The Construction Worker’s Social Experience: Age and Position

The construction industry does not have a great reputation for its workplace compared to other industries. A tolerant workplace has positive impacts on employee productivity. While existing research has analyzed the cultural and social experiences of construction workers across gender lines, no research has analyzed such experiences based on age or role. The purpose of this paper is to compare the construction workforce's attitudes to social and cultural issues across different age groups, and whether they have a supervisory role. In this study, we surveyed 2,740 construction workers across the US using an online questionnaire. The survey participants were asked to rate statements adopted from the General Social Survey on how they feel on a Likert scale ranging from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree" regarding five specific issues. Key findings show that younger workers and non-supervisors have a statistically significant worse experience compared to their colleagues.