The CLC Skills Plan has one of its priorities as Culture Change: An equitable, diverse and inclusive industry providing access for all and supporting people at every stage of their career to retain skilled workers. To increase the number of women joining, and staying within, construction Build UK in partnership with Timewise and supported by CITB carried out ground breaking research looking to challenge the concept that frontline site-based roles were incompatible with flexible working. The outcomes were clear; and overnight, some long-held assumptions were overturned. A pioneer project demonstrated that flexible working can be implemented on construction sites, without negatively affecting budgets or delivery. It also highlighted the positive impact of flexible working on workers’ sense of well-being and work-life balance.
One year on from the original project, the four construction companies that participated in the pilot agreed that even small changes to ways of working were helping their staff better manage the challenges of day-to-day life, taking away potential problems that could increase stress. Employees felt that they were more trusted and better understood and managers were more open to trying out new ways of working, recognising that if it benefits their teams, it benefits the business too. And critically there was new evidence of a reduction in sickness absence. Alongside the original and One Year On reports the project published in a 10 point action plan that all employers in construction can use to introduce and improve flexible working for all roles in construction.
Download the reports here:
