REPORT Project 5: A weekend for every worker
not possible when they were working a six-day week or working fly in fly out.
5.1 WELLBEING IMPROVED AT WORK Workers reduced their working hours by 3.2 hours per week during Project 5, compared to their previous job, with most working between 40 and 49 hours per week. A shorter work week and reduced working hours resulted in increased job satisfaction and improved wellbeing. During Project 5, workers reported improved satisfaction in their workplace relations and site cohesion, work-life balance, work hours and job security.
It was clear in the research that having a strong relationship with their children was important to workers. Like their relationship with their partner, the quality and quantity of time workers had available to spend with their children was limited by traditional construction practices. For many workers, Project 5 was the first time in their construction career that they were able to consistently attend their children’s weekend activities, most notably sporting events. This was significant for workers.
Workers reported improvement in work-life balance – 50% said they found a great difference to their work-life balance and 28% said they saw some difference to their work-life balance. There was also an increasing trend in the quality of life indicator among the cohort working at the five-day work week site. Additionally, the mental distress of workers and injury rates reduced over the 20-week period from May 2020 to October 2020. This data reflects a period within the construction lifecycle that does not include the project completion phase, when work hours tend to increase. However, it does show a trend towards improved wellbeing as a result of a shorter working week. Interviews with workers confirm this.
Having the weekend off made it easier for workers to navigate childcare arrangements too, which might be why a shorter work week was most popular with separated and divorced workers. Workers felt strongly about being present in their children’s lives and giving their children attention. They realised that their presence as a parent was important to their child’s happiness and improved the quality of their relationship with their children. A shorter working week gave workers more free time to spend exercising, socialising and resting, all of which improved worker wellbeing.
Site cohesion improved during Project 5, owing to workers having time to rest and recover on the weekend. Workers reported greater empathy, trust and cooperation during Project 5. Improvements in behaviour, less aggression and intensity contributed to site productivity, and improvements in worker wellbeing, mental health and safety.
There does remain a tension for waged workers, as greater work-life balance often comes at a cost to their income, particularly for male workers who often assume a main breadwinner role. While Project 5 went some way to reducing work hours, irregular and long work hours Monday to Friday continue to act as a barrier to workers with childcare roles and responsibilities. This is especially relevant for the inclusion and progression of women in construction, as women undertake the bulk of society’s caring roles. While most workers highlighted the importance of spending time with children on weekends, few expressed a desire to undertake more childcare during the week, and most were satisfied with the unequal division of household and childcaring labour. It seems that gender roles remain deeply embedded within work structures and individual mindsets. In construction, this undermines workforce gender equality, while putting pressure on family relationships, including relationships with children. As Strazdins et al.39 remind us, “within families, long work hours create a gendered system of who has a job and who has time for care”.
According to workers, further gains in work-life balance could be made with the reduction of long work hours, standardisation of work hours and greater access to flexibility in their roles. For female workers, a tolerance of sexism, sexist and sexual behaviour continues on site and has a negative effect on their wellbeing. 5.1.1 Wellbeing improved outside work and at home Improved work-life balance on Project 5 gave workers more time to spend on rest, social activities, exercise and quality time with family and friends. More time spent with family and friends produced stronger relationships and improved worker wellbeing. This was a major shift for many workers who recognised that traditional construction work practices had often put a strain on their relationship with their partner, children and family, as the accumulation of working long work hours over a long period of time affected their partner’s mood and wellbeing. For some, physical and mental exhaustion from longer work hours had been a source of irritability and tension within their intimate partner relationships. Partners of construction workers saw a noticeable improvement in their partner’s mood and wellbeing while working a five-day work week, reporting that their partner was less fatigued, more relaxed, and more available to enjoy their social and family life.
5.1.2 Workers’ next of kin experienced significant change Almost all next of kin interviewed were the wives or long-term partners of construction workers. All but one was female. Most had young children and next of kin were either working part-time or not currently employed, with the construction worker being the primary earner in the household. Workplace conditions in the construction sector (long work hours, six and seven-day weeks) left many partners of construction workers feeling as if they were operating as a single parent, taking on the full parenting role with limited support from their partner. Project 5 was a significant intervention for partners of construction workers. In the short-term, their personal relationships and both their own and their partner’s wellbeing improved because of the intervention. While they preferred the five-day work week to other work schedules, many next of kin would also prefer their partner to work shorter and more
Having weekends off meant workers could spend more time with those they loved. Many workers said a shorter work week improved their relationship with their intimate partner. It also gave workers the opportunity to be more available to support their partner with childcare and household tasks, something
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