Masculinity and workplace wellbeing in the Australian construction industry

The construction industry in Australia, and elsewhere, is known to be highly masculinised and to have high rates of stress and long-work hours that impact on the wellbeing of individuals working in construction. Wellbeing in the workplace has been defined in various ways, but we characterise it to include satisfaction with work-life balance, work conditions, hours and pay, amongst other factors. Drawing on research conducted using a rapid ethnographic approach in two construction multinationals in Australia and feminist institutional theory we describe and analyse the subjective wellbeing of female and male construction professionals. Our findings reveal a prevalence of mental health related issues – stress, panic attacks, insomnia, fatigue and anxiety – as well as strains on family life, including divorce, among men and women. Employees endure these experiences in silence, adhering to the unspoken masculine workplace norms that require long hours, total availability, and presenteeism. Employees regularly worked double their contracted hours and discussed the need to 'prove their worth', leaving little time for work-life balance. Among young workers, this experience led them to consider moving out of contracting. Despite some efforts to address this by the companies, for example, through the introduction of 'wellbeing leave', physical safety appeared a higher priority than psycho-social wellbeing, even in the face of lost productivity. We conclude that the masculinity of the sector is inextricably linked to workplace wellbeing for both the men and women that work in the industry.