The employment relationship of site and office-based managers in SME construction firms

A positive employment relationship forms the cornerstone of a successful business within today's construction industry. Tight labour market conditions and an increasing tendency towards inter company mobility have necessitated firms to go to efforts to ensure that the needs of their employees are met effectively. This paper reports on research which investigated the nature of the employment relationship of managers working for a medium sized construction company. Interviews were carried out with managers based in both project and office environments and a comparison made of their motivation and attitude towards their employing organisation. The results indicate that site managers tend to exhibit less commitment, have lower expectations and less satisfaction than those in office based positions. Reasons for the breakdown of the employment relationship stems from the distributed nature of construction projects and the failure of employers to recognise the needs of their employees based in remote locations. Tentative recommendations are provided as to how construction firms might address such issues in the future through their HRM approaches in relation to career development.