Stop Chasing Away the New Workers on the Crew with a Simple Change

It’s no secret that many of the younger newcomers to our industry have a softer side than the workers of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The youngsters joining our ranks today hear people shouting over the paver’s engine to “Change the depth! Change the depth!” and it sounds aggressive to their tender ears. Even if the paver operator or foreman on the job doesn’t intend to be aggressive, the shouting comes across as, “I think you’re failing and I’m shouting a command at you.”

To lessen the shouting, you could use hand signals, which no one’s going to notice, or you could invest in headsets that let you speak at a normal volume in the laborer’s ear.

We’ve talked about incorporating headsets into the paving operation in the pages of AsphaltPro, but it bears repeating. By reducing outside noise and allowing the foreman, equipment operators, trainers and so on to speak at a normal volume, you eliminate the high stress of shouting at newbies and veterans alike. It takes the temperature down and helps make the uninitiated feel like more of the team.

No one likes to have their co-workers shouting orders at them. Consider how it “seems” when you’re doing so on the job today. Could you lessen that aggressive perception and keep new workers around if you were speaking to them in a calmer manner?

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