In the trades, the crew you work with can make or break your experience. A good crew feels like family. A toxic crew feels like a hazard—physically, mentally, and professionally. And too many tradeswomen learn the hard way that some jobs should’ve been passed on from the start. These are the red flags you should watch for before you ever set foot on the jobsite.

It is inevitable. You survive a hurricane, tornado, or what my hometown just went through, a rare Derecho, and the "contractors " appear...