Effects of Welfare Facilities (Amenities for Well-Being) on the Satisfaction of Civil Engineers in Construction Industry
Article in International Journal of Construction Education and Research · June 2023
DOI: 10.1080/15578771.2023.2226151
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Effects of Welfare Facilities (Amenities for Well- Being) on the Satisfaction of Civil Engineers in Construction Industry
Muhammad Irfan, Abdul Jalil, Mrestyal Khan & Salma Khan
To cite this article: Muhammad Irfan, Abdul Jalil, Mrestyal Khan & Salma Khan (2023):
Effects of Welfare Facilities (Amenities for Well-Being) on the Satisfaction of Civil Engineers in Construction Industry, International Journal of Construction Education and Research, DOI:
10.1080/15578771.2023.2226151
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Effects of Welfare Facilities (Amenities for Well-Being) on the Satisfaction of Civil Engineers in Construction Industry
Muhammad Irfana, Abdul Jalilb, Mrestyal Khana, and Salma Khanc
aDepartment of Management Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta, Pakistan; bDepartment of Engineering, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta, Pakistan; cDepartment of Economics, Sardar Bahadur Khan Women University, Quetta, Pakistan
ABSTRACT
The construction industry plays an important role in the upliftment of a country’s economy. Thus, the satisfaction of workers in the construc- tion industry is of prime importance, since it is believed that satisfied working staff will be more efficient and effective. Therefore, it becomes crucial to understand the factors that may influence the satisfaction of the workforce. Among these factors, recently, welfare facilities have received much attention. In this study, welfare facilities such as health, hygiene, eating, drinking, resting, safety, and transportation play a vital role in the satisfaction of workers in the construction industry.
Furthermore, a questionnaire survey was used to collect data from 203 civil engineers in Balochistan, Pakistan. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).
Consequently, the empirical findings indicated that providing welfare facilities have a significant positive impact on the satisfaction of work- ers. Additionally, the results indicate that among the facilities, trans- portation and hygiene facilities are the major requirements of civil engineers. Hence, it can be concluded from the findings that organiza- tions that are involved in construction projects, wish to increase the satisfaction of workers and success rate, they should focus on provid- ing welfare facilities to their employees.
KEYWORDS Construction Industry;
satisfaction; welfare facilities;
partial least squares- structural equation modeling
Introduction
Rebellions, revolutions, protests, and strikes are a result of deprivation and dissatisfaction among employees and the general public. Such instances when they occur, have unprece- dented outcomes. For instance, 250 million workers marched against the government in India due to antiworker policies. Workers from the steel, telecommunication, ports, and banking industry participated in these protests (Bhatti, 2020). Likewise, in Pakistan health workers called for a strike against the administration for their due rights causing mayhem.
Hundreds of patients were refused entry into the hospital due to these strikes for many days (Ayub, 2022). The above-presented evidence indicates that globally the government, as well as the private sector, is neglecting the fact that employees when dissatisfied can cripple governments and organizations.
CONTACT Mrestyal Khan [email protected] Department of Management Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta, Pakistan https://doi.org/10.1080/15578771.2023.2226151
© 2023 Associated Schools of Construction
The construction sector plays a vital role in the economy of a country, and it is one of the industries generating massive employment. It is noted that employees working in this industry have a pivotal role in the overall success of the country (Odeku & Odeku, 2015).
Yet, it is observed that due to the provision of insufficient facilities (not providing welfare facilities), most employees are not satisfied when working at construction sites (Gyamfi et al., 2021).
Recently, in India, hundreds of dissatisfied construction workers staged a protest against the government for the lack of welfare policy (Zumbish, 2021). Similarly, in Dubai, several members of the construction workforce staged a protest on the main Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid boulevard due to an overtime pay dispute (AlJazeera, 2015). Likewise, in Pakistan, a pen-down strike was observed by engineers working on government projects demanding technical allowance (Naqash, 2020). Moreover, in Ghana project engineers and supervisors are agitated because, on almost 68% of the construction sites, there are no adequate welfare facilities (Yen et al., 2018). Also, the productivity and efficiency of engineering staff on construction projects is greatly influenced by the provision of poor welfare facilities in Iraq (Hatem et al., 2019). Lastly, Site Engineers in Malaysia also are discontented with the provision of welfare facilities on construction projects (Ibrahim et al., 2020).
