What is the quickest way to destroy a new worker’s confidence and heighten risk of injury or death? It could be summed up in this statement made by an electrical worker: “We treat the new ones like s*** until they man up!”

In contrast with this approach, safety experts weigh in on the right (and wrong) ways to build worker confidence, thereby ensuring workplace safety. When it comes to safe electrical work, it is imperative to keep a cool head, remember training and believe you can do the job right.

If workers are unsure or hesitant about their ability, it can lead to confusion and often missteps in performance, which could result in an incident, injury or fatality, said Wes Wheeler, NECA’s executive director of safety.

“Ever hear the phase, ‘If you wait until everything is perfect, you are going to be late to the start?’ Having confidence allows you to move forward without second-guessing every move or asking someone else for permission and approval,” Wheeler said.

Through instruction, repetition, practice and execution, apprentices can master their trade, perform work in a neat and professional manner and learn to troubleshoot issues for customers, he said.

The best way to feel confident is primarily through training, or “knowing what you’re doing,” said Palmer Hickman, director of standards, codes and safety at the IBEW-NECA Electrical Training Alliance, Bowie, Md.

Hands-on training

Confidence comes from knowing the subject matter thoroughly, and apprentices also have a lot of hands-on training to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom, Hickman said.

“It’s like, if you’re an astronaut, the first time you try the task will not be up in space. You’re going to practice it repeatedly in a similar environment on Earth until it becomes second nature,” he said. “For apprentices in our program, that’s the benefit of the hands-on component of training. The first time you’re trying a particular task, it’s not out in the field. You’re doing it repeatedly in training so it becomes second nature.”

Hands-on training in the electrical contracting industry is especially important because OSHA and NFPA 70E require that only qualified people can perform energized work. NFPA 70E requires a person to have documented demonstration of proficiency on file with the employer to be a qualified person, Hickman said.

“The No. 1 complaint about people having to work energized and being properly protected is there’s not enough light—it’s too dark,” he said. “To them I would say, are they wearing the arc flash suit? Or are they just wearing an arc-rated balaclava and face shield when this is the necessary protection?”

Perhaps those workers are wearing a higher class of rubber insulating gloves than necessary, which compromises their dexterity.

“So why would qualified persons not practice first and be comfortable so that they can do it successfully, rather than trying it for the first time when they have to do it live? The foundation of confidence is training and then practicing it before you have to do it in the field so that it becomes second nature—much like muscle memory to an athlete,” Hickman said.

Temper overconfidence

While confidence is important, overconfidence is not a good thing, he said. Overconfidence can manifest in many ways, such as when workers take shortcuts. This can lead to catastrophe.

“Recently, an airplane door blew out, and authorities found that perhaps the required bolts were never installed,” Hickman said. “So we have to follow checklists and we don’t want to take shortcuts.”

Complacency may also go hand in hand with overconfidence, especially in routine tasks, he said. 

Repetitive tasks can potentially breed complacency, when workers then let their guard down, and that’s when mistakes can happen.

“Like airline pilots going through their checklist every time, and if they don’t—if they just skip a step saying, well, you know what, it was fine the last 999 times, why wouldn’t it be fine this time? If they don’t check the engine properly or the mounting to the fuselage or what have you, what many consider routine tasks,” Hickman said, “those are shortcuts that can be very dangerous.”

Overconfidence can be a mentality where some think that the rules don’t apply to them or it’s not going to happen to them this time, he said.

A dangerous mentality

“They’re not going to do the air test on their gloves this time because that’s never been a problem,” Hickman said. “Or they’re not going to do the job briefing or the tailboard meeting this time because there’s never been a problem. This mentality can also be very dangerous.”

Confidence is absolutely a “must-have” quality in the electrical field, but overconfidence can backfire, agreed Abbey Strickland, health and safety manager at Strickland Electric Inc., Muskogee, Okla.

“Knowledge is power, but always be open to other ideas—overconfidence can be just as harmful as limited knowledge,” Strickland said. “Electricity is invisible and very hazardous. Careful planning is a crucial first step in the right direction.”

Safety professionals must also recognize that they can learn from their workers, she said. 

Certainly, safety professionals should look for and can catch issues due to complacency or workers not realizing a hazard, she added. But they should also encourage their company’s electricians to show them hazards that the safety professional might have overlooked so they can better prepare for the next job.

“Watching and learning from your crew is crucial for growth,” Strickland said.

In every safety meeting, workers are encouraged to ask questions and double-check if they have any doubts.

“Safety is always evolving and requires on-the-job knowledge and experience,” she said.

Strickland’s advice on how to best bolster confidence among workers: “Be open and teachable.”

“When an employee comes to you with an issue, discuss your plans to mitigate it. When it is resolved, show the employee and inquire if it addresses all their concerns,” she said. “Keep them involved as much as possible. I have always found that being transparent about a rule or regulation helps with enforcing it. A reasonable explanation can deter questioning and insubordination.”

Instilling self-assurance

The easiest way to build confidence—especially when it comes to people new to the trade that have never worked on a construction site—is for employers to put them with someone with experience who is willing to train them, said Bradley Caldwell, corporate safety director at Morrow-­Meadows Corp., City of Industry, Calif.

“A lot of that training is not just listening, but actually doing,” Caldwell said. “Sometimes they’re going to make mistakes, but they learn from those mistakes. As they get better and more confident, and, as they grow in their trade, mistakes happen less and less.”

When a worker makes a mistake, the worst thing a supervisor, coworker or safety professional can do is react in a destructive or intimidating manner, he said.

“It’s pretty easy to tear people down if you’re belittling or yelling at them or telling them they’re worthless or things like that,” Caldwell said. “That can break someone’s confidence.”

During training, keep an eye out for mistakes and work with employees until it’s evident that they know what they’re doing—and why it makes more sense to do it that way.

“For us as safety leaders, we also have to be confident in our own abilities that we are providing the correct message, and that we are providing good coaching to our teams, so that we’re going to get the best product out there in a safe manner,” Caldwell said.  

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