How construction worker motivation lacks in the construction industry
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  • Writer's pictureJohn Macedo

How construction worker motivation lacks in the construction industry

Updated: May 27, 2022


▶️Construction workers tend to get forgotten in favor of the construction management staff due to one simple fact: They are out on the field.

The higher-ranking officials within the construction company typically get all the praise since they work together in the office and tend to have more customer interactions than the other construction workers. The simple big picture of the construction business can be a large key in the motivational model as to why they are underappreciated, but it doesn't have to be like that.


​👉🏻project management work can be complex and challenging, requiring employees to develop skills and ways of thinking. To create motivational factors and motivate employees to meet these challenges, project manager need to provide clear Direction, data collection, and regular feedback.


In terms of Direction, the project manager needs to settings clear goals and expectations for the project success and draw the big picture. They should also provide regular updates on project work completed or progress so that employees know what needs to be done and by when.


Furthermore, the collection of data is an important part of any project, as it helps to track progress and identify areas where improvements can be made. Finally, regular feedback from managers is essential in motivating employees, as it helps to identify areas of development and identify any training needs.


✅Developing an employee work motivation model is essential for project management success, better performance, employee development, and worker productivity. By setting clear goals, providing data-driven feedback, and offering regular development opportunities, managers can create a positive and motivating environment for their employees.


construction workers motivation is lacking in the construction industry as the focus is on top management and not on the low ranking workers.

Ask yourself:

• Do you compliment your workers often? • Do you take a few minutes out of your day (or week) to talk to them? • Have you spoken to workers about their well being and future? • Did you ever give your workers a gift, or throw them a party? If you didn't respond YES to all, or at least one third, you could be a better leader.

⚡And before you ask yourself why you should worry about this in the big picture, be aware that a company's workers are the MOST important people for a company (yes, the construction workers, NOT the customers). Your own guys are responsible for getting the job well done in time and following a quality standard, and THAT is what makes a company great.


Slow is fast for increased work productivity, find out more here


Construction industry workers are essential to the successful completion of any construction project. They are the ones who do the hard work of physically building the project management. As such, it is important for workers to be motivated to work harder and do their best.


▶️A construction project manager title has the ability to level up work motivation and personal goals of construction labor productivity on a construction site for a better working environment. intrinsic motivation is key to ensuring that construction industry workers are motivated to work hard. This can be accomplished by providing positive reinforcement and by creating a working environment that is conducive to success.


By understanding and applying principles of organizational behavior and human behavior, a construction project manager can create a construction team that is motivating and empowering for workers. This will, in turn, lead to a better working environment and a more successful construction project.

✳️So with that in mind, let's go through what you can do to improve your worker's happiness:

APPRECIATION

So how do you resolve such an issue within your company, and are you to blame for this?


Are you applying the principles of construction management on the construction site similar to successful construction project managers in the rest of the construction industry?

⚠️The answer to this question might surprise you. The fact of the matter is that even construction workers require a little work motivation from time to time and the fact that nobody else is doing it can be HUGE key factors to your advantage.

To fix this efficiently and productively, the best thing you as an employer and manager title of the whole team can do is to schedule phone calls and make sure the construction workers can share their opinions and feel heard. Yes, have a chat, simple like that.


➡️A construction project manager can help construction workers fulfill their highest potential in several ways. First, by providing financial incentives for meeting milestones or completing tasks ahead of schedule, workers are motivated to perform at their best.


➡️Second, by maintaining open lines of communication and being understanding of personal life circumstances, you can motivate your construction workers and make them feel valued and are more likely to be engaged with their work.


➡️Finally, by regularly evaluating the progress of the construction project and making necessary adjustments, the manager can ensure that construction workers are always aware of the goals and objectives they need to achieve. By taking these steps, a construction project manager can create an environment in which workers can thrive and reach their full potential.

To do this efficiently, open up the list of each and every one of your employees.

Talk to them on a weekly or even on a monthly basis, to acknowledge their existence and efforts completely. For the most productive workers that quickly climb up the labour ladder, you can also give gifts as a way to motivate others to

work better and together.

This is important, as the more the workers feel like their efforts are being acknowledged and rewarded, and by this, we mean more than just the payday they receive, the more effort they will put into their future work for personal development and job security. Everyone wins in this situation. The moment you master the psychological process of valuing your employees efficiently, the better the results you will inevitably get out of your own efforts.


