The First 90 Days Can Be the Most Dangerous

Fall Means New Starts—Make Safety the First Lesson for New Workers

Every fall, the New England construction industry enters one of its busiest stretches as contractors race to complete utility, roadway, water, and infrastructure projects before winter slows production. At the same time, many companies bring on seasonal hires, apprentices, recent graduates, experienced workers changing employers, and employees moving into new roles.

Fresh talent keeps projects moving, but it also creates a major safety challenge. A worker does not have to be new to construction to be new to a jobsite. Every contractor has different procedures, equipment, expectations, and hazards, and learning those differences while trying to fit into an established crew can increase injury risk.

The data backs this up.

Travelers’ 2026 Injury Impact Report found that employees in their first year accounted for about 37% of all injuries and 34% of claim costs. In construction, first-year employees accounted for 44% of injuries. The figures do not prove that every injury occurs in the first 90 days, but they clearly show that the early months of employment deserve special attention.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides another look at those earliest months. In 2020, workers with less than three months of service experienced 114,430 nonfatal injuries and illnesses involving days away from work. These are case counts, not injury rates, but they reinforce how many serious injuries occur while employees are still relatively new to an employer. For New England utility, highway, and heavy civil contractors, those first 90 days may include excavation, traffic control, confined spaces, heavy equipment, and changing weather. Fitting into the crew should never mean taking shortcuts. Onboarding must be more than paperwork; it should include safety orientation, PPE, hazard recognition, mentoring, toolbox talks, and clear expectations from day one. PPE should be issued, fitted, inspected, and explained so workers understand not only what to wear, but why.

Experienced employees play a critical role.

Assigning a mentor gives new hires someone to ask questions, helps reinforce company expectations, and makes it easier to speak up. Supervisors should establish stop-work authority from day one and positively reinforce workers who use it. Seasonal conditions add another layer of risk. New employees may not appreciate how quickly heat, cold, rain, mud, or reduced daylight can change site conditions. Heat is a particularly clear example: OSHA reports that almost half of heat-related worker deaths occur on a worker’s first day on the job or first day back after an extended absence, and more than 70% occur during the first week. Acclimatization and close supervision matter from the beginning.

Anatomy of a New Worker

Regardless of age or experience, new employees often share several characteristics that increase exposure to hazards:

• They lack experience with your worksite, equipment and procedures.
• Their hazard recognition skills are still developing.
• They often don’t know what they don’t know.

Safety training, PPE, and hazard recognition give new employees the knowledge to work safely, but knowledge alone is not enough. Construction sites are social environments, and new workers are also trying to answer a basic question: Do I belong here? If fitting in means staying quiet, taking shortcuts, or trying to impress the crew, risk rises. The safest companies recognize that engagement is not just about retention; it is also about protecting people.

A useful framework for supervisors is the Five C’s of employee engagement:

Caring. A new employee notices quickly whether the company genuinely cares about their well-being or simply wants another pair of hands. Taking time to ensure PPE fits correctly, checking that training has been understood, asking how the employee is adjusting, and addressing concerns without criticism demonstrates that safety is a core value—not just a policy in the handbook.

Connecting. Construction succeeds because crews rely on one another. Pairing a new hire with an experienced employee builds trust and gives the worker a go-to person for questions. Workers who feel connected to their foreman and coworkers are more likely to admit when they do not understand a task and report hazards before someone gets hurt.

Coaching. The first few weeks should be treated as a coaching opportunity, not a test. Correct unsafe behavior respectfully, explain the “why” behind procedures, and reinforce proper techniques. A worker who understands why a rule exists is more likely to follow it when a supervisor is not standing nearby.

Contributing. Include new employees in toolbox talks, job hazard analyses, and pre-task planning. It reinforces that everyone has responsibility for safety, regardless of seniority. Fresh eyes can also be valuable; a new worker may notice a hazard that experienced employees have become accustomed to seeing.

Congratulating. Recognition reinforces the behaviors a company wants repeated. A simple acknowledgment when a worker wears PPE correctly, speaks up about a hazard, or exercises stop-work authority strengthens both confidence and safety culture. It tells a new employee that working safely—not simply working fast—is what earns respect on the crew.

The Five C’s do not replace safety training; they strengthen it. Together, they create an environment where new employees do not feel pressure to fit in by taking risks. Instead, they learn that looking out for one another is part of every job, every shift, and every decision.

The Sixth “C”: Culture

When contractors consistently practice the Five C’s, they create the sixth: Culture. New employees learn that asking questions is encouraged, PPE is expected, training continues, and everyone has authority to speak up before someone gets hurt.

When safety becomes part of fitting in, companies reduce injuries, improve retention, and build crews that look out for one another instead of simply getting the job done.

The goal is not simply helping new employees fit into the crew. It is helping them fit into a culture where every worker goes home the same way they arrived—safe.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2020, Table R71; Travelers, 2026 Injury Impact Report; OSHA, Protecting New Workers from Heat.