On contrary, it is observed that organizations offering welfare facilities have a satisfying construction workforce (Ngonde, 2015). In another instance, welfare services for employees are given more importance, as they are considered necessary for the achievement of success in any organization (Odeku & Odeku, 2015). Likewise, it is posited that welfare initiatives enhance the morale of employees and improves overall productivity (Gopalakrishnan & Brindha, 2017). In aggregate, pleasant welfare amenities are believed to increase the efficiency, production, and profit of organizations (Kadam et al., 2012).
The construction industry holds a lion’s share in the economy of Pakistan and roughly 30–35% of employment is directly or indirectly associated with this industry. As such, the revival of the economy in Pakistan is substantially dependent on the satisfaction of the workers in the construction sector (Farooqui et al., 2008).
Furthermore, the construction workforce which is manual labor as well as civil engineers, employed at different construction sites of the Public Works Department of Balochistan province in Pakistan, is a significant force in delivering public services to the population of the province. Consequently, their full cooperation can only be achieved when they are satisfied with their jobs, while their level of satisfaction is believed to be related to the welfare schemes, other than salary, that they receive, i.e. health and hygiene, eating, drinking, rest, safety, and transportation facilities.
Moreover, the study highlights the importance of employee satisfaction and welfare facilities in the construction industry, which is relevant to mid-level managers and civil engineers who are responsible for overseeing and managing the workforce. In particular, the study notes that the satisfaction of workers is related to the welfare schemes, other than the salary, that they receive, such as health and hygiene, eating, drinking, rest, safety, and transportation facilities. Mid-level managers and civil engineers are often responsible for ensuring that these welfare facilities are provided to the workers. Therefore, understanding the impact of welfare amenities on the satisfaction of workers is important for these managers to optimize the capabilities of their workforce.
Consequently, the study is needed to fill a gap in the empirical body of knowledge concerning the influence of welfare facilities on the satisfaction of workers in the construc- tion industry, specifically in the context of a developing country like Pakistan. While there may be some existing research on this topic, it may not be directly applicable to the specific context and population that the study aims to investigate. Furthermore, the study may provide insights and recommendations that are relevant not only to mid-level managers and civil engineers but also to policymakers and other stakeholders in the construction industry.
Hence, several public sector organizations are thinking through how to satisfy their workforce to optimally utilize their capabilities. Also, there is a substantial gap in the empirical body of knowledge, specifically in the context of a developing country like Pakistan, concerning the influence of welfare facilities on the satisfaction of workers in the construction industry. Therefore, it is imperative to answer the following question i) What is the impact of welfare amenities on the satisfaction of civil engineers? Consequently, this research primarily aims to determine the empirical effect of welfare amenities (i.e.
Eating, drinking, resting, health, hygiene, safety, training, and transportation) on the satisfaction of civil engineers in different Public Work Departments of Balochistan, Pakistan. The relationship among the constructs will be analyzed using primary data collected from civil engineers.
Literature review Welfare facilities
Welfare is defined as the well-being state and indicates the freshness of humans (Rwigema, 2022). It is the required state of a person that incorporates the physical, mental, emotional, and moral factors, these elements in summing up yield the structure of the welfare (Odeku
& Odeku, 2015). Additionally, the welfare of employees is the provision of comforts and facilities to them in an organization to make them able to live better lives (Opatha, 2009).
Various welfare measures include eating, drinking, accommodation, recreation, health, transportation, safety, etc (Logasakthi & RajaGopal, 2013). In contemporary studies, welfare facilities and services for employees are more prominent because it is determined that employees play the main role in the achievement of success in any organization (Odeku &
Odeku, 2015). Likewise, In a recent study, it has been determined that success in any organization can be achieved with the active involvement of employees, and not only do margins of profit represent the success of the organization but it can also be represented by the employees` well-being (Odeku & Odeku, 2015).
Also, the construction industry is considered very hazardous Health, safety, and envir- onmental conditions at housing construction sites in Lahore city, Pakistan (Rizwan, 2015) and construction site, and numerous deadly accidents take place which is extremely upsetting. It has been reported that the major cause is the lack of safety facilities (Shirur
& Torgal, 2014). Therefore, a considerable amount of time is wasted in the execution period of the projects in case of an accident because of the non-provision of proper welfare facilities (Shamsuddin et al., 2015).
