Jenga Management: Why Skilled Labor Shortfalls Could Topple Even Your Best-Laid Plans

By Howard Aronson, Workify Chief Executive Officer

In the modern construction landscape, project management has become a game of high-stakes Jenga. Every element—permitting delays, material lead times, labor availability, design changes, weather impacts—is another block carefully balanced on top of the last. One wrong move, or one missing piece, and the entire structure teeters. And while many in the industry have gotten used to walking that tightrope, the ground is shifting, and the tower is getting taller.

Risk Stacking: When “Normal” Is Anything But

Construction managers have always navigated risk. But today, that risk is no longer linear or isolated. It's layered. Projects face a growing stack of compounding variables that are no longer "just part of the job", they're structural threats to profitability, timelines, and client relationships.

Just consider this typical mid-sized commercial project scenario:

• Material lead times have stretched from 6 to 12 weeks due to global supply chain instability.

• Permitting delays tied to municipal staffing shortages set the timeline back another 4 weeks.

• Labor availability—especially among skilled trades like electricians, welders, and HVAC techs—is spotty and unpredictable.

• Weather volatility, including more frequent extreme heat and storms, further reduces productive hours on site.

Each of these issues, on its own, can be planned for. Together, however, they create a fragile tower of risk. Add one more unexpected disruption, like a labor walk-off or sub-tier contractor going bankrupt, and the entire project can collapse under its own weight.

Unreliable Labor: The Missing Bottom Block

Of all the risk factors in modern construction, the skilled labor shortage is perhaps the most underestimated and the most foundational. Think of labor like the bottom row of Jenga blocks. If you're short on tradespeople, or you're using crews that don’t show up, can’t perform, or rotate constantly, the rest of your project strategy doesn’t stand a chance.

The labor crisis isn’t just about having fewer bodies. It’s about lacking the right workers with the right skills at the right time. And when labor falls through:

• Project schedules unravel

• Quality control suffers

• Rework increases

• Subcontractor trust erodes

• Owner confidence is shaken

  
  

In short, unreliable labor doesn't just delay a job. It triggers a domino effect that can ripple across every trade, phase, and stakeholder.

Proactive Staffing Partnerships: A New Pillar of Risk Management

Given the growing complexity of construction risk, it's time to stop treating staffing like a transactional afterthought. Instead, forward-looking GCs and project leaders are building flexible, proactive labor partnerships into their core project planning, just like they would with materials procurement or subcontractor prequalification.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Early engagement with staffing partners during the planning and estimating phase—not after the job is already awarded

• Transparent communication of labor needs and project timelines to create a realistic pipeline of available trades

• Contingency labor strategies for critical-path roles (like licensed electricians, carpenters, or certified welders)

• Multi-market sourcing strategies for traveling trades who can bridge local gaps

• Vendor consolidation—fewer, better labor partners who understand your expectations and jobsite culture

  
  

These aren’t luxuries. They’re strategic safeguards.

The Bottom Line: It's Time to Rebuild the Tower

Jenga might be fun at a backyard BBQ. But it’s no way to run a multi-million-dollar construction project.

If you're still layering risk on top of risk without addressing labor at the foundation, you're not managing your project you’re gambling with it. Instead, treat skilled labor not as a wild card, but as a controllable input. Invest in strategic staffing partnerships, build labor into your risk models, and reset the foundation before the tower falls.

Because in construction, when the bottom block goes, everything goes with it.