Sharon Lipinski showed AWCI ILC attendees how to turn stress into energy.
By Mark L. Johnson
Labor shortages. Accelerated schedules. Supply-chain surprises. Personal pressures outside the job. Today’s construction workforce bears more stress than ever. In the AWCI Industry Leaders Conference 2025 session, “The Perfect Storm: Employees Under Stress,” Sharon Lipinski, CEO of Habit Mastery Consulting, explained how contractors can help crews convert short-term stress into usable energy. “Stress is energy,” Lipinski said. “And energy is fuel.”
Construction Workers Are Strained
Lipinski began by naming realities we all know too well. The trade is short on experienced workers. Job complexities keep rising. And stress shows up as fatigue, absenteeism, irritability and defensiveness. The National Safety Council estimates that workplace stress leads to lower productivity, more absenteeism, and higher health-care costs, Lipinski noted.
Chronic stress: This is serious. The brain’s prefrontal cortex—responsible for planning, risk assessment and decision-making—becomes less active, Lipinski said. Workers narrow their attention, rush tasks and struggle to regulate their emotions. This translates into a rise in job site incidents and rework.
Acute stress: This can be useful. It sharpens focus, speeds reaction times and increases physical capacity. The difference between harmful and helpful stress, she argued, is how workers interpret the pressure they feel. Organizations can do a lot to control stress for their team members, Lipinski said.
What Organizations Can Control
Lipinski pushed leaders to examine internal stressors they can control. She listed six areas leaders should review:
1. Task Design: Are schedules and shifts structured to allow for workers to recover? Are procedures more complex than necessary? Do crews have the right tools to save them stress and strain?
2. Management Style: Are supervisors trained to give constructive feedback. Or, do they micromanage? Worse, do they disappear from the job site when crews need direction? Poor supervision is a top workplace stressor, Lipinski said.
3. Interpersonal Behavior: Disrespect, bullying and unresolved conflict wear people down. Hence, leaders should teach crews how to de-escalate their differences.
4. Role Clarity: Do employees know what success looks like? If not, define it for them. Ambiguity of roles can only lead to anxiety for your team.
5. Career Security: Fear of losing hours or lacking opportunities to advance create chronic pressure, Lipinski said. So be transparent. Make talent development real for your teammates.
6. The Work Environment: Excess noise, clutter, heat or cold — all raise stress loads. Do what you can to remove friction in these areas.
Turning Stress into Fuel
Lipinski said companies can do much to help workers reset. Encourage breathing exercises, meditation and hobbies, she said. Make sure employees have proper sleep hygiene and be generous with gratitude.
Help workers to acknowledge stress, Lipinski said. It’s ok to say, “I’m tense, I’m snapping at people.” Help them to welcome stress, which shows job commitment — as in, “I want the tools to do this job right.” Finally, encourage crews to channel their stress into a productive conversation with the boss.
Above all, give employees purpose, Lipinski said. When workers understand how their efforts contribute to something bigger—a hospital so patients can heal, or a school for kids to learn—stress transforms from a burden to motivation.
“Purpose doesn’t remove stress,” she said. “But purpose makes the stress worth it.”
Get AWCI Health and Wellness Resources
AWCI has worked with Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas, LLC, on several health and wellness resources in English and Spanish. Our first three topics include Suicide Prevention, Sleep and Stress and Threat Reponses…with several more to come. Complete with a Facilitation Guide, also in English and Spanish, and Discussion Prompts, you can start the conversation and you can help your team build resilience and feel comfortable seeking help. This sustained effort creates a more supportive and understanding workplace by building a strong foundation in mental health literacy. Learn more.
Mark L. Johnson writes for the walls and ceilings industry. He can be reached via LinkedIn.com/in/markjohnsoncommunications.