Building a better work-life balance in the construction industry: Insights and recommendations from a developing country’s megaproject

Work-life balance involves effectively managing professional and personal responsibilities to enhance overall well-being and avoid burnout. Employees in the construction industry face challenges like long hours, high workloads, inadequate organisational support and irregular work schedules. This research focused on a megaproject in Malaysia, namely the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL). It is in line with the aspirations of the strategic blueprint introduced by the government of Malaysia, the Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP) 2021–2025, aimed at enhancing productivity in the construction sector and promoting work-life balance initiatives in Malaysia. Three objectives were set for this research work: (1) to investigate the existing work-life culture in the ECRL project, (2) to determine the current constraints faced in the ECRL Project in implementing the work life balance and (3) to recommend the preferred work-life balance initiatives that can be implemented in the construction industry. A quantitative survey was conducted for data collection. The questionnaire survey was distributed via the WhatsApp application to 300 heads of departments. The research findings revealed four themes on the current constraints of work-life balance faced by employees in the ECRL project. They were: (1) new technology, (2) long commute time, (3) ad-hoc tasks and (4) organisation policies. This research also found four preferred work-life balance initiatives that can be implemented: (1) reward system, (2) flexible working arrangements and (3) organisation support. The findings can shed light on ways of identifying, assessing and mitigating the work-life balance issue, especially since the lack of work-life balance is a problem in Malaysia’s megaproject construction industry.