A contractor’s workday is not your typical 9-5. Most put in 12-16hr days, and when they’re off the jobsite they’re right back at their desk coordinating schedules, talking to GCs, following up on administrative tasks, or managing finances. When teams are unable to balance work and home life, they become susceptible to burnout. That impacts not only productivity, efficiency, and safety but also strains personal relationships.
Contractors are in desperate need of relieving workplace stress. According to Construction Safety Week’s website, one in five construction workers struggles with mental health issues. Burnout is a huge contributor to mental health struggles, so finding tools and resources to better balance the workload is essential for not only your business’s wellness but your team’s and your own. We’ll guide you through the main causes of burnout, how to increase flexibility for your teams and your business, and how cloud-based technology promotes work-life integration to improve professional and personal lives, saving you time.
What Causes Burnout
Job burnout is workplace-related stress. When your business is nonstop with no work-life balance and unhealthy work culture, it causes negative physical and mental symptoms like fatigue, irritability, and anxiety. Not only is that dangerous on a jobsite, but it is also dangerous for your business’s long-term wellness with the risk of losing employees. Here are some examples that cause burnout:
– Constantly working overtime. Without proper scheduling and monitoring hours, it’s easy to overwork your teams (and yourself) causing exhaustion. When you’re on the jobsite, that’s a recipe for an accident. When you’re in the office, that’s a recipe for costly mistakes in data. You are also stripping employees of their personal life, like taking time with family, friends, and other outlets they need to relieve work stress.
– Labor shortages will put more workload on individuals. Efficiency and productivity suffer when your business is trying to produce the same volume of work with fewer head count. When you’re stuck in survival mode it causes exhaustion, poor quality work, and resentment from overworked employees.
– Broken workflows and disconnected systems. Let’s be honest, rework is defeating. Whether it’s in the preconstruction phase reentering data or the construction phase rewiring an entire floor, it’s frustrating when poor communication and siloed data causes you to duplicate work. When your systems of process aren’t integrated, your teams get agitated, waste precious time, and lose motivation.
Flexibility Equals Productivity and High Morale
The construction industry needs a culture shift, and that starts with you! Promoting a healthy work-life balance at your company will improve productivity, boost morale, and attract more talent. So, what can you do to make the change?
– Be the leader. Show your team by example and respect your own time boundaries. If you need to work before or after business hours, choose to schedule your emails to deliver during the workday. When you take PTO, don’t check in with your team unless necessary. It will create a domino effect relieving employees of the pressure to be “on” at all times.
– Allow hybrid or remote work environments. Obviously, the construction phase does not allow remote work for everyone involved. But project managers and preconstruction teams can manage much of their responsibility from home with cloud-based platforms and connected workflows.
– Encourage job autonomy. When you allow your team to decide when and how to get their work done (within reason), it gives them a sense of independence and trust from the boss! Give your team the freedom for creative thinking and reduce the pressure of performance expectations. You’ll find a lot more engagement and loyalty!
– Empower your team with technology that promotes work-life integration (more on that, below!). Cloud-based technology improves collaboration, saves time, increases productivity, and allows for remote work.
5 Ways Cloud-Based Technology Promotes Work-Life Integration
Technology allows mobility, connectedness, and flexibility. Work-life balance is important, but that flexibility only works with work-life integration. Using a cloud-based platform like STACK allows you to connect your teams and your workflows, promote a positive (remote!) work environment through collaboration and time management, and improve employee retention.
1. Work on your documents anytime, anywhere, from any device.
STACK allows you and every member of your internal and external teams to access project plans, details, and reports whether you’re in the office, on the jobsite, or at your kitchen counter.
2. See your downtime go up with STACK’s lightning-fast takeoffs and estimating.
STACK customer Allie Gaworecki, Lead Estimator at Three Sons Home Improvement, saves over 8 hours on large projects. What would you do with 8 extra hours!?
3. STACK’s open API is robust and connects your systems to streamline workflows.
You’re able to integrate STACK into your own custom workflow and make it work for your business and your team. Connect your systems to improve collaboration and give people time back in their day
4. Gen Z and Millennials are tech savvy and reliant and expect your business to be as well.
STACK is constantly investing in our platform, updating software, and adding new features from customer feedback. Hear it directly from them!
“STACK is constantly updating the software with new features, streamlining the interface, working out bugs, and improving the functionality.”
– Tom, R3 Painting
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5. Using a workforce and equipment planner keeps your team organized and schedules manageable.
STACK’s project management solution allows you to organize work by individual employees and pieces of equipment. By giving you a clear picture of what workforce is available and when certain tasks are to be completed, you can better manage your team’s time and avoid overworking people.
Stress Less With STACK!
STACK will empower your employees and most importantly give them hours of their day back to reset, recharge, and revive. A highly functioning team produces high–quality work, increasing your business’s profitability. Encourage a positive work environment with the best work-life integration tool in your belt. Try STACK for free today!
