Improvement measures to achieve sustainable construction labour performance

Construction industry is the largest industrial employer of the world. However, construction labour suffers from declining productivity, job satisfaction and wellbeing. Given its volume and labour extensiveness, measures undertaken to improve labour sustainability of the construction industry would have high impact for the future. To improve the sustainability of labour performance, this paper suggests decision-making measures at the strategic, tactical, and operational levels. Data is generated through targeted interviews of the top management of the five biggest Norwegian construction contractors. The measures suggested by the interviewees are analyzed and complemented with theory through a systematic literature review, resulting in the development of 45 measures to achieve sustainable labour performance at strategic, tactical and operational decision-making levels. Due to strict labour laws and regulations, some frequently reported measures in literature do not hold relevance to the Norwegian construction industry. However, the quality of data and unique position of the Norwegian construction industry magnifies its relevance to the global construction industry.