Work safe, work smart
Fatigue and flexible working arrangements in building, construction and other trades Absenteeism in small to medium businesses can have a huge impact on productivity, crew morale and company culture. I’m sure many business owners are repeatedly frustrated by unplanned interruptions to contract delivery targets and unmet client expectations (excluding external factors). I own a business myself, so am no stranger to poor excuses from employees, last minute panic and the stress of delivering on once easy to meet targets. There’s no doubt that something has changed in industry in the last decade or so. Aside from those external factors, my focus is what can be managed and controlled.
Initially, I set out to find out how the introduction of “flexi-time” would impact my own business, if I could recommend to my clients that they use it for attracting and retaining skilled labour, and tackle unplanned absenteeism to better manage project risk. But the research unearthed some very interesting and candid responses from blokes (I wanted the view of male bluecollar workers who are under-represented in the popular “flexi-time” conferences that are popping up both sides of the Tasman at the moment). The key talking points are: 1. Working fathers are increasing the time they dedicate to family and meeting with negative or indifferent employer responses.
New Zealand Safety Council board member Karyn Beattie.
That’s pretty significant in a high employment economy, where rising pay expectations are a legitimate employer concern.
2. Many companies dabbling with the concept of “fatigue policy” aren’t applying it or pay lip service to it (deliberately or otherwise). 3. Work types that are impacted by inclement weather often demand employee work time flexibility but do not necessarily respond well to requests from the employee to do likewise. 4. Every single person interviewed responded ‘yes’ to the questions “Would you have more company loyalty if they offered some form of flexible working?” and “Would you be more likely to stay longer than three years with an organisation if they had some form of flexible working arrangements, even if the pay did not change?”
What struck me during the interviews is that there is a genuine opportunity for employers, who may be losing staff and almost completely unaware that fatigue management can be the vehicle by which to manage flexible working arrangements and compliance with regulatory expectations. We only have to look at how the likes of John Holland are doing in Australia to see how it could be implemented here in New Zealand. The benefits of offering an application-only flexi-time agreement could assist in sectors where talent is hard to attract and even harder to keep, with skilled working-parents forming the perfect candidates to trial the concept.
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