Colbert, E (2023) The 'us and them' divide on construction sites: An undocumented phenomenon. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Much of the construction industry experiences an underlying sense of 'us and them' between various parties. This undertone spans across relationships between the site and office teams or even client and contractor. Literature on theory, education, industrial relations, and management show that the phenomenon exists, yet relatively little remains published and documented for the wider construction sector. Using an inductive approach, this research addresses this knowledge gap by showcasing that the culture exists and is prominent among those working in the sector. The findings indicate that although it is an underlying industry trend, real solutions are difficult to pinpoint due to differences in project goals, individuals' perceptions, hierarchies and even personality types. Discussion is generated by to the lack of published literature on this phenomenon along with cultural issues affecting its spread among different personality types of construction projects, and the emergence of sets from interviews. This research discusses the complexities which contribute to the invisible divide within the construction workforce, consequently both practitioners and academics could possess greater ability to stimulate true collaboration.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | behaviour, culture, phenomenon, undocumented, us and them |
| Index terms: | emergence, complexity, construction sector, construction industry, practitioner, construction project, collaboration, personality, inductive approach, construction site, industrial relation, interview |
| Subjects: | industry analysis, systems engineering, behavioral psychology, production management, management, research methods, psychology, work location, practitioner, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Site Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| 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