⚠️Working in construction management, one of your most important responsibilities is to motivate your team to work hard and be productive. One way to do this is by establishing professional relationships with your workers. By taking an interest in their lives and getting to know them on a personal level, you can show them that you care about them as people, not just as employees.


This can go a long way towards satisfying their social needs and improving job satisfaction. In addition, by understanding their life experiences and perspectives, you can better understand what motivates them and how to tap into that motivation. By improving managerial practices with your workers, you can create a more positive work environment and improve productivity.

"TRUE MEN DON'T NEED PEP TALKS..."

It is a fact that the majority of construction workers are men. This would lead some people to the conclusion that male workers need less appreciation, which is false.

⚡The best way to resolve this is to appreciate each and every one of your workers in person. If this does not come easy to you, you can also do this through the usage of modern technology. This can be in the form of a phone call, a voice message, a text message, or our personal favorite, a live stream with the front camera on your phone where you are directly addressing them, as this will make them feel appreciated the most.

Keep in mind that even saying one thing nice here and there to the worker can make a huge difference in their eyes and mind, it does not have to be a gift, still, it is much better than nothing at all.

▶️ Start with the basics: Start with a simple “thanks” or “good work”, however you need to know that through a reward system, you can help your worker know that their performance is much more appreciated and it will raise your popularity in their eyes.

Punishing them for bad performance is also a big “no” in anyone’s book, as they will see the positive feedback the best performers get and will want to emulate that same experience and feel wanted, feel rewarded. Appreciation is the perfect way to transfer the information to your employees that you are indeed a good person, and the material rewards will motivate them and push them even further on the productivity scale.


HARSH ENVIRONMENT FACTOR

The construction environment is harsh in its very nature. The life of the average workers can be filled with stress due to the environment, due to the fact that it is rough, filled with tool time, and a lot of loud noises. the big picture is sometimes unbearable when it comes to this environment.


▶️ This can lead to them easily getting stressed as a result. Do not cut corners and let this be an excuse to underappreciate your employees or not appreciate them at all when they do good work. Again, this is not dependent on the rank, and you can appreciate people both under your rank and over your rank.


You lose nothing by appreciating your coworkers, and it is a sign of humility and strength.


⚠️You see, many people get this idea that being nice to people is a sign of weakness, that they might use this to their advantage and manipulate you in the future.


However, this is not the case, and even if those people end up being like that, those are the kind of people you do not want around you, and you do not want in your company as a whole. It is our job to ensure that our employee’s or co-worker's mental health is great and that they are in an environment that is appreciated and helpful towards everyone’s state of mind.


JUST START

All of this may seem like too much work, effort, and so time-consuming that you would end up losing valuable progress on other tasks as a result.

If you have hundreds of thousands of tasks that are unfinished and require your full attention, the last thing you probably want to do is go out there and talk with the construction workers, who should probably be doing work anyway.


✳️ This is a completely valid argument at a first glance, but completely wrong in the long term.


Happy workers will work more efficiently, take care of each other, and feel included in the company's business and construction contracts. You will notice a huge improvement in work ethic, reliability, teamwork, and retention rates for your company.


Besides that, appreciating the construction workers and making them feel like they are a part of something bigger, a bigger team building efforts, a bigger cause because, at the end of the day, their hard work and effort are what truly matters.


Putting this effort in is a sign of empathy and will increase your worker's mental health and wellbeing in general.

APPRECIATION EXAMPLES

Here are some methods that we here at Spades implement, that could potentially copy:


1 - Ask your workers how they are doing personally, ask them about their well being, life, family, free time, new things in their life, and so on.


2 - Ask your workers what their plans for the future and personal life goals are and help them plan them if you can.


3 - Occasionally give them a gift, and make sure that their hygiene factors tools and PPE (equipment worn to minimize exposure to a variety of hazards) are in order, and make sure that you are proactive about buying new PPE for them if it is required.


4 - You can also help them with anything else they might need at the time.


5 - Try offering them courses that can be beneficial to both their personal growth, human behaviour as well as the company itself.


6 - You can even schedule integration events such as BBQ parties for example to keep company and employee morale up.


