Research from Investors in People shows 21% of people employed in the built environment have considered leaving due to the fast pace of change
Furthermore, 38% of built environment workers have stated that they can cope with the pace of change; however, it is increasingly exhausting.
50% of employees have expressed concern about rising workloads and pressure, compared with the national average of 44% across all industries.
Construction workers have many concerns
Other concerns found in the research include: 23% worried that changes would make their job harder, 21% worried about losing control over how they work, and 19% concerned about poor or confusing communication.
There is also a discrepancy between workers and HR noted in the research: 63% of HR leaders in the built environment believe that fears of job loss are a major concern for their employees during times of change, whereas in reality, only 8% of built environment employees worry about that.
Paul Devoy, CEO of Investors in People, said: “We are all dealing with and living through a period of intense and constant change, from the rise of AI to geopolitical uncertainty. This makes transformation more ‘business as usual’ than a ‘one and done’ event. Our research shows that 50% of employees are feeling that change is happening more often this year than in the last three years.”
Professor Julie Hodges, professor of organisational change at Durham University Business School, said: “When it comes to change, people want to know the ‘why’. The reason they ‘resist’ change is because it’s never been explained to them or because they no one has asked them for their views, ideas, or concerns about proposed change. It’s about taking time to explain: Why do we have to change? How and when will we change, and what are the implications of changing?”
Emma du Parcq, head of consulting at the Roffey Park Institute, said: “As soon as you
start involving people in the change, change fatigue becomes less of an issue. People aren’t resistant to change. They are resistant to change that they don’t see the need for, that they think is ill-conceived or that they think is badly implemented. You can resolve change fatigue by doing change in a better way.”
Concerns over replacing planners
In November last year, the Royal Town Planning Institute released the results of a survey showing that the pipeline to replace planners who are due to retire is not long enough to maintain the number of planners available.
This means that of all planners retiring in the next three years, 20% do not have, or will not have, a replacement.
2,500 planners were surveyed, 15% of whom plan to retire, and 5% plan to leave the profession completely. 58% said that they feel frequently overstretched, and 66% said they do not have the capacity in their teams to meet demand.
Dr Victoria Hills, chief executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, said: “Without the planners needed to meet homes and commercial demand, the system simply won’t function. Not only do we risk losing the expertise required to create great places, without a scaled-up pipeline, we risk losing the workforce capacity to plan and enable new development. This report is a stark wakeup call for all to note and act.”
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