One in 10 people working in construction are considering leaving the industry over terrible onsite toilet facilities, a survey reveals.
It’s so bad that most women say they avoid drinking water at work so they don’t have to go to the loo.
Senior project manager Katy Robinson MCIOB, who last year was named the UK’s Most Influential Woman in Construction, surveyed more than 600 people working in the industry as part of her Release the Bogs campaign, which aims to improve toilet and welfare facilities on construction sites.
The survey revealed that 10% of women and 9% of men say they are considering leaving the industry due to inadequate toilet and welfare conditions on site.
Furthermore, 61% of women and 35% of men said they avoided drinking water during the day so they wouldn’t have to use site toilets, which presents a dehydration risk, especially in extreme heat.
A third of men say they have to use women’s toilets owing to the poor state of the men’s.
‘Thousands affected across UK’
“Speaking to people on the site, they always bring up the issue that toilets are available, but the facilities are bad,” said Robinson, who oversees projects for the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
“It’s a niche piece of research but shines a light on a very important issue affecting thousands of construction workers across the UK.
“The research has found links between workers leaving sites to find alternative work which, considering the industry is facing a massive skills shortage, is a huge concern.”
Just 35% of respondents said sanitary disposal facilities are provided in female toilets, the research also revealed. Only 40% reported that toilets always had functioning locks.
Robinson said: “Contractors are not meeting minimum standards – and standards are not high enough anyway.
“It’s frustrating as there’s such a simple solution – provide site toilets, ensure they are cleaned and maintained and have sufficient consumables and provisions in place.
“If you take what we are hearing from construction workers about the issues they are facing with toilet facilities and compare that with office workers’ facilities, there’s a massive difference. It’s another world.”
