Emuze, F and Mollo, L (2019) Disrespecting people with working conditions in South Africa. Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers: Management, Procurement and Law, 172(3), pp. 112-117. ISSN 17514304
Abstract
The working conditions of people mostly play second fiddle to productivity and profitability in construction. Anecdotal and empirical construction reports, mostly in developing countries such as South Africa, suggest inappropriate social interactions on project sites. The awkward social interactions manifest through lack of respect for workers, who are regarded as people with limited rational abilities. Using three case studies from South Africa as an illustration for the discourse, this paper argues that on-site working conditions are critical to the well-being of people at the front line of construction work. For example, poor working conditions are indicative of a disrespectful attitude towards the people on a site. Further, both poor working conditions and lack of respect for people (RFP) constitute a significantly negative influence on the general well-being of workers and their managers. This paper thus argues that it is time to translate the notion of RFP into actual practice in the interest of employees and employers in the industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | contracting; health and safety; project management |
| Index terms: | productivity, case study, social interaction, project management, working conditions, profitability, construction work, health and safety, manager, developing country, South Africa, respect for people, well-being |
| Subjects: | project management theory and practice, employment law, management, sociology, mental health and wellbeing, data collection methods, development economics, health safety and environment, Geography, practitioner, economic analysis, ethical practice, operations management |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Geographical Context, Project Management, Health and Safety, International Construction, Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| 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