Why Are Construction Workers The Happiest Employees?
Why Are Construction Workers The Happiest Employees?
Here's why the construction industry has the happiest
employees and how your industry can replicate it.
By Lydia Dishman
If you think you’re content toiling away at your desk,
crunching data, or hammering out the details of a grand design, try asking a
construction worker or facility service employee if they ever whistle while
they work.
The answer will change your perspective about getting
excited for work everyday.
According to TINYpulse's 2015 Best Industry Ranking
report, gathered from its anonymous one-question feedback surveys from over
30,000 employees across more than 500 organizations, among 12 distinct
industries, construction and facility service workers are the happiest
employees.
Next in line were consumer products, technology, and
software. Telecom, energy, and utilities are grouped together, coming in fourth
place. Health care rounded out the top five. Manufacturing brought up the rear
in last place.
Construction On The Rise
It’s important to note that the construction
industry—both residential and commercial—is bouncing back from a recession low
of $716.9 billion, or 4.9% of GDP, in 2010. Three years later, it was up to
$925.4 billion, or 5.8% of GDP. Likewise, 70% of what the U.S. produces is for
personal consumption, making for a strong consumer product sector.
“A lack of routine safety meetings could send a message
to staff that their employer doesn’t care what happens to them. ”
On a macroeconomic scale, this steady growth is
definitely a mood booster, as it contributes to job creation and higher
salaries. Who isn’t happy to get a bit more dough in their paycheck?
But before you decide to ditch your keyboard and go buy a
tool belt—or a lawn mower, as landscapers were among this group—the survey team
at TINYpulse recommends taking a closer look at what actually drives workplace
satisfaction, and what makes people unhappy.
TINYpulse surveys revealed the top three issues standing
in the way of happy employees were:
1.Managers who aren’t supportive
2.Not having the tools to succeed
3.No opportunity for professional growth
Nearly half, or 49% of employees said a negative
relationship with their supervisor factored in to their overall
dissatisfaction. Though many manufacturing facilities have evolved into
well-lit, clean, and highly technical environments, Dan Davis, editor in chief
of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, commented on
dissatisfaction among the ranks of the industry. He says that the lack of
routine safety meetings could send a message to staff that their employer
doesn’t care what happens to them.
A president of another facility that got high marks for
employee satisfaction advised: "Always ask for their thoughts on how to
solve a problem. Always follow up with people on their ideas for
improvement."
According to TINYpulse’s recent culled from responses to
its anonymous feedback surveys, 26% of employees say they are frustated by the
lack of tools they could use to do their jobs better. More than half, or 66% of
all employees don’t feel they have strong opportunities for professional growth
for two reasons—staff isn’t always aware of what might be available to them, as
well as a lack of training and mentorship.
In the construction industry, a variety of organizations
offer coaching and career mentorship to students. Once they're ready for the
workforce, the industry has a long history of providing new workers with
apprenticeships so they can learn the skills required to move on to tackle more
challenging work.
Supportive Colleagues = Happy Employees
But skills, tools, and sensitive supervisors do not
guarantee happiness. A big boost to job satisfaction was rooted in good
relationships with colleagues. recently
revealed that, especially among millennials, work friendships were both mood
boosting and motivating.
“If people have an issue, they will come see a manager
during office hours, but sometimes the best environment is when people can
relax a bit and just have a drink alongside a manager.”
Indeed, the TINYpulse industry survey found that 34% of
the happiest employees say their peers and colleagues are what drive their
workplace satisfaction, and rated them an 8.5 out of 10.
In the report, Jay Walter, general manager of JWH Group,
an Australian home-building company, summed up the overall effect on happiness
the industry has on its workers.
"This is an industry that has many walks of life
with people working in an office to people out on site," he says.
"One thing that unites everybody at the end of the day is kicking back for
a little bit with a few beers and talking stuff out—the good and the bad. If
people have an issue, they will come see a manager during office hours, but
sometimes the best environment is when people can relax a bit and just have a
drink alongside a manager."
Comments
Post a Comment