Last night, the film industry turned out for the Oscars and usually the day after would see people discussing whether the awards went to the most deserving nominees. Only this year, the focus has shifted from the actual films as instead everyone is talking about the moment the actor Will Smith walked onto the stage and hit the comedian Chris Rock in the face!
The incident, which took place after Rock had made a joke about Smith’s wife, seemed completely uncharacteristic of the normally professional actor but this got us thinking about how easy it can be to lose your cool at work and whether there are ways to avoid doing just that. Take a look at our latest blog for five ways to keep your cool.
In 2020-21, 1.7 million workers suffered from a work-related illness. For 800,000 of them, this was related to stress, depression or anxiety. Before COVID, it was estimated that mental health issues like these cost UK employers up to £45 billion a year. The pandemic has undoubtedly made things worse and, with mental health issues on the rise, workplace stress is now reported as the number one reason for sick days in the UK.
In response, a new campaign called ‘Working Minds’ is calling for a culture change in Britain’s workplaces, asking them to recognise and respond to the signs of stress as routinely as they would manage workplace safety. Find out more about the campaign and what you could do to tackle work-related stress in this week’s blog.
For any construction project, the position of Site Manager (sometimes referred to as Project Manager) is one of the most important. Whoever takes on this role must oversee the day-to-day management of on-site operations from start to finish (including pre-planning) and ensure all tasks are carried out with a focus on three key things – meeting timescales, keeping within budget and performing to the expected quality standards.
There’s no doubting that being a Site Manager is challenging but, as with many job roles, when some thought and time is given to being more effective, things can become easier and more enjoyable. If you’re wondering how to do this, read our blog for our top five tips.
In last week’s blog, we talked about several upcoming trends in construction with an increase in the use of robots being one of the things many people in the industry are expecting to see this year.
Just a week later, we hear news of an innovative bricklaying robot that’s just secured accreditation from the housing warranty and insurance provider, NHBC.
Could the rise of the robots be about to begin? Keep reading to find out more…
For any company to be successful, good leadership is essential. This is true across many different industries and the main issue for construction businesses is achieving this at all the various leadership levels across their organisation. Among other things, we need great leaders in the office to provide direction on the business strategy, principles and procedures; we need great leaders on board at the very beginning of every project to engage with clients and oversee safety, costs and budgeting; and we need great leaders on the ground at each site to manage schedules, monitor progress and motivate the team. With so much riding on it, we’re taking a moment this week to reflect on what good leadership in construction actually looks like.