Worker loses balance on ladder - GIF

[schuylergrace]

Derailing the thread a bit, but I have a question about this. I had to solve this problem (working drywall above a stairwell) before and my solution was to put an extension ladder from the stairs to the adjacent wall and place a 2x12 on the ladder for improvised scaffolding. Is there a better way to do this? That felt super sketchy at the time.

Do you mean you leaned a ladder extending at an angle from the base of the stairs onto a wall that was at least several feet back from the stairs and then put the board from one of the stairs over to a ladder rung that was at an appropriate height? If so, that seems reasonably stable to me. Neither the ladder, the board, nor the stairs should move, unless someone purposely tries to move them.