It’s about time: The impact of fluctating work hours on the work-life balance of project-based construction workers

A diary data collection method was used to collect data from project-based construction workers in a large civil engineering construction project in Melbourne, Australia. Data capturing the number of hours worked and satisfaction with work-life balance were collected for 21 consecutive weeks. A strong correlation was found between hours worked each week and participants' work-life experiences. Weekly work hours were found to be significantly negatively correlated with satisfaction with work-life balance. Work intensification leading up to a major project milestone coincided with a dramatic reduction in participants' satisfaction with work-life balance, suggesting that project events have a significant impact upon the work-life experiences of project-based workers. Further, recovery opportunities in the form of regular Rostered Days Off coincided with higher levels of work-life balance satisfaction. It is proposed that construction organizations use the naturally fluctuating workloads implicit in project work to 'build' recovery opportunities into project schedules.