Striving to achieve it all: men and work-family-life balance in Sweden and the UK - implications for well-being and HRM

Our research paper investigates how men voice their experiences of the three dimensions of well-being: happiness, health and relationships (after Van de Voorde et al., 2012) in balancing their work and non-work lives. We discuss how their perceptions and practice relate to human resource management (HRM) in the workplace, and identify the key tensions in managing their engagement and well-being. This paper builds on research published in Construction Management and Economics in August 2013 (Vol. 31, No. 8: Raiden and Räisänen, pp. 899-913) where we critique the work-life balance literature for largely limiting the construct as being a female-oriented entitlement. Consequently, little attention has been paid to how men experience their work-life situations, especially the men who are keen to share the family care. We contribute to filling this gap by critically examining how male academics in construction-related departments at Universities in Sweden and the UK construct their relationships with family and work. The data consisted of the career-life stories of seven male academics from each country. These were at different phases in their career trajectories and held different university positions. A narrative analysis approach was then applied on the data. Three core narratives emerged: family connected with partner; work as key priority; and desire to pursue personal projects, which competed with each other for the narrators’ sparse time. A salient feature of all the narratives was the men’s struggle to accommodate family and (personal) life with work, which to them was the prioritised sphere. This struggle left many feeling that they had no time to do a good job in any sphere, and in Sweden in particular the combination pressure was intense. In this study, well-being emerged as a critical albeit difficult to articulate feature since it was embedded in all the three elements of the work-family-life triad, often with conflicting outcomes. The purpose here, therefore, is to revisit the data using a well-being lens

Understanding the role of local safety groups in managing safety practices between micro construction firms and principal contractors

Construction projects incorporate the input of a range of tradesmen and different sized firms, ranging from micro to large organisations. Working practices of micro construction firms are carried out in an informal manner while larger organisations tend to adopt more formal on-site management techniques. Many micro firms seek to develop long-term relationships with large principal contractors and a major strain on their relationships stem from the difference in safety management techniques they employ. Faced with a fundamental shift in their style of safety management, workers of micro construction firms must successfully negotiate this challenge. Against this background, records from the Health and Safety Executives show year on year reductions in accident and incident rates in the East Midlands, an indication that the safety practices on projects are being implemented more effectively. Some of this success has been attributed to the efforts of local safety groups, such as Nottinghamshire Occupational Safety and Health Association (NOSHA). As such, it is important that the interdependencies between large principal contractors and micro firms, and the role that safety groups such as NOSHA play in managing this relationship are better understood. This paper presents interviews conducted with some members of NOSHA. This is the first of two phases of empirical work. The roles that the members of the local safety group perform have been found to go beyond simply promoting safety awareness and safety knowledge on site. They have been found to help in conflict resolution among the various construction parties. Such practices help create a harmonious working environment and subsequently lead to long-term working relations

Conceptualising behavioural ambidexterity and the effects on individual well-being

'Knowledge work' in the contemporary business landscape typically demands behavioural ambidexterity: the ability to simultaneously demonstrate creativity and compliance. However, the effects of behavioural ambidexterity on the well-being of individual employees are not well known. We examine the relations between work design, behavioural ambidexterity and perceptions of well-being, conceptually drawing on a review of the three strands of literature. Our focus is on well-being, after a well-established holistic definition based on healthcare, philosophy, psychology and sociology literatures, which have converged on three core dimensions of well-being: psychological (happiness), physical (health) and social (relationships). We highlight the influence of personal circumstances and the role of agency in work design as two key antecedents of well-being outcomes, and suggest a preliminary framework for further studies of behavioural ambidexterity and well-being in the construction industry

Project management practice within the Lebanese real estate industry

Many investors have recently discovered the emerging Lebanese real estate market as an opportunity for a very lucrative business. However, historically the Lebanese market has been characterised by precariousness due to political instability, environmental risks, funding difficulties, demographics and cultural issues. We investigate project management practices within the Lebanese real estate sector through an inductive study. A multidimensional stakeholder approach is employed. The findings from seven data rich, semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders highlight project financing, time management and human resources management central to successful project management practice in Lebanon. While the respondents make frequent references to the unique context in Lebanon our analysis reveals more similarities than differences with the universalist best practice literature on project management. We evaluate the relevance of contextual and best practice approaches to project management and consider some of the reasons why the respondents at strategic level tend to take a more contextual approach where the views at meso and micro levels are more mixed. Later stages of this study will utilise the research findings in the development of a success measurement framework that accounts for diverse success criteria in the Lebanese market through a larger scale mixed-method programme of research