7 - Just be more connected. Show yourself open to help them when they need it, and solve problems that might happen to them in the workplace or even personal ones.

✅ The more construction worker motivation has, the better the end result and product will end up being as a result.



A construction project manager's ability to establish solid relationships with construction professionals can play an important role in motivating workers and improving productivity. By understanding the big picture and what workers need in their personal lives, managers can create construction work environments that meet those basic needs.


Incentives like financial bonuses can also encourage workers to put forth their best work. By establishing social relationships with the construction team, construction project managers can create a more positive and productive environment and work conditions.


Motivation is key to retaining the best construction workers and getting the most productivity out of them.


​👉🏻As any construction manager knows, motivation is key to retaining the best workers and getting the most productivity out of them. Work experience and skills are critical factors in workers retention rates. The longer a worker has been with a company, the more likely they are to be motivated to stay. construction managers can build construction team morale by setting clear goals and providing feedback on progress.


They can also show appreciation for a job well done with rewards and recognition. In addition, construction management can create positive management practices by being approachable and accessible to their team. By taking these steps, construction managers can ensure that

team members

t their team is motivated and productive.


Top theories that explain motivation, and project manager and workers relation

There are a variety of theories that explain motivation and the relationship between construction project managers and workers. One of the most popular theories is self realization and self determination theory, which suggests that people are motivated to achieve goals when they have a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.


Motivational theories also emphasise the importance of goal setting and suggest that people are more likely to be motivated if they have specific and challenging goals to strive for. Expectancy theory posits that people will be more motivated if they believe that their efforts will lead to desired outcomes. Adamas equity theory suggests that people compare their own inputs and outputs to those of others, and seek to achieve a sense of fairness.


​👉🏻Finally, reinforcement theory posits that people are more likely to repeat behaviours that are associated with positive outcomes. Construction companies can use these theories to inform their management style and create an environment that is conducive to motivation. Social interaction also plays a role in motivation, and workers may be more motivated if they feel a sense of camaraderie with their colleagues. Ultimately, there is no single answer to what motivates people, but by understanding the various theories, empirical studies, and case studies, construction companies can create workplaces that encourage employee motivation.


NEED HELP?

This Is why it might be in your best interest to outsource your workers to a labour hire company such as Spades. Not only we can provide you with workers, but they can be on-boarded both for a smaller amount of time and permanently.


A labor hire company can provide extra manpower to a project manager in order to get the best construction team in the market. This is often necessary when there is a lot of work that needs to be done in a short term. The company can also offer financial incentives to the workers in order to motivate them to work harder or just do some extra work.


In addition, the workers will be able to maintain a good work-life balance as they will not have to work extra hours. The company can also provide training programs for the workers so that they can improve their skills. Finally, the company can help to meet the workers' human needs by providing them with food and shelter.

This means that if you are on-season and require a lot of workers unexpectedly, we can supply you with these workers. Then, when it is off-season, they can leave and you do not need to pay for workers that you will not be requiring to do any work. As a result, this makes it an extremely flexible option for onboarding new team members.



Spades Hire Company is a leading provider of construction engineering management and construction management services. We offer a full range of services to improve productivity and job satisfaction for our clients. Our engineering management journal services include project management, construction management, and operations management.


We also offer a wide variety of literature review services. Our international journal papers are peer reviewed articles and meet the highest quality standards of published articles. We also offer a full range of cost engineering consulting services. Our engineering consultants are experienced professionals who can provide you with the advice you need to improve your business. Contact us today to learn more about our engineering management services and international journal blog, and we can arrange a meeting next to the prentice hall.


▶️And of course, Spades can handle all your human relations in the construction and civil engineering space, so all you have to do is finish other decision making goals that truly require your full and utmost attention.

Spades is a company that specializes in the construction industry sectors, as we take care of each and every one of our workers individually at a high level and ensure that each and every one of them feel appreciated, so they get their job well done.

We look after our workers as well as we work after our clients, and after all, at the end of the day, we are all on this journey together, and as long as everyone feels valued, appreciated, and understood, there will not be any issues in project management, not now nor in the future due to the high level of support we offer.

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JOHN MACEDO

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I believe together we can create a "people first" Australian Construction Industry 

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