Multi-Purpose Use for Construction Site Office: Employee Break Rooms Boost Company Morale

“The Entrepreneur: Part 1”

You’ve come a long way in your life. You’ve always wanted to run a construction company. Your journey in becoming a self-sustaining entrepreneur has been full of moments of growth, both good and bad. Like the time you accidentally trusted the wrong person with an investment, or the time you called your best friend and told him that you were going to give up and join the rat race. “No,” he told you, “I believe in you!” And you kept going. In the beginning, you went to management retreats and seminars where you learned about leadership styles. You wanted to be a transformational leader, a leader that inspires their staff through effective communication and by creating an environment of creative stimulation. You were also inspired by the idea of servant leaders and democratic leaders—leaders that prefer power-sharing models of authority and value listening to their employees. You wanted to, when you had built a solid team, prioritize the needs of your team members and encourage collective decision-making.

Congratulations! You’ve run your own company for many years and feel equipped to troubleshoot any problems that arise on a construction site during a project.

Construction site problems

Construction sites share many similarities with other businesses when it comes to job-related issues: lack of communication, lack of organization, interpersonal issues, and lack of motivation. Construction sites, however, are very different from most work spaces. Construction sites are dangerous. There are heavy power tools and equipment that construction workers have to contend with. Construction workers are also exposed to other dangers, such as overexertion, slips and falls, molds/contaminants/chemicals, respiratory hazards from wood dust, scaffold collapse, electrical shock, exposure to loud noise, and extended days. Construction work is outside, and, although this is probably why people want to go into construction in the first place, construction workers are always at the mercy of the seasons and the weather. They can face extreme heat, heavy wind, thunderstorms, sleet, hail, and snow. The list of hazards on a construction site can seem endless!

Because of these specific working conditions, construction workers suffer from work-related issues that many office employees do not. In her article on Harvard School of Public Health’s website, “Construction workers struggle with pain and stress from work injuries,” Marge Dwyer claims that construction workers can suffer from work-related injuries and “often fail to seek help, putting themselves at risk for more injuries and mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and even suicide, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).” She reports that, according to 2012 studies conducted by HSPH, 40% of workers over the age of 50 suffer from chronic back pain, and that injured workers were 45% MORE likely to be diagnosed with depression than non-injured workers. A 2012 study also revealed that many of the construction workers they interviewed exhibited symptoms that mirror depression, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety. In fact, Dwyer reports, “20 percent of the distressed workers showed clinical signs of suicide risk.” Dwyer says the reason that construction workers fail to seek professional help for their mental health issues is because of the perceived stigma amongst their fellow employees or lack of affordable treatment options.

“The Entrepreneur: Part 2” 

It’s the middle of August in Texas. You feel like there’s been a slump in company morale. You noticed it around the time Jerry got hurt back in May. He was involved in a trench collapse after a night of heavy spring rains, typical Texas weather. The moisture content changed the soil, and, overnight, the soil had become unstable. Jerry was in the trench installing an irrigation pipe when it happened. It took four fire trucks worth of firefighters to get him out. Seeing as how trench collapse is the number one cause of death for construction workers, you, Jerry, and the crew are just so happy that he made it out alive. That said, after he went to the hospital, he learned that he sustained a spinal cord injury and a few broken bones. Afterwards, you notice that Antonio, who normally inspects the trenches, seems disconnected and has stopped looking you in the eye. You’re concerned that he blames himself for what happened with Jerry. You’re worried that the rest of your team feels less safe at work, and this is all making them more anxious. Everyone seems tired. Y’all are in the middle of an epic Texas heatwave; it’s been over 100 degrees for the last 30 days. You are at a loss as to how to build your team back up.

The solution? A mobile construction office repurposed as an employee break room.

Mobile construction offices and break rooms

Construction offices have already been proven to solve a number of construction site-related issues. They enable construction site managers, engineers, contractors, clients, and surveyors the ability to meet in a quiet, clean, and organized space. Close to the action, onsite construction offices establish effective communication between administration and workers, which, in turn, helps with the ever-present, all-consuming pressure that exists on all construction sites: deadlines. But what if construction offices could also be used as employee break areas?

Almost all office workers understand the benefits of the breakroom. They serve as common areas where people can eat, unwind, and connect. If there is complimentary coffee or fresh fruit, employees feel appreciated. When employees feel appreciated, they are likely to have more positive attitudes; which in turn can translate into high productivity.

Construction offices that have employee break rooms also solve many of the job specific issues that construction workers face. They can escape the hot summer or cold winter, even if only for their lunch hour in an air conditioned or heated modular space. Break rooms can even help with the more complex issues that plague construction workers: anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. The National Alliance on Mental Illnesses reports that the feeling that comes from belonging to a community can improve people’s mental health. What better way to build community than in a space where employees can bond than inside a portable modular break room? As employees get cool and sit together eating their ham sandwiches, they begin to talk to each other more. The  sense of support they feel from their team, their community, also contributes to a boost in morale.

Aries Portable Buildings

Luckily, Aries has a vast inventory of prefabricated buildings in various sizes and prices that would work as construction offices or employee break areas or double as both. Here is our popular 54 x 24, 1536 square foot office space:

Even our 150 square foot would work as a mobile office or break area. If you can fit a table, some chairs, a coffee pot, and a box of a dozen donuts, you can have a meeting or a break! See below:

Please see our inventory list for more pictures, floor plans, and square footage.

About Aries – Aries offers full turnkey solutions with exceptional customer service and robust financing options. We pride ourselves on combining product quality, design expertise, technical and financial innovation, and strategy which has already established us a first choice for our customers. Contact us today at 888-995-8560 to request a quote, or reach out to your local sales associate here.