The Digital Provide
Can the use of mobile communication technologies improve the work and home life of construction site staff?
The separation of work and home life has always been difficult in construction due to the project nature of work and the long hours demanded of its workers. In particular, the work-life balance of managerial site staff is precarious. They work longer hours per week than their regional and head office counter-parts and have the highest levels of work-family conflict and burnout of all construction staff. In fact, their levels of work-family conflict and burnout are amongst the highest of any occupational group. The purpose of this proposed research is to examine whether MCT (mobile communication technologies) can assist with, rather than just detract from, better levels of work-life balance for site personnel. A mixed methods approach will be used incorporating questionnaires and focus groups with relevant site based staff.
This project was funded via the Brookfield Multiplex Research Program program.