Challenging standardisation by embracing ambiguities of site safety

Streamlining and standardising safety practices in the construction industry has always been the goal of many policymakers and large construction firms. This would understandably ensure that all practices on a wide range of projects adopt and implement similar procedures and regulations. In addition, this idea could possibly reduce the uncertainties and variations associated with interpretations of policies and regulations amongst project teams. Unfortunately, safety issues on construction projects and sites are widely acknowledged to differ from project to project and even activity to activity. For this reason, the implementation of a broad-brush approach has always proven difficult in the industry. Micro firms in the industry operate under the notion that projects and site conditions are always fluid and adapt their safety practices accordingly. The aim of this research is to the experiences and nuances in practices of workers of micro firms as they challenge standardisation by embracing ambiguities in project risks. Ethnographies were carried out on six construction sites in the South East and the East Midlands regions of the UK. Data collection tools adopted included observations, semi-structured interviews and conversations with tradesmen of selected micro firms. Findings from the ethnographic studies indicate that workers from small and micro firms from both regions acknowledge that the risks and hazards associated with various stages of projects change constantly. These changes are attributed to various reasons including site conditions, project changes, workers’ state of mind and overall site culture. Furthermore, the workers believe that standardising approaches for all projects will be ineffective especially if the teams should encounter extenuating circumstances that they have not planned for. The workers thus embrace the uncertainties in safety and adopt an approach the considers the ambiguities associated with construction practices thereby being able to use a dynamic approach to avoid accidents and injuries that could prove costly or fatal

Introducing site sense: comparing situated knowledge in construction to coalmining

The acknowledgment of the use of tacit knowledge as a safety praxis in the mining industry has been in existence for over half a century. This is referred to as pit sense. On the contrary, the use of tacit knowledge for site safety is only gathering steam in the construction industry. Research on common sense in construction suggests that the conflicts with official practices and policies, and resistance from individuals in managerial roles, hold back advancements in employing tacit knowledge. Common sense in construction and pit sense in coalmining substantial similarities including their heavy dependence on self-preservation and the use of a bottom-up approach i.e. both focusing on the discretion of the workers. We introduce the concept of 'site sense' as an approach to site safety which is based on tacit knowledge and reflects situatedness of knowledge. Non-participant observations and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data on the practices of workers of micro construction firms in relation to site safety. The research findings indicate that unlike site sense, pit sense has evolved from first being regarded as a mere informal practice to then being acknowledged by managers as a way of workers taking responsibility and accountability for their own safety. Site sense and pit sense are both recognised as safety practices that are not formally taught but acquired through continuous practice. They are both situational knowledge gained through informal techniques and close interactions among team members. In both schools of thought, it is widely known that experienced workers are proud to possess and demonstrate pit sense and site sense respectively whereas newcomers do not yet possess this tacit and situated knowledge

Constructing apprenticeships by transforming through sharing

As a result of a general dissatisfaction among construction industry employers with the current apprenticeship training in the UK a local training group, in collaboration with a further education provider and the Sector Skills Council for construction, developed an innovative training scheme. The claim of the Shared Apprenticeship scheme was to transform the learning experiences of construction apprentices by accentuating their craft skills development, broadening their vocational knowledge and sharing their on-site experiences through a consortium of employers. Whilst this three year, partly European funded, project is operated by the local construction training group it is managed by ConstructionSkills with the local FE college providing the underpinning skills development and extended knowledge. The project is noteworthy not least because it involves significant public funds and numbers of apprentices but it also attracts global attention from decision formers delivering similar programmes. This study explores the reasons for the Shared Apprenticeship project and considers similar schemes through literature review and interviews with stakeholders. Not everyone views this project as innovative or shares the optimisms anticipated by the creators of the scheme and in this context the study especially scrutinises expectations and limitations