Is a compressed workweek viable for work-life balance in the Irish construction industry? An exploratory study into a four-day week

The concept of the compressed workweek (CWW) is not a new phenomenon, as research has shown that it improves work-life balance and can reduce mental and physical health problems. On the contrary, the construction industry is renowned as being a notoriously overworked sector plagued by presenteeism. This research aims to identify if a CWW (four-day) is viable for work-life balance in the Irish construction industry. Taking a mixed methods research approach, six semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with the emerging themes being analysed thematically combined with a questionnaire survey distributed to industry professionals and analysed using statistical review techniques. The findings showed that many in the workforce have a range of health problems from working long hours with a consequent detrimental effect on their productivity. People have an unsatisfactory work-life balance in a highly pressurised industry, and a CWW is viewed as a highly desired solution to address this problem. The contribution of this exploratory study is that it demonstrates that a four-day CWW is viable and can improve the lifestyle and work-life balance of the Irish construction industry workforce.