In construction, your hands are one of your most valuable tools—and they’re also the most at risk. Every year, about 1 million workers end up in the emergency room because of hand injuries, according to OSHA. In the construction industry alone, the injury rate is 2.4 cases for every 100 full-time workers.
The right safety gloves can mean the difference between a normal workday and weeks off the job — or worse, a debilitating, life-changing injury. They don’t just protect against cuts, burns, or chemical splashes. They help keep your crew productive, safe, and confident on the jobsite.
OSHA is clear on this: gloves should be matched to the specific tasks and hazards your crew faces. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in the field. Choosing the right glove means looking at the work you’re doing, the risks involved, and the comfort your team needs to wear them all day. Let’s get into how you can make that happen.
Why Safety Gloves Matter
Hand injuries are some of the most common and costly incidents on a construction site. Cuts, burns, and crush injuries can sideline a skilled worker for weeks or even months. That’s not just painful for the worker—it disrupts schedules, strains crews, and increases costs.
It might seem unlikely, but like any other piece of personal protective equipment, the financial impact of gloves can be substantial. The National Safety Council estimates that the average workplace injury costs more than $40,000 in direct expenses like medical bills and workers’ compensation. Indirect costs (like training replacements, delays, and reduced morale) can push that total much higher.
But using effective PPE can make a huge difference. According to OSHA, every dollar invested in effective safety programs can return as much as four dollars in cost savings. Something as simple as selecting the right gloves for the job can prevent expensive downtime and keep projects on track.
For example, a worker handling sheet metal without cut-resistant gloves could get a deep laceration, requiring stitches and several days away from work. Now imagine that same task is performed with ANSI-rated gloves designed for high cut resistance. As expected, that worker doesn’t suffer a hand injury because the gloves prevent his hands from getting sliced by the sheet metal. The job gets done, the worker stays safe, and the schedule stays on track.
The right gloves represent a critical investment in your crew’s health, your project’s success, and your company’s bottom line. After all, many hands make light work, and investing in effective gloves keeps your crew’s hands in action.
How to Choose the Best Work Gloves
Choosing the right safety gloves starts with understanding the work your crew does every day. Not all gloves are created equal, and the best option for one job might be unsafe for another. Here’s how to narrow down the right gloves for the job.
List Your Tasks
Look at the specific duties your crew performs. Moving rough lumber? You’ll need abrasion-resistant gloves. Working with solvents? Chemical-resistant materials are a must. Welding? Heat-resistant gloves with extended cuffs provide better protection. Matching gloves to tasks ensures they actually protect against the risks your team faces.
Identify Hazards
Before picking gloves, do a quick job hazard assessment. Identify risks like sharp edges, heat, cold, vibration, or chemical exposure. You’ll want to make sure the gloves you choose are rated to protect against specific hazards. OSHA stresses that PPE should directly address these hazards, not just provide generic coverage.
Pick the Right Materials
Different glove materials are built for different challenges. Leather handles abrasion well, nitrile stands up to oils, and Kevlar offers top-tier cut resistance. We’ll go deeper into material types later in this guide, but knowing the primary hazards helps you narrow the material options quickly.
Get the Right Fit
Even the best gloves fail if they don’t fit right. Gloves that are too tight can limit movement and cause hand fatigue, while loose gloves can snag on equipment or slip off at the worst time. A proper fit keeps workers comfortable and more likely to wear them consistently.
Common Hazards
Before you can pick the right gloves, you need to know exactly what you’re protecting against. Construction sites can have a variety of hazards present that can damage your crew’s hands in different ways. Each type of risk calls for its own glove design and material.
Cut Hazards
Sharp edges from tools, sheet metal, glass, or rebar can cause deep lacerations. These injuries are common and costly—BLS data shows cuts and lacerations are among the top reasons for lost workdays in construction. Gloves with high ANSI cut ratings (More on this below!) or made from cut-resistant fibers like Kevlar can greatly reduce this risk.
Impact Hazards
Dropping a heavy tool or material on your hands can cause bruising, fractures, or crush injuries. Gloves with padded knuckles, reinforced palms, and back-of-hand protection help absorb and spread the force of impacts, preventing more serious damage from happening.
Chemical Exposure
From adhesives and sealants to cleaning solvents, many job site chemicals can burn or irritate skin. OSHArequires chemical-resistant gloves when working with hazardous substances. Nitrile, PVC, and neoprene are common choices depending on the type of chemical.
