u/NoYeahNoYoureGood

Relatively new (~2 years) regional construction safety manager in the U.S. here…

When I started this role I was assigned a very large, technical job site with a high headcount and long hours. I was (and still am) very grateful to my site team for managing their work, cultivating positive relationships with the site team, and (most importantly) reducing the risk of worker injuries (of which we’ve had zero). This site is the furthest one away from me (~700 miles) so I can’t just drop in on a whim.

I have always gone out of my way to take my site team (4-5 coordinators) out to eat for nice dinners each night I’m in town, bring company polos or swag, and go out of my way to get them supplies they needed when they called. Part of this is out of appreciation but also guilt because I’m not there as often as other sites. Unfortunately my workload has recently increased dramatically, I’m stressed, my response times have slowed down, and I am getting annoyed over how demanding (entitled?) my team has become. Maybe they’ve always been this way but I’m just now seeing it.

On this most recent trip, I dropped in unexpectedly to see how things were going. Upon seeing me, my lead coordinator immediately (and excitedly) said, “Alright, I know where I’m eating tonight!” in front of several other workers and foremen on the crew. Ok, kinda rude, but whatever. He then “joked” that he and the team only need me around for my company credit card.

About 10 minutes later, I asked this same coordinator to call another coordinator to come up to discuss a recent near-miss. This was the first of them hearing I was on site and their first response was, “Did he bring any new shirts?”

I think you see where I’m at with this… I have lost some (all?) respect and control. Work is still getting done but I have seemingly reduced myself to a support admin.

What steps can I take to get some respect back?

Sorry if this isn’t the correct sub. My friend and I were debating this at work today and I think we both left confused. Thanks!