Construction Productivity and Job Satisfaction

This article reports a portion of the findings of a study of the relationships between job satisfaction and construction productivity. Its objective was to clarify current thinking on personal work relationships, understandings, and communication as they affect home office management, field supervisors, and workmen. Data were collected from 65 in-depth interviews of 1 hr to 5 hr each with management and labor from companies employing carpenters, electricians, plumbers, pipe fitters, and sheet metal workers primarily from St. Louis, MO, with supplemental interviewing from Los Angeles and San Francisco. The research showed that in construction satisfactions are inherent in the work itself. It follows that efforts to improve job satisfaction and productivity lie in well-planned, smooth work flow rather than in job enrichment, as is advocated by organizational behaviorists for industrial or bureaucratic work situations.