Temperature Extremes
Hot surfaces, welding sparks, or freezing conditions can quickly harm skin. Heat-resistant gloves shield against burns, while insulated gloves protect in cold-weather work. Both help maintain grip and dexterity in extreme temperatures, whether you’re working indoors or outside. Pick what’s right for your team to keep them safe in hot or cold conditions.
Vibration
Power tools like jackhammers, grinders, and impact drills create vibrations that can lead to long-term conditions such as Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). Anti-vibration gloves can help reduce exposure, especially during extended tool use.
Understanding ANSI Ratings
Not all gloves offer the same level of protection, and some will be better for certain jobs. For example, a nitrile glove might not be great for handling abrasive materials, but will offer superior protection for chemical exposure. The ANSI/ISEA 105 standard gives you clear guidelines to compare the performance of certain materials so you can match gloves to the risks on your job site.
What the Standard Covers
ANSI ratings measure how well a glove resists hazards like cuts, abrasions, punctures, and impacts. Each category gets a numerical score. The higher the number, the better the protection against increasingly harsher conditions. This scale makes it easier to compare different gloves and materials.
Cut Resistance
One of the most important ratings in construction is cut resistance. ANSI tests measure the amount of force, in grams, needed for a sharp blade to cut through the glove’s material. For example, a glove rated ANSI Cut Level A1 stops cuts from 200 to 499 grams of force, while A9 resists over 6,000 grams. High cut ratings are essential for jobs like glass handling, metal manufacturing, or demolition with sharp debris.
Abrasion and Puncture Resistance
Abrasion ratings show how well a glove holds up to repeated rubbing or scraping, which can be important for tasks like moving concrete blocks or rough lumber. Puncture ratings measure how much force it takes for a sharp object, like a nail or wire, to pierce the glove. These tests follow strict lab procedures under the ANSI/ISEA standard.
Impact Protection
For tasks with crush or strike hazards, ANSI impact ratings measure how well gloves absorb and distribute force across the back of the hand. Gloves with an ANSI impact score have been tested to reduce the risk of fractures or severe bruising.
Understanding these ratings makes sure you’re not just picking gloves that look durable. Any glove can feature extra padding or flashy “protective” features. It’s essential to use ANSI ratings to ensure the gloves you choose have been tested and proven to perform against the hazards your crew faces.
Types of Glove Materials
The material of a glove determines how it performs against different hazards. No single material protects against every risk, which is why matching the right material to the job is critical. Here’s a breakdown of the most common glove material options relevant to construction work.
- Leather – Durable, abrasion-resistant, and grippy in dry or slightly wet conditions.
- Latex – Flexible, offers good grip and limited oil and chemical resistance, but not great for workers with latex allergies.
- Polyurethane (PU) – Lightweight, high dexterity, good abrasion resistance, but limited chemical/heat protection.
- PVC – Strong chemical resistance, ideal for wet environments, but can stiffen in the cold.
- Canvas – Breathable, affordable light-duty protection.
- Synthetic Blends – Nylon/polyester mixes with coatings for balanced comfort and protection.
- Nitrile – Oil, fuel, and chemical resistant with high abrasion durability.
- Kevlar – High cut resistance, heat resistant, and lightweight.
- Metal Mesh – Maximum cut protection for extreme risk tasks.
The Importance of Fit and Comfort
Even the best glove won’t protect your crew if no one wants to wear it. Poorly fitting gloves can cause frustration, reduce dexterity, and might even create new hazards on the job – after all, a tool or component that slips out of your hand can suddenly become a fall hazard. Getting the right fit keeps workers safe and makes it more likely they’ll keep their gloves on all day.
- Not Too Tight, Not Too Loose – Tight gloves cause fatigue; loose gloves can snag or slip.
- Breathability Matters – Reduces sweat and discomfort, especially in warm weather.
- Ergonomic Design – Pre-curved fingers, padded palms, and stretch panels improve comfort and reduce strain.
Helpful Glove Features
Once you’ve chosen the right glove material, fit, and protection level, a few extra features can make gloves even more effective and more convenient for your crew to use. Remember, don’t get gloves just because they have extra shielding or some fancy straps. Look at the glove’s performance to see if these inclusions can benefit the wearer.
- Reinforced Knuckles and Palms – Extra durability and protection in high-wear areas, especially against impacts and crush hazards.
- Touchscreen Compatibility – Let workers operate devices without removing gloves, which can be helpful if you use safety management software.
- Textured Grips – Improves control in wet, oily, or dusty conditions.
- Cuff Styles – Options like elastic, safety, or gauntlet cuffs provide different benefits for protection and quick removal.
Want to learn more about hand safety? Check out our Hand Safety Toolbox Talk today.
