction projects, one-on-one skip-level meetings may not be feasible. Consider group skip-level meetings—these can offer senior leaders an opportunity to engage directly with craft-level employees and other personnel who are not their direct reports. Skip-level meetings can provide excellent insight into the flow of communication and where breakdowns may exist. They provide an opportunity to create upstream feedback loops where senior leaders can learn more about what they can do to improve the project and remove roadblocks to success.
Skip-level meeting leaders should work to generate trust, respect confidentiality, and never use the meetings for any disciplinary actions or measures.
Skip-level meetings should have a notetaker and create a rhythm of response and feedback so that employee participants know their engagement, feedback, and time is valued.
4.6 Brown-bag meet and greets/learning sessions
A key stage of psychological safety is learner safety. Brown-bag type learning sessions are a good opportunity to host short educational sessions beyond the weekly toolbox talks meetings. Creating a learning environment is also important to fostering successful innovation. Many tool manufacturers, unions, safety suppliers, and trade partners offer short educational sessions for free. These brown-bag sessions can assist with your safety and quality training needs.
4.7 Focused participation in events
Participating in construction focused events such as Construction Safety Week, Construction Inclusion Week, and Construction Suicide Prevention Week signal leadership commitment to the overall health, safety, and well-being of workers. These focused events can strengthen safety culture and respectful workplace climate, as well as build more resilient teams. Employers are encouraged to learn more and build an annual plan that fits their needs. Participation provides an opportunity to provide specific toolbox talks, share vital resources, and collaborate with other contractors and vendors.
4.8 Additional resources
Construction Personal Protective Equipment for All Genders and Sizes: Explains PPE fit challenges for women and non-binary construction workers, safety risks of poor fit, related regulations, and provides curated lists of commercially available properly-fitting workwear and equipment
WAC 296-155-140, Sanitation: Washington construction rule requiring potable water, wash stations, and adequate toilets on jobsites, plus accommodations for menstruation, milk expression, food handling, and temporary sleeping quarters, with employer inspection and multi-employer-site responsibilities.
Breaks to Express Breast Milk (Oregon BOLI): Explains Oregon’s legal protections requiring employers to provide reasonable, unpaid rest breaks and a private location for workers to express milk until a child turns 18 months old.
How Can You Provide Stronger Mentorship as a Construction Professional?: Explores mutual benefits of construction mentorship for mentors and mentees, then outlines practical strategies—pairing motivated people, setting goals, staying available—for building effective, lasting mentorship programs.
Mentorship Matters: An industry-endorsed on-the-job mentoring program pairing journeypersons and apprentices in skilled trades, offering training, tools, and resources shown to improve safety, productivity, retention, and workplace relationships.
How to Build a Mentorship Program for Construction Teams: Explains why formal mentorship boosts retention of young talent, then details “reverse mentoring”—pairing tech-savvy younger workers with experienced Boomers—and outlines steps to successfully implement such a program.
Lean Construction Institute (LCI): A nonprofit that promotes Lean principles across design and construction, offering membership, certifications, training, research, and local/global communities of practice to improve profitability, safety, and project delivery.
Construction Safety Week: An industry-wide annual event uniting companies around “Recognize, Respond, Respect” to identify high-energy hazards, apply risk controls, and build a stronger safety culture that prevents serious injuries and fatalities on jobsites.
Construction Inclusion Week: An annual industry-wide initiative uniting contractors, suppliers, and firms to expand career opportunities, empower growth through mentorship, and cultivate belonging, helping build a stronger, more inclusive construction workforce.
Construction Suicide Prevention Week: An industry-wide annual event (Sept. 14–18, 2026, themed
“Building on Progress”) raising awareness about construction’s elevated suicide rates, offering toolbox talks and resources, and inviting companies to pledge learning ways to help someone in crisis.
