‘A family-friendly construction site is not a luxury – it is a necessity’

A family-friendly construction site is not a luxury – it is a necessity for an industry that wants to thrive. The path forward requires courage, commitment, and collaboration between clients, contractors, policymakers, and workers. By reimagining what’s possible, the sector can unlock untapped talent, improve wellbeing and retention, and ultimately build a more modern, human-centric workforce.

These benefits were highlighted in the ‘How to make construction sites more family friendly‘ white paper, which was officially launched by People 3 Construction (P3CL) in May 2025. This initiative was a collaborative effort involving P3CL, Jessica Heagren from Careers After Babies, and members of the Women’s Leadership Group (WLG) community from within the construction sector including representatives from L&Q, Jacobs Tide Away, Sir Robert McAlpine and Bachy Soletanche. The project spanned seven months and aimed to address the challenges faced by working parents in the construction industry.

The white paper delves into the systemic barriers that hinder the creation of family-friendly construction sites, such as inflexible working hours, limited part-time opportunities, inadequate onsite facilities, cultural resistance and policy gaps. It provides actionable recommendations to overcome these challenges.

The publication has been recognised as a significant step towards fostering inclusivity and diversity in the construction sector, particularly in light of the industry’s need to recruit more than 250,000 workers by 2028.

The case for change

The traditional culture of construction – long hours, early starts, rigid schedules, and inflexible working patterns – can be incompatible with modern family life. This disproportionately affects women, who still undertake the majority of caregiving responsibilities and limits the talent pipeline into the industry. With a persistent skills shortage, an ageing workforce and increasing demands for innovation and productivity, construction must reframe its operating model to reflect a 21st-century workforce reality.

Moreover, organisations that embrace family-friendly policies often benefit from improved employee retention, greater engagement, increased productivity and enhanced employer brand. For the construction sector, often perceived as “lagging behind” in terms of diversity and inclusion, this presents a significant opportunity for transformation.

The paper’s key findings and barriers

Our research and stakeholder interviews identified several core barriers to making construction sites more family-friendly:

1. Inflexible working hours: The traditional 7am–3pm site day does not align with school runs or nursery hours, often forcing parents – especially mothers – out of site-based roles.
2. Limited part-time opportunities: Construction still treats part-time or job-sharing arrangements as impractical, despite evidence from other sectors proving their effectiveness.
3. Lack of onsite facilities: Many construction sites lack even basic family-supportive facilities such as clean and safe rest areas, dedicated breastfeeding spaces, or appropriate changing areas.
4. Cultural resistance: There remains a prevailing view that family-friendly measures are ‘soft’ or incompatible with the fast-paced, target-driven environment of construction delivery.
5. Policy gaps: While larger contractors may have family-friendly policies at the corporate level, these are not always translated into site-level practice or tender requirements.

Recommendations

The white paper proposes a series of practical and cultural interventions to address these issues, including:

1. Flexible site schedules: Introducing staggered shift options and compressed working weeks to accommodate different family needs without compromising productivity.
2. Job sharing and returnships: Encouraging part-time roles, job shares, and targeted return-to-work programmes to support those re-entering the workforce after caregiving breaks.
3. Onsite infrastructure: Ensuring that construction sites include accessible, clean facilities for parents, including rest spaces for pregnant workers and private areas for expressing milk.
4. Leadership and language: Senior leaders must champion a cultural shift, using inclusive language and behaviours that normalise parenting responsibilities and flexible working.
5. Policy and procurement reform: Embedding family-friendly criteria into procurement processes and health and safety standards, ensuring contractors are held accountable for inclusive site practices.
6. Showcasing role models: Highlighting real stories of parents – especially women – working successfully in site-based roles to challenge stereotypes and inspire new entrants.

Vicky Brook is the founder of People 3 Construction