Changes in Job Situations for Women Workforce in Construction during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced unique circumstances to women workforce in construction including the need to work from home, changes in job situations and family responsibilities following the lockdowns. This exploratory study was conducted around six months into the pandemic in examining the changes of their job situations, and their perceptions of career aspects during the pandemic. The results show that most respondents were employed full-time at the time of survey, and that there were profound changes to their work location and working hours including working from home and worked more hours than usual. Their perceived negative impacts of the pandemic on their capacity to engage in paid work activities due to caring responsibilities, pay or earnings, job security, and career progression and advancement are modest. They were also seemingly confident in staying in their job in the next 12-month. Their perceptions have been found significantly associated with their age, education level, and years of experience in the industry. These findings provide a critical insight on women’s job situations in the industry during the pandemic, with implications for human resource practices towards addressing the challenges in retention of women workforce during and post COVID-19 pandemic.

A Comprehensive Approach to Capturing the Impact and Identifying Countermeasures of the COVID-19 Pandemic at Construction Sites in the Republic of Korea

“…Since the emergence of COVID-19, experts have conducted training, especially at construction sites, to educate workers [10]. To prevent the spread of the disease in the field, educational content should continue to be provided, and workers should be able to reconfigure tasks based on updated risk rankings for the virus [19,35].…”

“…(2) Working from home (telecommuting) Construction workers were burdened by COVID-19 due to the implementation of telecommuting, changes in job conditions, and additional responsibilities in caring for family members [35]. However, many companies lacked the digital infrastructure to transition to remote working and faced difficulty accessing software or other necessary resources [25,26].…”

“…However, many companies lacked the digital infrastructure to transition to remote working and faced difficulty accessing software or other necessary resources [25,26]. Some experts argue that the shift towards telecommuting can reduce overhead costs and improve work flexibility, resulting in more efficient office space [33,35]. Moreover, companies are improving their technological infrastructure to facilitate collaboration between suppliers, subcontractors, and other partner companies [14,37].…”

Women Workforce in Construction during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Strategies

“…It is noted that there are limited publications on proposed strategies or guidance on women's career progression in the industry (Menches and Abraham 2007;Francis 2017), and that the advice and recommendations shared by authors are based on the knowledge accumulated before the COVID-19 pandemic. With no exception, the pandemic has introduced unique circumstances and challenges to women workforce in construction, these include the need to work from home, changes in job situations, changes in housework, childcare and home-schooling following the COVID lockdowns (Oo and Lim 2021). Gausman and Langer (2020) urge that it is a matter of urgency to adopt a gender lens to study the impacts of the pandemic on disadvantaged populations and resource-poor communities, where women are especially vulnerable.…”