An investigation into a health & safety reward system on a large construction project

Construction companies have widely adopted incentive systems rewarding safe acts and/or low accident rates. Through an ethnographic approach, a reward system used on a large construction project (+£500m) in the UK was investigated. As part of a wider study, the researcher visited a construction project one to three times a week for three years, and utilised participant observation as the main research tool. Data was collected through site walk-arounds, attending meetings, H&S survey results, and informal discussions with employees. H&S survey results revealed that money/vouchers (43%) were the most popular reward choice for construction workers. This was followed by branded clothing (9%), paid leave (8%) and outings (8%), such as golf days; suggesting workers were motivated by financially-based rewards, rather than certificates (6%) or public recognition (4%). An effective reward system required more than an appropriate motivator, as several challenges arose including: a lack of nominations; winners believing they did not deserve an award for ‘just doing their job’; variations in prizes from shopping vouchers to iPads which led to feelings of inequality; and operative dissatisfaction when supervisors received awards. The challenges revealed can be used to aid construction companies in creating effective H&S reward programmes.