Also, it is postulated that welfare actions help raise the morale of the employees so that they can be retained and their productivity can be improved (Indexed & Gopalakrishnan, 2017). Furthermore, pleasant welfare facilities increase efficiency, production, and profit
which in the end lead to handsome wages, improved working conditions, and other peripheral benefits to employees and organizations (Kadam et al., 2012). A study was conducted by considering four factors (Medical, Canteen, Loan, and Housing facilities) and noticeable relation was revealed between the medical facilities and the level of job satisfaction (Perera, 2017). In aggregate, most successful organizations are believed to have a satisfied workforce whereas, poorly satisfied employees have led organizations to disasters (Ngonde, 2015).
With social equity and an efficient economy, the Scandinavian states, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland, in the world are considered welfare states with low unemployment, high economic growth, and high participation in the labor force, particularly among women. The Scandinavian states have taken several provisions for social welfare such as health care, pensions, sick pay, maternity/parental leave, and a daycare system (Stephens, 1995).
In New Zealand, the law for safety and health in the workplace of the country was reformed and a comprehensive approach to management was given to it with the approval in 1992 of the Employment Act. The law proves to be very effective since its enforcement in 1993. The government not only enforced the law through the courts, but the attitude of the organizations has also improved with the approval of the law (Newbold, 2016).
To set and enforce standards for health and safety in the workplace places US Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) under USA Labor Department. The investigation done by OSHA revealed that 93% of the incidents occur in the USA due to violations of OSHA rules by the organizations this was concluded by examining 1,242 incidents occurring over 20 years. Since the creation of OSHA, a decline in injury rates and a reduction in injury costs has been observed in the firms working as per the inspection guidelines of OSHA (Michaels, 2012).
Welfare facilities in Pakistan
Pakistan from its establishment has announced six labor policies i-e in 1955, 1959, 1969, 1972, 2002, and 2010. The government of Pakistan has developed the Labor Policy of 2010 for the betterment of employees, Rights of Employees and Employers, Legal Framework, Manpower Export, and Skill Development are the major four parts of that policy Labor in Pakistan (Samad & Ali, 2000). Unfortunately, from its development, the policy remains on paper then practical implementation.
Regrettably, no independent legislation has been passed in Pakistan specifically for occupational safety and health issues. Chapter 3 of the Factories Act, of 1934 is the main law governing these issues. Due to the high poverty level in the country, organizations can easily replace employees, therefore the employees in the construction industry thus take risks on the site which ultimately increases the chances of fatal incidents at the construction site (Hassan, 2012).
The factor of low annual income also contributes to the poor productivity rates in Pakistan. The organization instead of investing in welfare facilities and safety measures increases the labor force for the work on site. Apart from that, less training and the attitude of the employees to use conventional means even if heavy or specialized equipment is available, also contribute to the accidents that occur at the construction site.
The consequence of this incapability has resulted in the death or injury of workers at the construction site. At one of the construction sites in Pakistan, six employees fell and died on
the 13th floor due to a lack of proper equipment (Ali, 2019). Considering all those factors the Government of Pakistan Division of Poverty Alleviation and Safety has established a welfare and social protection expert group (ShuHong et al., 2017). The group will make recommendations to extend welfare measures, including minimum wages, occupational health, and safety to employees. It will also review the status of legislative development pertaining to welfare measures, identify gaps, and recommend out of box measures for quick implementation.
Moreover, in the context of this study by welfare facilities, we are referring to the aggregate of amenities that have been discussed exhaustively by different researchers. If stated separately they are safety, health, hygiene, eating, drinking and rest, and transporta- tion facilities.
Satisfaction & employee satisfaction
A pleasant feeling that a person feels when he/she receives something they wanted, or when you have done something, you wanted to do is called satisfaction (Veenhoven, 1996). Also, satisfaction is understood as a feeling that encompasses elements like happiness, gratitude, motivation, and enthusiasm (Fournier & Mick, 1999). In an organizational context, it is of utmost importance for managers to keep their workforce satisfied. Moreover, employee satisfaction is believed to be the measurement of employees’ happiness about their jobs and the related working environment (Ngonde, 2015).
A satisfied workforce can benefit an organization in tangible and intangible ways.
