GUEST ARTICLE: ‘Wellbeing sacrificed for profits’ as UK construction workforce falls to 2000 levels

A new report by the Association for Project Management (APM) calls for greater strategic leadership to improve employee wellbeing and prevent it becoming a ‘bolt-on extra’ as the construction industry battles a 24-year low in workforce levels…

The report entitled Caring for Employee Wellbeing in the rise of Modern Methods of Construction, explores the evolving concept of employee wellbeing with the rise of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) which is aimed at prioritising a positive work/life balance.

This comes as new figures from the Office for National Statistics found the UK construction workforce has decreased to its lowest level since 2000. The data shows that in 2024 Q2 there were 2.04 million workers in construction, representing a fall of 5.1% from last year.

The report, authored by Dr Jing Xu, Associate Professor in Enterprise Management at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction in University College London (UCL) and Dr Simon Addyman, Associate Professor in Project Management at the Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction (UCL) states: ‘There is an absence of strategic leadership within project-based firms and client organisations to align and address competing needs for care, which adversely affects the wellbeing of project managers and workers’.

‘Typically, various initiatives are developed in silos by different functional departments and then imposed onto projects. The time for planning and organising events to implement such initiatives, however, is often not built into the project schedule, resulting in increased workload, longer work hours and undue strain on project managers.’

The report says that ‘Modern methods of construction (MMC) have risen on the industry’s agenda in recent years, mostly for the purpose of improving productivity and environmental sustainability. The human and wellbeing side receives little attention, yet it is imperative to ensure that wellbeing is not sacrificed for the pursuit of project efficiency and profits.’

MMC is a broad term encompassing a range of offsite and onsite processes, techniques, and digital technologies designed to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and lessen the environmental impact of building projects. Examples include volumetric construction utilising prefabricated components, timber frame construction, twin wall technology, and creating panel units off site.

These new processes can introduce new additional concerns for employees including increased pressure to meet tight deadlines, the potential for isolation, and the need to rapidly adapt to new technologies and methods, negatively impacting wellbeing.

The report continues: ‘Employee wellbeing is broader than digitalisation, innovation, leadership, the development of project management capabilities, or other single factors. It cannot be adequately addressed by the prevailing transactional business models that approach these factors piecemeal and treat employee wellbeing as a bolt-on extra.

‘A fundamental shift is dependent upon the firm and project transforming to proactively and strategically address the impact of organisational activities on employees and other stakeholders, rather than considering narratives of care as an afterthought.’

The report makes five recommendations for organisations to help them proactively (and strategically) address the impact of business activity on employee wellbeing:

 – Recognise wellbeing as an intrinsic part of value proposition for project workers

 – Establish strategic leadership for wellbeing integration within project-based firms and client organisations

 – Improve systems integration and cooperation between functions and at the firm-project interface

 – Enhance diversity and inclusion management for care and wellbeing

 – Support bottom-up learning and employee-oriented initiatives.

Dave Corbin, Head of Client Accounts at Gleeds, a leading property and construction consultancy, says: “As the construction industry has evolved, so too has its understanding of the importance of employee wellbeing. However, as alluded to in the APM report this has no doubt been largely driven by the perceived benefits to a business in terms of productivity and performance and in my experience, it is often overlooked entirely in the context of delivering projects using MMC.

“Implementing well-considered policies that go beyond the minimum should be the norm, particularly in project management where our core offer is our people but, while MMC does present opportunities to improve wellbeing, it also throws up its own unique challenges.

“As a consultancy, Gleeds understands this and prioritises fostering an environment where the team feels seen, heard and valued on all projects, but building in mechanisms to support wellbeing industry-wide is an ongoing process.

“This report shines a light on the value of viewing wellbeing as more than just an added extra and I hope that other project-based firms will adopt the recommendations it outlines.”

Dave Corbin is the Lead for APM’s Built Environment Interest Network. The Network is a new online community that facilitates knowledge sharing and produces thought leadership content specific to the project management community within the Built Environment sector.

Professor Adam Boddison OBE, Chief Executive of APM, comments: “Employee wellbeing is vital for project-based firms and across the construction sector and as such should be a top priority for organisations, due to the role it plays in productivity and efficiency.

“As highlighted in the report, MMC provides great benefits for construction firms from a sustainability and productivity point of view, but it does not need to be at the cost of employee wellbeing.

“It is essential that project-based organisations develop a systematic and collaborative approach to enable the implementation of the recommendations outlined. Teams and departments must work together to tackle employee wellbeing and cater for the varying needs of all stakeholders.

“APM is committed to raising the profile of the project profession and ensuring that it sets the highest standards. This spans across all aspects of the profession from project delivery, training and qualifications and project organisations approach to employee wellbeing.”