Fitzpatrick, C; Curran, M R; Clarke-Hagan, M; Spillane, J P and Bradley, J G (2024) Is a compressed workweek viable for work-life balance in the Irish construction industry? An exploratory study into a four-day week. In: Thomson, C (ed.) Proceedings of 40th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2024, London South Bank University, UK.
Abstract
The concept of the compressed workweek (CWW) is not a new phenomenon, as research has shown that it improves work-life balance and can reduce mental and physical health problems. On the contrary, the construction industry is renowned as being a notoriously overworked sector plagued by presenteeism. This research aims to identify if a CWW (four-day) is viable for work-life balance in the Irish construction industry. Taking a mixed methods research approach, six semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with the emerging themes being analysed thematically combined with a questionnaire survey distributed to industry professionals and analysed using statistical review techniques. The findings showed that many in the workforce have a range of health problems from working long hours with a consequent detrimental effect on their productivity. People have an unsatisfactory work-life balance in a highly pressurised industry, and a CWW is viewed as a highly desired solution to address this problem. The contribution of this exploratory study is that it demonstrates that a four-day CWW is viable and can improve the lifestyle and work-life balance of the Irish construction industry workforce.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | four-day workweek; health; safety and wellbeing; human resource management; Ireland; work-life balance |
| Index terms: | human resource management, productivity, survey, lifestyle, exploratory study, interview, mixed method, construction industry, Ireland, work-life balance, well-being, questionnaire |
| Subjects: | management, research methods, Geography, demography, industry analysis, data collection methods, mental health and wellbeing |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Human Resources, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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