Time for a change

A long-hours culture is just as much a part of construction as hard hats, so the revelation in our BSj/Hays salary survey that building services engineers work an average of 44 hours a week will probably come as no surprise. No big deal, you might think - but stop for a moment and think what this actually means. Shockingly, most employers allow employee's hours to exceed the European Working Time Directive.

It's no wonder, then, that the industry faces a labour shortage. In last month's issue, Richard Lawrance, MD of recruitment consultant Resourcing Solutions, estimated that construction will need 10,000 people a year for the next four years. More specifically, there are not enough entrants to the building services sector to compensate for an ageing workforce and the increasing numbers of engineers leaving for a career in an alternative sector.

The problem is that employees want a decent work-life balance, yet employers are failing to modernise their employment practices. Sure, young numerate professionals want a decent salary. But they also want time in which to enjoy it. Significantly, the salary survey found that 60% of employers contacted failed to recognise that commuting played a role in staff retention. Commuting time, a decent holiday entitlement and flexible working were all highlighted by employees as a significant part of a benefits package.

This industry needs to change and fast; it needs to embrace modern working practices if it is to compete for young professionals who are just as much in demand from other sectors. As former CIBSE president Doug Oughton points out (Letters, page 24), any serious attempt to attract young people into the industry requires action on a number of fronts - and work-life balance is one of these.

If firms are serious about retaining staff, they need to eradicate the long hours culture. They could implement flexible working, mobile working, home working or even job sharing. Such measures would work wonders for the image of the industry; possibly helping to ease the recruitment shortfall. And who knows, they might even attract a more diverse workforce to the industry.