Do you want to work in construction, but are you not sure if this is the right career for a highly sensitive person? In this short read, we’ll give three tips on how to thrive in a construction career as an HSP.
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Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Most often, guides about the right career for highly sensitive people tend to focus on obvious options. For instance, care roles that tap into typically sensitive traits. This advice works for many. However, what happens if you’re a highly sensitive person with their sights on a career that’s not typically associated with your personality?
Careers in construction, for instance, are rarely famed for appealing to individuals with highly sensitive traits. Yet you might’ve spent your life dreaming of a role like this. You have as much right as anyone to pursue that dream.
Unfortunately, there’s a reason you don’t see many highly sensitive individuals here, including often grueling and intensive work environments.
Luckily, that needn’t mean that your construction dreams fall by the wayside. Simply consider the following ways to build a construction career regardless.
#1 Choose The Right Role
While we most often consider individuals like laborers with regards to construction, there are a few roles in this area. Some of these are going to suit a highly sensitive person more than others
High-pressure team roles like scaffolding and demolition work, for instance, are unlikely to feel like a good fit compared to something like carpentry or even painting and decorating that’s more on the creative side of the industry.
By making sure to understand these options and choosing the right role, you therefore increase your chances of a happy experience and a lasting career.
#2 Ensure Your Pick Of Sites
As with any industry, certain building sites and projects are more likely to appeal to a highly sensitive individual than others. Hospital or community constructions, for instance, will often attract a far more empathetic and dedicated team.
It’s therefore important to ensure that you’re in a position to choose projects rather than settling on the first thing that comes along. Obviously, doing your research helps, but it’s also worth making sure you stand out over other applicants by completing your CSCS test and gathering decent references. That way, you shouldn’t have a problem being more selective about work.
#3 Be Upfront With Your Team
It can be difficult to open up in a typically masculine field like construction, but keeping quiet about the fact you’re a highly sensitive person isn’t going to help you thrive. After all, this is something that significantly impacts the work you can comfortably do, and may even see you requiring things like a private space or a dedicated support person within your team.
In a way, this relates to picking the right site, with some managers and teams far more accommodating for things like this than others. It also, however, relies on your ability to be honest from the start, thus ensuring that you begin this career with the support, resources, and job specifics that you need to succeed.
Some Final Words
Construction can feel like an unmanageable field for a highly sensitive person, but you can see those building dreams coming to life if you make sure to build your role with these pointers in mind.