Satisfied employees can multiply the profits of an organization, create goodwill for the organization and attract more investment (Bhatta et al., 2018). Whereas, in public sector organizations satisfaction of employees can lead to lower costs, timely completion of projects, upliftment of service quality, and higher stakeholder satisfaction (Irfan &
Hassan, 2017). Furthermore, a satisfied employee is more loyal to his or her parent organization. This in turn can enhance the overall reputation of the organization.
Additionally, it has been noted that successful organizations are found to have a satisfied workforce whereas, poorly satisfied employees can cause an organization to cripple (Ngonde, 2015).
On contrary, it is also noted from the literature that a dissatisfied workforce may result in several unwanted consequences. Primarily, if the employees are not satisfied, they will avert professionally doing their duties and may be involved in moral and financial corruption (Giri et al., 2019). Also, a dissatisfied workforce may lose interest in their job and will always be looking for alternate opportunities. Likewise, an organization with unsatisfied employees will fail to achieve its objectives and attract qualified human capital (Nalitolela et al., 2020).
Therefore, it becomes essential for policymakers and top management to understand various factors that contribute to the satisfaction of its workforce. After a thorough review of the literature, it has been determined that several factors such as hygienic working facilities, reasonable remuneration, recognition, motivation, transparency, a delegation of authority and welfare facilities, etc. may enhance the satisfaction of employees (Giri et al., 2019; Ngonde, 2015).
Consequently, it becomes crucial to fathom factors that may increase the likelihood of a satisfied workforce. This is even more critical in the context of developing economies like Pakistan, where resources are limited, and corruption is rampant. Considering the
discussion and critical evaluation above, this study tends to further probe into the relation- ship between welfare facilities and employee satisfaction in the context of the construction industry of Pakistan.
Bridging welfare facilities & satisfaction
It is believed that organizational progress and national development are dependent on the employees’ welfare (Portes, 1976). Several studies have highlighted the benefits that an organization can achieve from having a satisfied workforce such as higher productivity, increased levels of organizational commitment, lower turn- over rates, improved product and service quality, etc (Chan & Lee, 2008; Ngonde, 2015). But on the contrary, only a few researchers have addressed the factors that may enhance the satisfaction of workers, particularly in the construction industry.
Although factors such as motivation, working environment, supervisors’ attitude, and communication have been thoroughly investigated and associated with the satisfaction of employees in the organizations (Gyamfi et al., 2021; Odeku & Odeku, 2015). Yet, there is scarce literature that allows us to understand how employees specifically in the construction industry may be satisfied by welfare facilities.
Therefore, it becomes essential for us to understand the link between welfare facilities and employee satisfaction. The notion that facilities on construction projects are essential is undeniable and is comprehensively discussed by researchers. Facilities such as safety, health, and hygiene are vital for employees, and in turn, these facilities are believed to improve the morale and focus of the staff (T. S. Nanjundeswaraswamy, 2019). Additionally, eating, drinking, and resting facilities are equally critical and may result in better work performance (Logasakthi & RajaGopal, 2013). Hence, in aggre- gate it can be stated here that the provision of these welfare facilities will create a sense of gratification and fulfillment among the employees. Thus, it is assumed here that the provision of welfare facilities to construction project workers may have a positive influence on their satisfaction.
H1: There is a positive association between welfare facilities and employee satisfaction The graphical representation of the proposed relationship can be observed in Figure 1 below.
Welfare Facilities
Employee Satisfaction
Figure 1. Proposed research framework.
Methodology
The methodology of any research is the study of the research design by which the research is to be conducted. It encompasses the methods and techniques used to collect data and perform analysis. Moreover, it has been suggested that to achieve the research objectives an appropriate methodology should be adopted (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). Furthermore, a research design is a meticulous procedure, and it is the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data.
Since the objective of the study is to evaluate the relationship between welfare facilities and employee satisfaction, therefore, the “survey method” strategy is adopted. A survey is the collection of information from respondents about their perception and knowledge of certain behavior and attitude (Cowles & Nelson, 2015).
Moreover, surveys are widely used to collect quantitative data on many types of research questions.
Questionnaire development
A research instrument, also known as a questionnaire, is a predetermined list of items or questions that are intended to elicit expert opinion or data relevant to the context of the study (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). To achieve the objectives of the present study, a questionnaire was developed comprising three distinct sections.
