Contrary to ëmachoí stereotypes about workers in the construction industry, a recent work-related health awareness pilot for the construction industry has shown that it is middle management that needs the most encouragement to make changes ñ workers are actually very concerned about their health.
The study argues that introducing or promoting a culture of health management within the industry will require workers and management at all levels to work together.
Published today, a research report of the Constructing Better Health (CBH) pilot scheme, which worked with more than 360 employers, has shown how involvement by construction workers far exceeded the expectations of organisers and employers who were initially sceptical of the interest among staff.
The report, by independent experts the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), and funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), details how more than 1,700 workers attended voluntary health checks, and 2,600 went along to ëtoolbox talksí, providing training on occupational health issues. The report was funded by the Health and Safety Executive, which also part funded and oversaw the CBH pilot, amongst other construction industry contributors.
The results of health checks demonstrated the importance of health awareness to an industry with high levels of work-related illness and workplace injuries, as well as expected future skills shortages. A third had occupational health issues as a consequence of noise and vibration; while a third were also found to have general health problems, most commonly related to high blood pressure or respiratory issues. Overall, around 600 people needed to be referred to a GP.
Insights into the success of the CBH pilot provided by the IES report have been fundamental in shaping plans for a national scheme for the construction industry.
Claire Tyers, lead report author at IES, said: ìCBH has been ëmyth bustingí. There was a preconception that workers in the industry are irresponsible or not interested in looking after their health. The popularity of the scheme amongst workers clearly contradicts such a view.
ìThere are some managers within the industry who do not want to scrutinise their work practices, and who are unwilling to accept the need for organisational-level change. The research showed, for example, that the training that CBH offered which was aimed at managers was rarely taken up. These same managers were, however, were often very supportive and proactive in putting forward their workers for training.
Within construction, complex subcontractual relationships and casual employment mean that employers often donít really see absence problems as they donít have to ëfoot the billí for their employeesí sickness absence and therefore donít record it or see it as a problem. Similarly, workers may feel financial pressures to come to work even when in other sectors they would be considered too ill to do so, which can store up problems in the longer term.
ìGetting managers more involved is vital, not only because they are decision makers, but also because communication with the workers generally only happens with the go ahead of employers. Consultation with both workers and management about the best way to keep both parties involved should therefore be a part of any future initiatives.î
ëMyth bustingí study reveals health-conscious construction workers
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