Fear of the Unknown in a New Construction Environment

by Paul Deffenbaugh | 1 May 2020 12:00 am

As I write this, we are still uncertain of the future, although we can begin to see glimpses of what might be in store for us from the course that other countries have taken. Italy, Spain and Germany are all seeing Covid-19 cases and deaths decline, and the hope in the U.S. is that we will follow suit.

As I write this and as I said above, people are getting restless. We all want to get back to the strong, expanding economy we had prior to the disaster that is the novel coronavirus.

Even amidst all that uncertainty, there is burgeoning optimism. That may seem like a strange statement to make right now, but we see the evidence in the Coronavirus Impact Surveys that Metal Construction News has conducted. We’ve done two so far. One started on March 30 and ended April 2. The second survey ran from April 13 through April 16. During that time there was a surprising and significant change in attitudes toward both the threat of the coronavirus itself and the threat of the economic impacts.

In late March, 58.4% of contractors, architects and manufacturers said they thought the coronavirus was very dangerous. Two weeks later, that had dropped to 44.8%. And the number of people who said it was not dangerous at all grew from 6.6% to 12%.

Even when asked about the threat to the economy, respondents became more optimistic. The number of respondents who were very worried about the economic impact decreased from 62.9% in March to 55.4% in the second survey. And those who said they were neutral, not very worried or not at all worried held steady.

Why? Why this burst of relative optimism? From the comments we received, I believe it can be attributed to more certainty and a new comfort in the routine of shelter-in-place. We know better what to expect. Our worst fears have not been fulfilled. We no longer have the fear of the unknown.

We may see those attitudes change again when we survey at the beginning of May. It’s clear a portion of the U.S. population is getting restless and wants the stay-at-home policies to be loosened. Health experts are warning against that, but the motivation to get back to work is strong in our country. It’s part of our identity, part of our culture.

I’m concerned that the uncertainty of that decision will harm us.

It is a lesson we can take into our businesses. As with all of us, our crews and staff are worried and concerned about the country and their fates. They have uncertainty as well. It’s times like these that business owners need to speak clearly and with definition about what’s happening to the company and what the effect is. The worst thing we could do is have people show up for work one morning and discover the company is out of business. That may be the extreme, but it is a scenario I’ve seen more than once in the construction industry.

To help your staff, share more information than you usually do about how business is going. Be above board and invite them to help solve problems you’re facing. Business owners don’t have to be alone, and don’t need to solve all the problems themselves. Draw on the full knowledge and vitality of the team you have built.

Fear of the future is a real and unnerving thing. The only way to combat that is by sharing information.

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/fear-of-the-unknown-in-a-new-construction-environment/

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