Initially, the respondents were asked to report their demographic profile such as experience, age, and qualification. The objective of adding this section is to confirm if the participant of the study has sufficient knowledge and experience in the desired field of study.
In the following section of the questionnaire, the researcher included items to measure welfare facilities. Welfare facilities are the exogenous construct in this study and are measured using four different dimensions (Health and Hygiene, Resting Facility, Transportation, Safety, and other facilities). A total of sixteen questions were included in this section. This part of the questionnaire is adapted from (Mendis, 2016) and (Kadam et al., 2012). The rationale for adapting items from these studies is that the instrument was employed by the researchers in a similar region i.e. India and Sri Lanka. A few minor modifications in terms of the wording were made to this part of the questionnaire to align the instrument to better suit the needs of the construction industry.
Lastly, in the final section of the research instrument, six questions were included to measure satisfaction. Satisfaction is the endogenous construct in this study and the items were adapted from (Ngonde, 2015). Satisfaction was measured using this instrument because it comprehensively includes all the manifests from the construction industry and has been used extensively in the recent past. Throughout the instrument, five points “Likert Scale” was used to elicit responses ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 strongly agree.
Moreover, to determine the clarity and correctness of the questionnaire, a sample of 15 random respondents was drawn from the population for the pilot study. Consequently, a few modifications were made to the items measuring welfare facilities and employee satisfaction. However, these responses from the pilot study are not included in the study.
Sample & data collection
Part of a population is known as the sample (Babin & Zikmund, 2016). Since the present study is quantitative, therefore “key informant technique” is used to determine the sample.
According to Marshall (1996), the “key informant technique” suggests that mid-level managers have the relevant knowledge and experience and therefore should be preferred as respondents (Marshall, 1996).
Consequently, civil engineers working on different construction projects were deter- mined to be the most viable respondents for the present study because of their familiarity and understanding of the area of study. Accordingly, these civil engineers who are engaged in different public sector projects for the Government of Pakistan are chosen as the “unit of analysis.” They are the relevant sample for the present study since they have a first-hand experience with the facilities being provided to them during the execution of projects. For ease of access to the participants, a non-probabilistic sampling method was employed in the study.
Accordingly, the G*POWER V3.1 software application was employed to conduct a priori power analysis test to determine the current study’s sample size (Faul et al., 2007). The medium size effect was 0.15 with a significance level of 0.05 and the chance of rejecting the null hypothesis was 0.95, with one exogenous variable (welfare facilities) the total sample size required for this study was estimated to be 89.
In conjunction with this, the questionnaires were personally distributed amongst the sample, over a period of one month, i.e., November 2019. At the end of November 2019, a total of 214 responses were collected from the target sample.
However, 11 questionnaires, out of a total of 214 were not considered useable, as they were partially completed by the respondents. Therefore, in the final analysis, a total of 203 questionnaires were only used.
Among the data collected, 43.8% of the respondents had less than 10 years of experience working on construction projects. However, 46.3% of the respondents had more than 10 but less than 20 years of experience. Lastly, 9.9% of the respon- dents had more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry. This indicates that the majority of the respondents are familiar with the welfare facilities being provided to them currently. Similarly, 97.5% of the participants in the study possessed a bachelor’s degree in Engineering and 2.5% of the respondents had a master’s degree. This determines that the level of intellect required to fill the instrument was fulfilled. In aggregate, the above-presented statistics indicate that the respondents possessed sufficient experience and knowledge and are a relevant audi- ence for the present study.
However, to gain the widest coverage of the construction sector, data was collected from engineers working on projects related to highways, buildings, irrigation, and other public health engineering projects. 23.6% of the respondents who participated in the study were involved in highway projects and 23.2% of the respondents were responsible for building projects. Whereas 38.9% of the participants were actively engaged in irrigation-related projects and 14.3% of the respondents were supervising public health engineering projects in Balochistan. This indicates that sufficient data was collected from the major domains of the construction industry.
Data analysis
The present study is explanatory and seeks to understand the relationship between welfare facilities and employee satisfaction. Several statistical techniques are available to examine the relationship between the two constructs, but the present study employs structural equation modeling (SEM). SEM is preferred when the research framework involves multi- ple variables and Higher Order Constructs (HOCs). Furthermore, SEM is classified into two distinct categories i.e. i) Covariance Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) and ii) Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) where the objective is the prediction and explanation of target variables. CB-SEM is used in a scenario where the investigator wishes to test the prevalence of a theory. On contrary, PLS-SEM is employed when the objective of the study is the prediction and explanation of the relationship among target variables.
