Worker Satisfaction and Work-Life Related Characteristics in the U.S. Construction Industry

Abstract

While the U.S Construction industry is currently experiencing minimal shortage in craft workers, the shortages that existed prior to the current economic downturn are likely to return. Previous research argues that worker satisfaction plays an important role in retaining and attracting more workers into the construction industry. The authors previously presented a longitudinal study at the 2003 ASCE Construction Research Congress that examined construction worker characteristics related with satisfaction, including race, union status, education attainment, age, and worker preference from 1970s to 1990s. This paper extends those analyses along with investigation of work-life related characteristics (e.g. respondents' annual income and spousal employment) among U.S. construction workers from 1970s to 2000s, utilizing the General Social Survey (GSS) data. A comparison of these demographic characteristics between construction and other industries is made as well.