One thing I just remembered.
Back in the 20s and 30s buildings were often built ahead of schedule and under budget. That was true of the Hoover Dam and also the Empire State Building.
Now it seems to always be just the opposite.
I just read a book about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge (by David McCullough). Well recommended. Anyway, upwards of 20 men died building that bridge. Maybe as many as 50 as some workers literally went home to die (after getting injured or getting the bends while building the underwater caissons). The designer of the bridge (John Roebling) died as a result of getting injured on the job and his son (Washington) suffered from the bends and was confined to his home for most of the project. Still, he was able, with the help of his wife, to manage the project from home as Chief Engineer.
One thing that struck me was that immediately after an accident, the construction resumed. Usually within hours. This was dangerous work and death and injury was expected. Sure, they put what safety measures in place they could to prevent it. But they plowed full speed ahead despite the mounting casualties.
These days, construction projects are put on hold indefinitely when there is a death or serious injury on the job. When we had a Space Shuttle crash, it was a year or two before the next one went up. Now we don't bother putting people in space at all anymore. Too dangerous I reckon.
My father grew up on a farm during Depression Era. He had a hard live growing up. Had to be up at 4AM to take care of the cows before walking barefoot to school. Then had work in the fields after school. This was normal. He was very strong and athletic, even though he never had time for proper sports. I remember him effortlessly driving golf balls 250+ yards at a driving range despite almost never actually playing the game. He just had that kind of strength from growing up on the farm.
My father used to say (only half jokingly) that my brother and I were brought up more as girls than as boys compared to how he had it. And he had a point. My brother and I would consider even simple manual chores like mowing the grass or shoveling snow "hard work" and we'd grumble about it. Such was life growing up in the leafy suburbs in the 1970s. When my own children were growing up, we usually hired landscapers so they did even less.