The people whom you describe likely do not have the chip on the shoulder.
On one of the construction sites I had worked, there were two electricians working on terminations in a junction box, one man, one woman. They were a good team, got the stuff done on time and accurately. One day the man says to the woman “Nice T-shirt”. She took it as a complement since the T-shirt had the Texas A&M logo, where his kids were at. Another woman was walking by, heard the comment, and filed a “third party sexual harrassment complaint”, claiming that the man was making an unsolicited compliment (and thus a sexual advance). The man was fired on the spot, even though the woman with the Aggie T-shirt claimed that such a complaint was frivolous.
The environment is such that people are afraid to have any kind of social interaction, else who will be offended.
Wow! I am blown away by your construction example. Almost too hard to believe, but I would never bet against it being true.