Workaholics on site! Sustainability of site managers' work situations?

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Sandberg, R, Raidén, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7176-1139 and Räisänen, C, 2016. Workaholics on site! Sustainability of site managers' work situations? In: Prins, M, Wamelink, H, Giddings, B, Ku, K and FEENSTRA, M, eds., Environmental opportunites and challenges: constructioning commitment and acknowledging human experiences. Proceedings of the CIB World Building Congress 2016, Tampere, Finland, 30 May - 3 June 2016. Tampere: Tampere University of Technology. ISBN 9789521537424

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Abstract

Site-managerial practice in construction has been depicted as a 'muddling through', being everywhere at the same time and skilfully solving problems as these crop up. The purpose of this paper is to explore work patterns and related well-being implications of site managers in construction. Drawing on the work-life stories of 21 site managers, which have been analysed using narrative analysis we argue that muddling through put high demands on these managers' abilities and possibilities of coping with and balancing their work situations. In all the accounts, several features of workaholism were identified as driving forces, often leading to negative well-being symptoms. The site managers were passionate about their work, but deplored organisational and institutional constraints, which mostly obstructed rather than supported or facilitated their work. This resulted in periods of exhaustion and stress, leaving little energy over for family and life outside work. We conclude that the warnings we perceive concerning the unsustainable work situations of site managers warrant further research.

Item Type:	Chapter in book
Creators:	Sandberg, R., Raidén, A. and Räisänen, C.
Publisher:	Tampere University of Technology
Place of Publication:	Tampere
Date:	2016
Volume:	II
ISBN:	9789521537424
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham Business School
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	20 Jul 2016 15:08
Last Modified:	09 Jun 2017 14:04
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28166