Wu, H; Chang, Y and Chen, Y (2024) Transitioning work arrangements in the construction industry: Changes in time-use patterns and individual greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 150(9): 04024112, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Work from home (WFH) connects traditional life at home and work in office (WIO) by moving work to living areas, and thus, it reshapes the time-use patterns and further influences individual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the changes in time-use patterns and GHG emissions of the construction workforce are still unclear. This study investigated the individual time-use patterns and GHG emissions under traditional life at home, WFH, and WIO for the United States construction workforce between 2017 and 2022 based on national data sets. The American Time Use Survey data sets were applied to identify construction-related participants, extract activity information, and calculate the time-use patterns of various activities within 24 h. Individual GHG emissions were estimated by connecting the time-use patterns and GHG emission intensities of activities, which were calculated based on national Energy Consumption Surveys and the literature. The results reveal that the construction workforce reduced their leisure and sleeping time the most to accommodate the increased work and commuting needs in the transitions from traditional life at home to WFH to WIO. Aligned with the time-use patterns, individual residential GHG emissions decreased during the transitions, mainly due to cooking, laundry, and watching TV and movies, while WIO generated extra emissions from commuting and workplace activities. Overall, WIO generated 46% more GHG emissions than WFH (7.24 kg CO2e/person/day), while traditional life at home generated 13% more emissions than WFH (1.32 kg CO2e/person/day). The findings indicate that WFH is an environmentally friendly work arrangement in the construction industry. Several recommendations are provided to help manage activities and reduce GHG emissions in the construction industry. This study provides new insights into the impacts of transitioning work arrangements for the construction workforce from an activity-based environmental perspective and provides opportunities to promote sustainable development of the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | greenhouse gas emissions; time-use pattern; work from home; work in office |
| Index terms: | environmentally friendly, construction industry, energy consumption, survey, sustainable development, United States, greenhouse gas, greenhouse gas emission |
| Subjects: | Geography, sustainable design, health safety and environment, industry analysis, environmental health, data collection methods, climate science, energy systems |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here