Over the last 18 months, we have heard a lot about front line or essential workers and the challenges they have faced in dealing with pandemic impacts from burnout and exhaustion to medical exposure and health risks.  Too often, those workers were considered the doctors, nurses, hospital workers, bus drivers, and supermarket employees.  After a short pause to consider safe approaches to maintain projects, construction resumed and has not stopped.  I wish I could explain why construction workers were not cast in the same light.  Perhaps because they are not public facing.  Maybe the stereotype of being strong and stoic worked against them and their risks.  After all, they are not office workers, did not have remote work opportunities, and work in an industry that is already regulated to promote physical safety. 

There have been persistent contradictions between states' COVID-19 metrics and the experiences reported by contractors on jobsites.
 

Kelley Cowan, director of XL Construction's Sacramento Region office, talks about the plentiful job opportunities in construction.

Building a pro sports venue comes with more risks, more money on the line and stricter deadlines than most other projects. Nevertheless, it's a rewarding experience, experts told Construction Dive.