How the Covid-19 pandemic helped to achieve better well-being in construction: a case study

Abstract

Laing O’Rourke, like all other construction businesses, was confronted with a raft of challenges at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper describes the approach adopted across the business to transform its focus on well-being and improve people’s energy levels. It focused on three Hs: being more human, hybrid working and home complementing work, not competing. The approach has supported better well-being and performance by focusing on the type of work that needed to be done and how it is done. Removing the focus on where work was done has led to greater personal sustainability for project delivery teams and the functional colleagues who support them.