Clifford Chance

Will lockdown's great working from home experiment, plus the trend towards digitalised construction, lead to greater equality in the construction industry? Will the current "can do" attitude extend post coronavirus?

I have found that less than pleasant experiences when you are starting out in your career tend to stick in the mind. As a shiny, newly qualified construction lawyer I was once keenly (and successfully) arguing a point for my client when I was told by the man sitting opposite me at the negotiation table that "this is what happens when you have women in the construction industry". He didn’t mean it as a compliment. Roll forward 20 years and nobody would dare to make such a remark, at least not to my face, but I have a sneaking suspicion that in some quarters (albeit thankfully a minority view these days) those attitudes persist. That is a shame in an industry which I love and where I am proud to work.

I have been incredibly impressed by the flexible, "can do" attitude shown by those developers and contractors on site over the last month in these tough circumstances, and I am hoping that the same enlightened approach will be taken by the construction industry with regard to the continued pressure to work from home where possible. The trend towards digitalised and industrialised construction (see our previous blog on this subject) means that working from home need not be limited to traditionally office based roles.

I sense a real opportunity to unlock the female talent that is in many cases lost to the construction sector due to the culture of presenteeism. That culture simply does not fit with the increasing number of people who wish to achieve better balance between the competing demands and interests in their lives – whether it be mothers (or fathers for that matter) who want to see more of their children during the working week, carers with responsibilities to dependents, those who choose to live further away from their offices and thus wish to reduce their commute occasionally, or for any other reason.

Working from home is no longer something to be hidden like a guilty secret, or admitted only to the more enlightened. It is no longer the preserve of parents trying to balance child care responsibilities with a career. Everyone is doing it, including, vitally, senior management and my straw poll has revealed that many have been pleasantly surprised about how much more productive they are, how much time they save by not travelling and how efficient video meetings can be. People in the construction industry work hard, and any nagging doubts about working from home being a soft option have been dispelled by long days in front of the laptop and on video calls. I am not advocating by any means that the office should be abandoned. Meeting in person in the office (many of which, I am proud to say, have been developed by our clients) is not only enjoyable, but is absolutely vital to team building, training and is the best way to resolve tricky issues. I suspect, however, that many in the industry would like the option to work from home more regularly where their role allows it, given some jobs will always be tied to the site or manufacturing facility. Flexibility is key, but for true work/life harmony to be achieved in a sustainable way, it takes a team effort with men and women both becoming invested in, and skilled at, balancing home life with work.

I am hopeful that out of this terrible pandemic will come something good, including that we will finally see a greater participation of women in the construction industry driven by shifting mindsets, a revolution in flexible working and digitalised construction. I hope that "this is what happens when you have women in the construction industry" will be a compliment at last.