Excessive workloads and burnout are driving an exodus of workers in Australia’s construction industry, a new survey has found.

Commissioned by construction project management technology firm Procore and prepared by ACA Research, the survey of 155 construction leaders identified trends in work, health and safety (WHS) practices across the sector throughout Australia.

The survey coincided with National Safe Work Month in October.

According to the survey, safety management remains a greater focus compared with other priorities such as reducing waste, improving energy efficiency and increasing employee engagement and workforce diversity (see chart).

Nevertheless, the survey has revealed challenges associated with a burnout of workers and an exodus of staff.

Among those surveyed:

• 52 percent indicated that their firms had lost skilled workers and that they are aware of skilled workers leaving the industry due to stress and burnout.
• 45 percent agree that ‘many’ of their workers are suffering from burnout due to labour shortages.
• 50 percent say that stress and burnout are not confined to onsite roles but are being experienced by workers who are off-site as well.
• 48 percent indicated that they are unable to hire enough skilled labour to fully staff their job sites.
• 46 percent say that stress and burnout are leading causes of WHS incidents.
• 45 percent say that their workers are needing to take on more work than they can handle on account of skills and labour shortages.

In response, the survey found that employers are becoming more proactive in managing stress and are making greater use of technology to manage safety risks.

Overall, 77 percent of surveyed firms have a formal work, health and safety policy. Meanwhile, 54 percent have a strategy for mental health, 47 percent have a strategy to manage stress and burnout and 41 percent have a policy to enable working time reduction where needed.

This compares with 71 percent, 36 percent, 34 percent and 28 percent who had similar policies and strategies in the 2021 survey (see chart).

On technology, the survey found that 34 percent of respondents have a dedicated solution to manage safety, 51 percent are investing in improved systems and processes, 47 percent are investing in the integration of data from multiple systems/sources into a single repository and 63 percent are analysing data to identify and predict potential risks.

This is up from 24 percent, 29 percent, 22 percent and 30 percent who indicated that they were doing these things in 2021.

The latest data comes amid growing recognition of mental health challenges throughout the construction sector. These have been exacerbated by the pandemic and an unprecedented shortage of workers.

According to Mates in Construction, around 190 construction workers die by suicide each year.

In response, change is happening on several fronts.

From a regulatory viewpoint, governments are moving to force employers to effectively manage ‘psychosocial hazards’ in the workplace.

These are conditions within a workplace that can cause stress and can lead to either physical or psychological harm. They can range from bullying or violence through to excessive workloads, lack of role clarity, workplace conflict or inadequate support.

In June, Safe Work Australia amended the model WHS legislation to create a specific obligation for employers to manage psychosocial hazards as part of their work, health and safety obligations.

NSW has implemented this change from October 1. Other states are expected to follow.

At an industry level, The NSW and Victorian Governments are working with the Australian Constructors Association and other industry players to develop and implement a Culture Standard which will define expected behaviours on construction projects.

These include reasonable working hours, flexible working arrangements, assessing and managing health and wellbeing risks, promoting wellbeing and promoting workforce inclusion by ensuring that all are welcome and valued, suitable amenities are provided and that gaps in pay and representation are managed.

In a recent interview, Laurice Temple, CEO and founder of the Ripple Affect Institute – a leading consultancy which advises on culture and leadership strategies for major construction clients – told Sourceable that workers across the industry have been subject to multiple stresses during and since the pandemic.

To name a few, these include frequent changes to site rules during lockdown, severe (and often changing) restrictions on activity, personal stress associated with stay-at-home orders and being subject to envy from those in other industries as the industry remained open (subject to restrictions) throughout most of the pandemic.

This has taken place at the same time as the industry has endured an unprecedented shortage of workers amid a massive pipeline of housing and infrastructure projects.

These stresses, Temple points out, occurred without a change management plan and with little time for workers to process the changes at an individual level.

Going forward, Temple says organisations need to build a workplace culture that is supportive of mental health and wellbeing.

When doing this, several things are important.

These include that:

• Strategies must be developed and implemented in a purposeful manner with efforts that are focused and intentional.
• Strategies should be tailored to individual organisations.
• Strategies should be developed in consultation and partnership with workers. They should not be imposed from above.
• In terms of policy and strategy content, organisations should take guidance from the Culture Standard as well as the international standard for managing psychological health and safety at work ISO 450003:2021.
• The plan must be lived and reflected in everyday organisational behaviour. Occasional pep talks are not sufficient.

As things stand, Temple says industry practice to date has been lacking. Typically, she says mental health measures have not been a part of organisational WHS strategies and are rarely reflected in Safe Work Method Statements.

Encouragingly, however, she says culture management plans are becoming more common on major projects. In some cases, this is being driven by clients and is being incorporated into tender requirements.

In cases where culture management plans have been implemented, Temple says impacts are evident. Managers are more aware of how workers are feeling and are increasingly offering support and reprieve to those who need this. Leaders are also setting the example themselves through behaviours such as taking lunch breaks, exercising, becoming involved in children’s activities and refusing to answer emails after hours.

Speaking about aforementioned moves to require employers to manage psychological risks, Temple says this will provide an important tool through which to regulate unsatisfactory situations and will empower WHS regulators to work with employers to improve practices.

Tom Karemacher, Vice President, APAC at Procore welcomed the focus on safety and wellbeing.

“The construction industry has faced a multitude of challenges in the last couple of years, and nevertheless remains resilient and resourceful,” Karechemar said.

“With the labour shortage currently impacting the industry, it’s great to see companies prioritising worker health and safety while utilising technology to support workers by reducing risk and improving safety in the workplace.”

If you or someone you know needs help, call:

Mates in Construction 1300 642 111

Lifeline 13 11 14

BeyondBlue 1300 224 636

Enjoying Sourceable articles? Subscribe for Free and receive daily updates of all articles which are published on our site

Want to grow your sales, reach more new clients and expand your client base across Australia’s design and construction sector?

Advertise on Sourceable and have your business seen by the thousands of architects, engineers, builders/construction contractors, subcontractors/trade contractors, property developers and building industry suppliers who read our stories across the civil, commercial and residential construction sector