More than half of construction business owners have resumed their pre-COVID pace and, for some of them, this pace has even increased: 23% of respondents say they work more than 60 hours per week. New warning signals such as the continuous rise in the price of energy and materials are weighing on the morale of the heads of small-scale construction companies who say they are tired or even very tired.
A more intense work pace and difficulty disconnecting
The study of 1.811 respondents in January 2022, i.e. before the war in Ukraine, highlights a strong recovery in activity in the construction sector in 2021. More than half of the leaders of businesses have resumed their pre-crisis work pace and the proportion of business leaders working more than 60 hours per week has increased by 5 points.
This workload is partly explained by the multitude of tasks they have to carry out: construction work, personnel management, preparation of quotes, customer management and contact, administrative management. The latter represents 10 to 25% of the working time of company directors and increases considerably when the company has more than 5 employees.
It should be noted that this workload concerns all managers, regardless of their family situation (as a couple, alone, with or without children) but that it changes according to the size of the company. Thus, in 2021, 14% of business leaders working alone say they work more than 60 hours a week compared to 42% for those employing 11 to 15 employees.
It should also be noted that one in two craftsmen works on weekends, a stable figure compared to 2020 but still worrying. Positive point: despite this sustained pace of work, more business leaders take between 3 and 6 weeks of leave. Only 33% of managers declare having taken a maximum of two weeks of leave during the year 2021, compared to 41% in 2020. Of all the respondents, 29% declare that the health crisis has had an impact on their leave: 18% reduced them and 11% did not take them.
However, even during their holidays, craftsmen find it difficult to disconnect: 57% of managers say they check their emails every day compared to 51% in 2020. In question, a responsiveness required by customers and suppliers, the desire to remain available at any time and finally that of avoiding being overwhelmed on his return.
Many artisans mention difficulties in finding the right balance between their professional and private lives: 79% of artisans continue to feel that their professional life encroaches on their family life, compared to 85% in 2020 and 87% in 2019. Despite a sharp drop in two years, this is a figure that remains high.
A good general state of health but a warning point on fatigue
The barometer once again highlights craftsmen's good perception of their state of health. In 2021, 76% of respondents declared themselves to be in good health. For the 8th consecutive year, muscle pain is down. This is all the more encouraging given that musculoskeletal disorders are the main cause of industrial accidents and occupational diseases in the construction sector. Craftsmen also say they are attentive to the consequences of their activity on their health (61%) despite a slight drop compared to 2019 (65%). However, respondents continue to suffer from various pathologies such as joint pain, emotional disorders, headaches and sleep disorders.
49% of respondents say they are tired. Thus, 49% wake up in the middle of the night, 38% wake up early in the morning without being able to go back to sleep and 22% have trouble falling asleep. Finally, 4% of artisans take medication to sleep, compared to 2% in 2019. Sleep problems that affect the activity of the majority of respondents (+66%). However, this fatigue is likely to increase with the increase in the workload and the current geopolitical context of the war in Ukraine, the consequences of which on the rise in prices are increasingly worrying business leaders.
Awareness necessary to encourage craftsmen to express their discomfort
Building trades are physically demanding according to 83% of respondents but also mentally according to 87% of business leaders. The management of construction sites, administration and daily difficulties cause stress for 51% of craftsmen. And yet, 2021 is the first year that this figure is down.
Encouraging fact, the majority of craftsmen feel supported and accompanied in the management of their business (67%) For craftsmen who do not feel supported enough (33%), 48% would like more support from the services of the state, accountants (44%) and professional organizations (42%). Among all the respondents, the majority would like to be better supported in certain areas: 42% in the legal field (health and safety / wage law / insurance) 17% in the management of equipment and 16% in the field of training. Only 29% of business leaders say they do not need any additional support.
Finally, the proportion of respondents who had experienced psychological difficulty (anxiety, burnout, depression) during the year was up: 34% in 2021 compared to 32% in 2020. Among business leaders in difficulty, only one Respondent out of two mentioned their difficulties to a third person, i.e. a drop of 8 points compared to 2020. Among those who did not speak, 90% said they preferred to keep their problem to themselves so as not to worry and 47% did not don't see the point of talking about it.
This finding confirms the need to continue raising awareness among business leaders but also those around them who often play a central role in these situations. This awareness-raising work is, in fact, necessary and is bearing fruit since the number of business leaders who have raised their problems with their professional organization has increased by 3 points in one year, i.e. 9% in 2021 against 6% in 2020.
This awareness must also continue for business leaders who declare the sustainability of their business threatened (23% in 2021). Among them, only 23% get help, a decrease of 4 points compared to 2020. However, they are 52% to have mentioned the subject (+ 2 points with regard to 2020), an encouraging figure since speaking is often a first step for the entrepreneur.
For Jean-Christophe Repon, President of CAPEB: “The resumption of activity in the building industry obviously brings optimism to business leaders, but the very uncertain current context and the constraints of daily life do not allow them to completely regain serenity or to keep their morale up. The management of administrative tasks continues to weigh too heavily on business leaders in small structures. This is an issue of simplification on which we work daily in order to provide better administrative and legal support to companies. At the same time, we constantly reiterate our requests to the public authorities: to simplify the daily life of VSEs again and again. »
For Cécile Beaudonnat, President of the National Commission of Women in Crafts and in charge of health and safety issues at CAPEB: “Despite physical and moral fatigue still present among business leaders, we have observed this year that respondents seem more apt to ask for help when needed, particularly from the CAPEB. These results confirm the need to continue to educate our members and those around them on the psychosocial risks that their activity can cause and on the means to overcome them. »
For Françoise Despret, President of the CNATP: “The volume of working hours of our craft entrepreneurs remains consistently high. This is particularly so for our small structures where all the responsibilities fall on the same person. In an increasingly procedural world, we have observed for many years a part of the activity dedicated to non-productive administrative tasks which are always more time-consuming and on the other hand the evolution of the mentalities of customers who are ever more demanding in terms of response to their quotes. The price increases of unmanageable materials and certain shortages add further stress. »
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