Could hybrid working help to address the construction skills shortage?

Five years ago, the Covid pandemic made home working a necessity for many. In the frequent debate over what hybrid working arrangements should look like, some people consistently bang the drum for employees working only from the office. In this very personal post, Rob Firman (Technical and Specification Manager) reflects on a moment of family interaction and the challenges of working from home.

My home working journey began when I joined Polyfoam XPS in 2017, long before Covid-19 disrupted usual working patterns for so many people. The choice was necessitated by simple geography – Polyfoam’s head office in Hartlepool is a 260-mile drive from the wilds of sunny Suffolk. Not what you would call a viable daily commute!

Missing the spontaneity of office life

As lots of people have found since 2020, working from home presents challenges. Not least, that interactions with colleagues are mostly limited to phone calls or Teams meetings.

I do miss the camaraderie of office life; and especially the spontaneous and free-flowing discussions around products, performance and regulations.

Despite this, at Polyfoam we are lucky to be part of a great team of people. Everyone is open and supportive, whether over the phone, on the factory floor, in the office, or on the road. That positive culture helps to lessen the negative impacts of home working.

Separating work and home life

Another risk inherent in working at home is never truly feeling off the clock, and this was something I recognised early on.

Especially with two young children, creating a modest garden office gave me a useful haven away from the hustle and bustle of family life.

Compared to that 260-mile distance between home and office, the walk to my office is a mere 15 seconds. Some may think it doesn’t like much separation, but it makes a crucial difference compared to working at the dining room table.

Not that home life doesn’t find ways to interfere, of course. From time to time a Teams meeting or WiFi call has been disrupted thanks to online FIFA games or the latest Netflix show sharing the bandwidth. Only now, eight years into this working arrangement, have I overcome the issue by finally perfecting the positions of my WiFi extenders!

The benefits of home working are clear

None of what I’ve described has stopped me carrying out my role, which is varied and includes the chance to work regularly with designers, specifiers, system holders and industry peers, as well as colleagues.

The additional benefits have been clear: countless hours of commuting saved; the opportunity to customise my work environment; and a space in which to focus on tasks when needed.

And, of course, my family are never too far away. That means I’m sometimes greeted by something at my desk that really makes me smile.

This morning, my youngest son surprised me. On top of a draft copy of the soon-to-be-published Polyfoam XPS Orange Book were four pieces of paper. They said:

‘Bob’

‘You Are’

‘The’

‘Best Dad’

Leaving aside his insistence on calling me Bob rather than Dad, moments like this remind you of the privilege of working from home. Enjoying a balance of professional and personal life cannot be underestimated.

Inspiring – and being inspired by – the next generation

Now he’s 10, my youngest considers it far too unfashionable to come and sit in the office with his dad. But in the first few years of working from home, he would often finish pre-school and come to sit on the sofa behind my desk.

While reading, or colouring, or drawing, he also developed a surprising understanding of concepts like U-values, inverted roofs, and damp proof membranes.

Much is made of the skills shortage in construction, and rightly so. The industry needs to take steps to address it now, but it also needs to find ways to attract the next generation of talent.

I don’t know if my youngest son is destined for a career in the industry. What I do know is that, without working from home, it wouldn’t have been possible to give him an insight into what I do and our small part of the construction industry.