Sickness Absence Falls in Construction Flexible Working Pilot

AN 18-MONTH long pilot study of flexible working in construction has published its results today showing that the variable working arrangements hugely benefited the businesses and their workers without any adverse project impact.

Four construction firms took part in the ground-breaking flexible working pilot, designed to test different kinds of flexible working in construction. All the firms continued with flexible working practices after the 18-month pilot ended and report a decline in the rate of sickness absence.

A review of the impact of the pilot study: ‘Making Construction a great place to work – a view one year on’ was published today by social enterprise and flexible working experts Timewise.

The review was commissioned by CITB and the four firms participating, which are BAM Construct, BAM Nuttall, Skanska UK and Willmott Dixon.

The review’s findings suggest that flexible working has had several positive impacts, for workers, of reduced stress, increased well-being and job satisfaction. For firms, benefits included enhanced performance and notably, a reduction in sickness-related absence rates.

Flexible Working Benefits

The partner firms all report results that buck the wider UK picture, with Willmott Dixon reporting overall sickness absences have reduced by one third since 2019. BAM Construct say overall sickness absences have reduced by one tenth, while Skanska UK report that one-day sickness absences have more than halved. BAM Nuttall has seen one-day sickness absence reduce by a third.

By contrast, analysis of ONS data by Timewise shows that the national sickness absence rate in construction has increased post pandemic, from 1.4% in 2020 to 2.1% in 2021.

While flexible working won’t be the only factor reducing the sickness absence rates experienced by the four Pioneers, Timewise says the difference in the direction of travel is significant.

It is well known that sickness absences cost the industry millions of pounds a year – last estimated at £160m in 2018, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Emma Stewart from Timewise said, “It’s great to see a reduction in sickness absence noted by all four Construction Pioneer firms, especially given that one of the main drivers for running the pilot programme came from concern around the sector’s poor record on mental health and well-being.  Some firms are also reporting increased productivity levels through the use of hybrid working where possible, which they feel is the result of having a happier workforce. Flexible working makes both business sense and common sense.”

Cutural Norms

One interesting observation that Timewise made was that similar roles have been categorised differently across the participating businessses, with regard to capacity for partial home-working. Timewise said that some of the continuing barriers to home-working may stem from cultural norms of visibility and ‘being in it together’, rather than taking an objective job design approach to identify tasks that are best achieved together versus solitary tasks that can be done remotely.

Suzannah Nichol, Chief Executive of Build UK, said: “Reducing the stresses of everyday life whether through less commuting, more suitable start and finish times, reduced hours or simply being able to attend an appointment without losing a day’s pay makes a huge difference. A happier workforce is more productive with greater job satisfaction, less sickness absence and better mental health – a virtuous circle that encourages more people to join our industry and enables businesses to grow.  To realise these benefits your company needs to take the next step and trial flexible working – I promise you won’t regret it.”

Subcontractor Fairness

The report also highlights the next barriers for the construction industry to overcome to achieve flexible working patterns. Key among these is the need to ensure greater fairness, by finding a way to extend flexible working to the sub-contracted workforce.

Flexible working is more complex for those roles where a physical presence is always required on the construction site, the review found. However, some of the firms are looking to improve the availability of other types of flexible working, such as varying start and finish times. Yet there are concerns that this will lead to a shortage of workers willing to take on frontline and site management roles, with a preference for flexible office-based functions amongst recruits.

Tim Balcon, CITB Chief Executive says: “By being more flexible and inclusive, we will become a more diverse industry and open opportunities for our existing workforce, as well as new joiners from all backgrounds, to grow long lasting careers that will help meet the skills demand across the industry.”

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