Dive brief:
- The construction sector heads a list of sectors with the happier workforce, according to a new report from Bamboo HR. The HR technology company measured employee Net Promoter Score at more than 1,600 companies, calculating how likely workers were to recommend their organization as a place to work over the past three years.
- The report attributed construction workers’ happiness to rising wages and plenty of job opportunities, but also predicted that labor shortages will put pressure on existing employees in the coming months. He suggested that HR professionals focus on hiring and training less experienced workers.
- Recruiters should also watch for discontent, according to the report. From January to May this year, happiness fell by 81%, a sharper drop than the 13% drop from 2020 to the present, which the report attributed to pressure from staffing issues.
Diving knowledge:
Employee happiness across all industries has fluctuated over the past three years amid challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation. However, construction employee happiness has remained high for the most part. However, a commercial workplace is not always the easiest place to work. Construction sites are fraught with danger and the industry is notorious for its high suicide rate and high overdose death rate.
Construction happiness peaked in 2020, Bamboo HR found, as residential projects boomed and material shortages left contractors with a deep backlog of work, bringing stability to workers. Meanwhile, legislation like the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan boosted the economy with more than $4 trillion in investments.
Strong demand for construction jobs from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also helped, as did rising pay: construction hourly wages hit a 40-year high last year.
Happiness has declined slightly since its peak in 2020, and the industry tends to see seasonal patterns in happiness, with scores lower after the fall season and rising as the year winds down.