In this investigation, PLS-SEM is employed to evaluate the data collected. PLS-SEM is a second-generation technique of the multivariate data analysis (Hair, Matthews, et al., 2017). Additionally, PLS-SEM addresses the shortcomings of traditional data analysis techniques. PLS-SEM allows the researcher to analyze latent variables. Furthermore, it is a non-parametric technique that does not bind the researcher to adhere to the assumption of data normality. Also, PLS-SEM is preferred since it minimizes the effect of error terms while estimating the path coefficients. A more robust distribution of data is achieved using PLS-SEM since the technique employs bootstrapping.
In PLS-SEM, the proposed research framework is analyzed in two different stages (Irfan &
Hassan, 2019; Kakar & Khan, 2022; Khan et al., 2022). The initial stage is known as the measurement model analysis in which the manifests of the variables are scrutinized for reliability and validity. Subsequently, in the second stage of analysis, the path coefficients, multicollinearity among the constructs, and coefficient of determination (R2) are examined.
The second stage of the analysis will provide us with the answer to our research question that
Research Paradigm Positivism
Research Approach Deductive
Research Strategy Survey
Time Horizon Cross-sectional
Sampling Method Non-Probability
(Convenience)
Data Analysis Method PLS-SEM
Figure 2. Graphical representation of methodology.
whether welfare facilities have an impact on workers’ satisfaction. Additionally, it is important to mention that PLS-SEM in the present was employed using the software SMART PLS 3.2.7.
A summary of the entire methodology for the current study is graphically represented in Figure 2.
Results
Assessment of measurement model
Since constructs like welfare facilities and satisfaction are directly unobservable, therefore several dimensions and items are used to measure the constructs. Also, these questions are referred to as manifest variables. Thus, it becomes necessary to evaluate whether the manifest are truly representing the intended dimensions and constructs.
In the context of PLS-SEM, this initial investigation of the reliability and validity is known as the measurement model analysis (Hair, Hult, et al., 2017). Moreover, the relation- ship between the constructs and their manifests and the correlational relationship between the constructs are analyzed by measurement model analysis. Figure 3 displays the measure-
Figure 3. Measurement model.
Figure 4. Structural model.
ment model for the present study. It can be observed from Figure 3 that welfare facilities is measured through its four dimensions and then those dimensions are measured using 16 questions. On contrary, satisfaction is measured using six items.
Assessment of construct reliability
According to Hair, Matthews, et al. (2017) reliability is ensuring the internal consistency of the instrument. In this study, the construct “welfare facilities” is measured using four dimensions i.e. Health and Hygiene, Resting Facility, Transportation, Safety and other facilities which have 16 manifests that will be evaluated at this stage. Health and Hygiene facility has 4 items, Eating, Drinking and Resting Facility consists of 4 items, Transportation Facility has 2 items and Safety Training and other facilities consist of 6 items.
A conventional approach that is commonly used to determine the reliability of an instrument is Cronbach Alpha. This technique provides the estimates of reliability in the form of intercorrelations among the manifests of the latent variable. If the value of Cronbach alpha is between 0.7–0.9, it is assumed that the instrument is reliable (Heo et al., 2015). The values for Cronbach Alpha are presented in Table 1. It can be observed that the Cronbach alpha values are within the given range for all four dimensions of welfare facilities and satisfaction. Thus, it can be said that the instru- ment is reliable.
However, Hair, Matthews, et al. (2017) argue that Cronbach alpha is sensitive to the number of items, therefore an alternate technique should also be used to establish reliability.
They propose that the reliability of an instrument should also be verified through Composite Reliability (CR).
Composite Reliability is a technique that takes into consideration the outer loadings of the manifest variables (Bacon et al., 1995). The interpretation of CR is similar to Cronbach Alpha. Nevertheless, it is debated in the literature that values exceeding 0.95 for composite reliability indicate validity issues. Results for composite reliability of the instrument for the current study are also exhibited in Table 1. The CR scores for welfare facilities and satisfaction are within the specified threshold indicating that the instrument fulfills the criteria of reliability for the conventional and contemporary techniques.
