How Does the Five-Day Work Week Impact Labour Productivity? Exploring the Perceptions of Australian Construction Workers
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1. Impact of Demanding Work Schedules
1.2. Importance of Time for Recovery
1.3. Theories Linking Recovery to Health and Productivity
1.4. Productivity Mesaurement
1.5. Research Aim
- How does a five-day on/two-day off project work schedule impact the subjective productivity of construction workers?
- What factors contribute to subjective productivity of construction workers working on a five-day on/two-day off project work schedule?
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sampling Strategy
2.2. Instruments
- How do you like your work schedule?
- Can you do all your assigned work within your five-day work schedule?
- Has your productivity been impacted by working a five-day week?
3. Results
3.1. Participant Demographics
3.2. Themes
3.2.1. Productivity on Saturday
3.2.2. Associating More Hours with Higher Productivity
3.2.3. Rest and Recovery
3.2.4. Choice and Control over Non-Work Time
3.2.5. Mental Health
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Project | Sample | Gender | Age Range (Years) | Employer | Daily Work Hours (Mean) | Years Working in Construction (Mean) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Male | Female | Constructor | Subcontractor | |||||
1 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 25–52 | 14 | 3 | 10.6 | 8.6 |
2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 26–50 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9.8 |
3 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 19–52 | 13 | 6 | 10 | 10.8 |
4 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 22–58 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
5 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 19–69 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 16.8 |
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Turner, M.; Lingard, H.; Pirzadeh, P. How Does the Five-Day Work Week Impact Labour Productivity? Exploring the Perceptions of Australian Construction Workers. Buildings 2025, 15, 787. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15050787
Turner M, Lingard H, Pirzadeh P. How Does the Five-Day Work Week Impact Labour Productivity? Exploring the Perceptions of Australian Construction Workers. Buildings. 2025; 15(5):787. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15050787
Chicago/Turabian StyleTurner, Michelle, Helen Lingard, and Payam Pirzadeh. 2025. "How Does the Five-Day Work Week Impact Labour Productivity? Exploring the Perceptions of Australian Construction Workers" Buildings 15, no. 5: 787. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15050787
APA StyleTurner, M., Lingard, H., & Pirzadeh, P. (2025). How Does the Five-Day Work Week Impact Labour Productivity? Exploring the Perceptions of Australian Construction Workers. Buildings, 15(5), 787. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15050787