As some of you may have gathered from posts in this section of the forum (as well as the occasional insight into bachelor pad mechanics) I currently work in the construction sector. Specifically, for a design and display firm based in South London. I was taken on earlier this year after having been formally unemployed for around a year, though doing the occasional cash job.
Despite having not worked for them for a protracted period of time, I've been feeling the rumblings of discontent. As a result, I've done my best to list the specific pro's and con's and would like input from other people with experience in this field to offer insight as to whether or not my concerns are justified since it's difficult to objectively judge my own situation.
Pro's
- Training. I've been in construction for ~3 years and prior to joining my current firm I was little more than a glorified labourer despite having accrued a decent amount of knowledge in various fields such as roofing, damp-proofing and general building repair. I still possess no individual qualifications however I'm now certified and approved by 2 regulatory bodies as an employee of my current firm.
Most recently, I was given a course for retro-fitting, outfitted with a set of tools, given a hire van and sent out on the road.
Succinctly put, I've gone up from labourer to contractor with this firm. There's still an abundance to learn but I've picked up a lot these last few months.
- All-masculine environment. As anyone who's worked as a builder knows, we shoot the shit a lot while we're on the job. It's part and parcel. We've got one female on the payroll and she works behind the scenes dealing with accountancy, logistics, bookings and so forth. As a result there's no female colleagues, HR minefield, female bosses, opinionated feminists or experimental equality program.
- Physical activity. While not as focused as a gym session, working this job certainly keeps me in decent shape. Lots of heavy lifting, palleting, hand-balling and movement keeps me from slacking.
- Benefits. The firm does pay for quite a few expenses. All of my petrol costs are taken care of, as are hotels if I need to stay away and I get £8/day for food.
- Independence. Depending on where I'm working I'll occasionally have to have my work quality-checked afterwards but more and more I've been given extra liberty with regards to monitoring. If I'm in the workshop or the warehouse it's not uncommon for me to go all day without having a look-in which is always nice.
Con's
- Working hours. As an example, tomorrow morning I have to be up at 4:30am and if I'm lucky I'll be home for 8pm. Now, if we take 6 hours as a minimum for sleep, that leaves 3 hours for paperwork, meals, showers and maybe some reading. It just doesn't leave enough to do anything of significant productivity. I've had to cut down my gym sessions to once a week since joining.
- Travelling. Again, I'll illustrate with an example. A couple of weeks ago I was given some snagging to do as part of a contract. I traveled from London to Glasgow to Cardiff to Cornwall and back to London again, clocking in a whopping 1436 miles in 5 days. While I was on the road I spoke to various other contractors and told them of my journey - they could scarcely believe that I had to go so far.
- Nutrition. Leading on from the last couple of points, my diet has suffered significantly. Waking up so early to get on the road, it's impossible to get a good breakfast. Nowhere of quality is open early enough and lunches are always rushed. If I'm on contract then I'm basically living off the contents of petrol stations. Making my own meals and taking them with me is possible, but not having any storage facilities I'm limited to only a couple of days worth at best before it spoils.
- Wages. I won't post my exact income but if we break it down I'm barely clearing £8 an hour. And considering how horrendously expensive everything in London is, that doesn't get me very far even if I am clocking in ~250 hours a month.
That about covers it. So, to my fellow contractors on the forum and any others with blue-collar experience, how does this weigh up in your eyes? Am I getting a raw deal or are these not unreasonable expectations on the part of my employer?
Despite having not worked for them for a protracted period of time, I've been feeling the rumblings of discontent. As a result, I've done my best to list the specific pro's and con's and would like input from other people with experience in this field to offer insight as to whether or not my concerns are justified since it's difficult to objectively judge my own situation.
Pro's
- Training. I've been in construction for ~3 years and prior to joining my current firm I was little more than a glorified labourer despite having accrued a decent amount of knowledge in various fields such as roofing, damp-proofing and general building repair. I still possess no individual qualifications however I'm now certified and approved by 2 regulatory bodies as an employee of my current firm.
Most recently, I was given a course for retro-fitting, outfitted with a set of tools, given a hire van and sent out on the road.
Succinctly put, I've gone up from labourer to contractor with this firm. There's still an abundance to learn but I've picked up a lot these last few months.
- All-masculine environment. As anyone who's worked as a builder knows, we shoot the shit a lot while we're on the job. It's part and parcel. We've got one female on the payroll and she works behind the scenes dealing with accountancy, logistics, bookings and so forth. As a result there's no female colleagues, HR minefield, female bosses, opinionated feminists or experimental equality program.
- Physical activity. While not as focused as a gym session, working this job certainly keeps me in decent shape. Lots of heavy lifting, palleting, hand-balling and movement keeps me from slacking.
- Benefits. The firm does pay for quite a few expenses. All of my petrol costs are taken care of, as are hotels if I need to stay away and I get £8/day for food.
- Independence. Depending on where I'm working I'll occasionally have to have my work quality-checked afterwards but more and more I've been given extra liberty with regards to monitoring. If I'm in the workshop or the warehouse it's not uncommon for me to go all day without having a look-in which is always nice.
Con's
- Working hours. As an example, tomorrow morning I have to be up at 4:30am and if I'm lucky I'll be home for 8pm. Now, if we take 6 hours as a minimum for sleep, that leaves 3 hours for paperwork, meals, showers and maybe some reading. It just doesn't leave enough to do anything of significant productivity. I've had to cut down my gym sessions to once a week since joining.
- Travelling. Again, I'll illustrate with an example. A couple of weeks ago I was given some snagging to do as part of a contract. I traveled from London to Glasgow to Cardiff to Cornwall and back to London again, clocking in a whopping 1436 miles in 5 days. While I was on the road I spoke to various other contractors and told them of my journey - they could scarcely believe that I had to go so far.
- Nutrition. Leading on from the last couple of points, my diet has suffered significantly. Waking up so early to get on the road, it's impossible to get a good breakfast. Nowhere of quality is open early enough and lunches are always rushed. If I'm on contract then I'm basically living off the contents of petrol stations. Making my own meals and taking them with me is possible, but not having any storage facilities I'm limited to only a couple of days worth at best before it spoils.
- Wages. I won't post my exact income but if we break it down I'm barely clearing £8 an hour. And considering how horrendously expensive everything in London is, that doesn't get me very far even if I am clocking in ~250 hours a month.
That about covers it. So, to my fellow contractors on the forum and any others with blue-collar experience, how does this weigh up in your eyes? Am I getting a raw deal or are these not unreasonable expectations on the part of my employer?
