Improving Employees’ Work-Life Balance in the Construction Industry: Project Alliance Case Study

Work-life conflict has a damaging effect on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, productivity turnover, and absenteeism. On an individual level, work-life conflict is associated with employee burnout, mental health issues, substance abuse, and diminished family functioning. Thus, work-life balance is an important issue to the construction industry, in terms of both organizational effectiveness and occupational health. Long and inflexible work hours are the most consistent predictor of work-life conflict among construction employees, particularly those working on-site or in a project office. There is considerable resistance to the adoption of new ways of scheduling work within the industry. This paper describes the post hoc evaluation of a compressed work week (reducing the length of the working week, but increasing the length of the working day) in a case study project alliance in Queensland, Australia. Quantitative and qualitative data are presented to demonstrate the beneficial impact of the initiative on employees' work-life balance. The evaluation provides prima facie evidence that alternative work schedules can improve construction employees' work-life balance, creating benefits for construction employees and organizations. The paper concludes that project alliances provide an ideal environment in which work-life balance initiatives can help to create high-performance work systems in the construction sector.

[1]  Andrew R.J. Dainty,et al.  Indirect Discrimination in Construction Organizations and the Impact on Women’s Careers , 2006 .

[2]  Helen Lingard,et al.  The decline of the ‘traditional’ family: work‐life benefits as a means of promoting a diverse workforce in the construction industry of Australia , 2005 .

[3]  L. Clarke,et al.  Gender and ethnic minority exclusion from skilled occupations in construction: a Western European comparison , 2005 .

[4]  Mohan M. Kumaraswamy,et al.  Constructing Relationally Integrated Teams , 2005 .

[5]  Julian Barling,et al.  High-performance work systems and occupational safety. , 2005, The Journal of applied psychology.

[6]  Louis C. Buffardi,et al.  Work-life benefits and job pursuit intentions: The role of anticipated organizational support , 2004 .

[7]  Helen Lingard,et al.  The work‐life experiences of office and site‐based employees in the Australian construction industry , 2004 .

[8]  C. Rutte,et al.  The relationships among part-time work, work-family interference, and well-being. , 2004, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[9]  Malcolm Patterson,et al.  Integrated manufacturing, empowerment, and company performance , 2004 .

[10]  I. Robertson,et al.  Activity and psychological well-being in older people , 2004, Aging & mental health.

[11]  Keith D. Hampson,et al.  Project alliancing at National Museum of Australia : the collaborative process , 2004 .

[12]  Thomas B. Lawrence,et al.  Being there: the acceptance and marginalization of part‐time professional employees , 2003 .

[13]  M. Arthur.  Share Price Reactions to Work-Family Initiatives: An Institutional Perspective , 2003 .

[14]  Susan C. Eaton,et al.  If You Can Use Them: Flexibility Policies, Organizational Commitment, and Perceived Performance , 2003 .

[15]  Sean A. Way.  High Performance Work Systems and Intermediate Indicators of Firm Performance Within the US Small Business Sector , 2002 .

[16]  Keith D. Hampson,et al.  Project alliancing vs project partnering: a case study of the Australian National Museum Project , 2002 .

[17]  Derek H.T. Walker,et al.  Enthusiasm, commitment and project alliancing: an Australian experience , 2002 .

[18]  Toby D. Wall,et al.  Human Resource Management and Business Performance. , 2002 .

[19]  Derek H.T. Walker,et al.  Achieving a responsive industrial relations environment for construction industry workers: a project alliancing case study , 2001 .

[20]  Brian Hobbs,et al.  Different alliance relationships for project design and execution , 2001 .

[21]  Ellen M. Whitener,et al.  Do “high commitment” human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modeling , 2001 .

[22]  Mark Tausig,et al.  Unbinding Time: Alternate Work Schedules and Work-Life Balance , 2001 .

[23]  T. Allen.  Family-Supportive Work Environments: The Role of Organizational Perceptions , 2001 .

[24]  D. Kiers.  ALLIANCE COMPETENCE: KEY CAPABILITIES FOR SUCCESS , 2001 .

[25]  Alison M. Konrad,et al.  The impact of work‐life programs on firm productivity , 2000 .

[26]  Andrew W Gale,et al.  Women in construction: the untapped resource , 2000 .

[27]  Johannes I.M. Halman,et al.  Project alliancing in the offshore industry , 1999 .

[28]  J. Pfeffer.  The real keys to high performance , 1998 .

[29]  Sharon K. Parker,et al.  Job and work design : organizing work to promote well-being and effectiveness , 1998 .

[30]  M. Wheatley.  Goodbye, Command and Control , 1997 .

[31]  Atefeh Sadri McCampbell.  Benefits Achieved through Alternative Work Schedules , 1996 .

[32]  Robert McMurrian,et al.  Development and validation of work–family conflict and family–work conflict scales. , 1996 .

[33]  Casey Ichniowski,et al.  The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity , 1995 .

[34]  Tal Simons,et al.  Institutional and Resource Dependence Determinants of Responsiveness to Work-Family Issues , 1995 .

[35]  S. Grover,et al.  WHO APPRECIATES FAMILY‐RESPONSIVE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES: THE IMPACT OF FAMILY‐FRIENDLY POLICIES ON THE ORGANIZATIONAL ATTACHMENT OF PARENTS AND NON‐PARENTS , 1995 .

[36]  Mark A. Huselid.  The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance , 1995 .

[37]  Phyllis J. Johnson,et al.  The Impact of Workplace Support on Work-Family Role Strain , 1995 .

[38]  Robert Karasek,et al.  Healthy Work : Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life , 1990 .

[39]  Richard G. Moffett,et al.  Outcomes of Work-Family Conflict Among Married Male and Female Professionals , 1988 .

[40]  D. Goldberg.  The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire : a technique for the identification and assessment of non-psychotic psychiatric illness , 1972 .