Workplace health and wellbeing in construction and retail. Sector specific issues and barriers to resolving them

• Published date: 13 June 2016
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-08-2015-0053
• Date: 13 June 2016
• Pages: 251-268
• Author: Fiona Carmichael,Sarah-Jane Hannah Fenton,Monica Viviana Pinilla-Roncancio,Marea Sing,Steven Sadhra
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Healthcare management

Workplace health and wellbeing

in construction and retail

Sector specific issues and barriers

to resolving them

Fiona Carmichael

Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham,

Birmingham, UK, and

Sarah-Jane Hannah Fenton, Monica Viviana Pinilla-Roncancio,

Marea Sing and Steven Sadhra

University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

Abstract

Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of the health and wellbeing issues faced

within the construction and retail sectors and the difficulties faced in addressing these issues.

Design/methodology/approach –This is a small, qualitative pilot study based on in-depth, semi-

structured interviews with a purposively sampled group of representatives with expert knowledge

from seven firms in the construction sector and three firms in the retail sector.

Findings –Health and safety concerns in construction were pervasive. Causes were strongly tied to

industry practice and structures such as short-term and sub-contracting as well as long hours and a

masculine culture. In the retail establishments concerns tended to be more holistic, focusing on

wellbeing and encompassing work satisfaction. Industry leaders in construction are proactive in trying

to address these issues, particularly in regard to safety. The multi-dimensionality of the concept of

workplace wellbeing implies the need for a holistic approach to interventions.

Research limitations/implications –This research was initiated as a pilot study, as part of a wider

project in collaboration with a business partner, and is limited by the sample size.

Practical implications –These findings should be incorporated into sector specific research on

workplace wellbeing and occupational health initiatives.

Social implications –Workplace wellbeing programmes need to be constructed holistically as

wellbeingis a multi-dimensional conceptencompassing quality of life as wellas effectsof work on health.

Originality/value –An in-depth study with industry experts that increases knowledge of the

underlying causes of workplace health and wellbeing issues in construction and retail and the barriers

to addressing them.

Keywords Workplace health, Workplace wellness, Retail, Construction

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

Health and wellbeing in the workplace is of paramount importance to individuals,

businesses and society at large. The workplace is where people in employment spend

most of their waking hours, and the workplace community is one to which most adults

belong. A healthy and happier working population is not only an ethical priority for

business, but can also benefit business materially through increased productivity and

reduced costsassociated with injuries and illnessincluding costs relatingto presenteeism

and sickness absence (Hosie and Sevastos, 2015; Goetzel and Ozminkowski, 2006;

Shain and Kramer,2004). There are also wider costs to society of ill healthreflected in the

priority given to health policy, and the workplace has been identified as an important

International Journal of Workplace

Health Management

Vol. 9 No. 2, 2016

pp. 251-268

©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited

1753-8351

DOI 10.1108/IJWHM-08-2015-0053

Received 31 August 2015

Revised 18 January 2016

Accepted 22 February 2016

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

www.emeraldinsight.com/1753-8351.htm

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Workplace

health and

wellbeing

setting in whichto implement interventions toreduce the health care risk associatedwith

inactivity and being overweight (World Health Organization, 2011).

The focus of this study on the construction and retail sectors reflects previous

research which suggests that both sectors but the former in particular have significant

workplace and industry-level stresses.For example, in reviews of previous researchhigh

levels of stress have been reported in construction particularly for project managers

(Fenton et al., 2015; Love and Edwards, 2005). Love et al. (2010) claim that “construction

professionals are subjected to a plethora of occupational demands that can have a

negative effect on their psychological wellbeing”noting that “such demands can have

an adverse influence on individual and organisational performance”(Love et al.,2010,

p. 650). Du Plessiset al. (2013, p. 716) link poor health outcomes includingmusculoskeletal

degradation, high rates of disability, chronic disease and mortality for male blue-collar

construction workers in Australia to the physical nature of their work. Du Plessis et al.

(2013) also point to the high proportion of short-term projects in construction and

consequent lossof continuity as another causal factor underlyingstressful environments

in the sector. In the UK the Health and Safety Executive (2014) report higher than

average rates of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) in four sectors that include

specialised construction the other three being agriculture, postal and courier and health

care. In a comparison of occupations the UK Health and Safety Executive (2014) also

identifies the building trades along with nursing, personal care and skilled agriculture

trades as having higher rates of total cases of MSDs. This body of evidence also

highlights some policy and practice implications. For example, the work of Groeneveld

et al. (2011) on construction workers in the Netherlands and to a less extent that of

Sorensen et al. (2007) in the USA and Canada, highlight a role for sustained intervention

programs to encourage smoking cessation. Love et al. (2010, p. 657) also note that while

self and social stress were contributors to poor mental health of construction managers,

“the presence of work supports may be an important factor in preventing stress”and

“social and worksupports may have a preventative rolein stress conditions arising from

the workplace by actively promoting good mental health”.

However, the construction sector is not alone in being associated with particular

mental and physical health risks. For example, Wilson et al. (2004, p. 582) found that in

the retail sector “work characteristics influence psychological work adjustment factors

that ultimately affect employee health and well-being”. In a Canadian study, Marchand

(2007) found that that the retail trade was one of four industries where higher risks of

poorer mental health were concentrated (the others were manufacturing; wholesale;

transportation and warehousing). An earlier study (Vézina and Gingras, 1996) also

found higher risks for mental health problems in seven sectors that included shoe,

clothing, and textile retail stores, department stores and restaurant services. Braun and

Morton (2008, p. 6) additionally found that the sales and services (including retail)

as well as trade (including construction) sectors were among the four Canadian sectors

reporting the highest smoking rates (the other two were transport or equipment

operators and processing, manufacturing or utilities occupations). In another Canadian

study, Macdonald et al. (2006) found that Employee Assistance Programmes were

under-represented in both the retail trade and the construction industries. They

attributed this to the types of employment contracts within these two sectors

specifically lower wages and benefits for retail and trade workers and the high

percentage of contract workers in construction (Macdonald et al., 2006, p. 124). This

body of evidence confirms that the construction sector is associated with a high

incidence of health and wellbeing risks. However, other sectors, including the retail

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