Assessment of convergent validity
Hair et al. (2014) defined convergent validity as a degree to which an indicator correlates significantly with an alternative indicator of the same construct. When the relationship is modeled reflectively between the item-construct, then the assessment of convergent validity becomes necessary. Convergent validity can be determined by using Average Variance Table 1. Assessment of reliability
Higher Order Constructs Lower Order Constructs Cronbach’s Alpha Composite Reliability
WELFARE FACILITIES Eating, Drinking and Resting Facility 0.780 0.858
Health and Hygiene Facility 0.759 0.847
Safety, Training & Other Facilities 0.808 0.863
Transportation Facility 0.716 0.834
SATISFACTION - 0.841 0.884
Extracted (AVE) and factor loadings. The AVE scores for the dimensions of welfare facilities and items of satisfaction are presented in Table 2 respectively. Hair, Matthews, et al. (2017) proposed that the value of AVE should be at least 0.5 or greater. Moreover, it is noted from the AVE Scores that the constructs fulfill the preliminary criteria for convergent validity. This indicates that the measures of dimensions of welfare facilities and questions for satisfaction significantly correlate with the alternative indicators.
However, for determining the convergent validity factors loadings are also analyzed. For factor loadings, Hair et al. (2012) suggest the scores should be preferably 0.7 or higher.
However, certain items can be retained with scores greater than 0.5 if they do not cause the AVE to go below 0.5. The factor loadings for this model are exhibited in Table 2. As the loadings for each of the item is above 0.5 so this criterion for achieving convergent validity is also fulfilled.
Assessment of discriminant validity
Though the variables under discussion are theoretically different, it is significant to deter- mine that the variables are empirically distinct from each other as well. The degree to which a variable is genuinely distinct from other variables is called discriminant validity (Hair et al., 2012). Furthermore, a number of parameters are available for establishing discrimi- nant validity, but in this study, we will use Fornell & Larcker criteria (Fornell & Larcker, 1981), and Heterotrait Monotrait (HTMT) ratio (Hair, Matthews, et al., 2017).
Fornell and Larcker’s technique is a method that allows us to determine discriminant validity. The operational logic behind this technique is such that the square root of the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) scores should be greater than the correlation among the constructs. Moreover, this technique allows us to understand that a construct shares more variance with its manifests rather than any other construct in the model (Hair, Matthews, et al., 2017).
Table 2. Assessment of average variance extracted
Higher order Constructs Lower order Constructs
Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
Minimum Factor Loading WELFARE FACILITIES Eating, Drinking and Resting
Facility
0.602 0.773
Health and Hygiene Facility 0.582 0.686
Safety, Training & Other Facilities 0.517 0.575
Transportation Facility 0.717 0.784
SATISFACTION - 0.561 0.609
Table 3. Fornell and Larcker criteria
Constructs
Eating, Drinking and Resting
Facility
Health and Hygiene
Facility
Safety, Training And Other
Facilities
Employee Satisfaction
Transportation Facility Eating, Drinking and Resting Facility 0.776
Health and Hygiene Facility 0.552 0.763
Safety, Training & Other Facilities 0.552 0.424 0.719
Employee Satisfaction 0.550 0.553 0.640 .749
Transportation Facility 0.394 0.363 0.552 .455 .847
Diagonal elements highlighted in bold represent the square root of AVE. Off diagonal elements are simple bivariate correlation between the constructs.
Table 3 presents the results of Fornell and Larcker’s criteria for the present study. The bold values in the diagonal represent the square root of the AVE scores whereas the other values in the table represent the correlation among the variables. It can be observed from Table 3 that the square root of AVE for dimensions of welfare facilities and items of satisfaction is greater than the correlations (√AVE > r). Thus, the model displays no discriminant validity issues.
Another technique that allows us to assess the discriminant validity is HTMT Ratio. This is a contemporary method that is suggested by Henseler et al. (2014) for discriminant validity. They have suggested that the two constructs are distinct from each other if HTMT
< 0.9. The HTMT scores of Health and Hygiene, Resting Facility, Transportation, Safety, and other facilities in the measurement model of this research are given in Table 4. The HTMT values are well below the threshold of 0.9. Consequently, we can claim that the measurement model does not have discriminant validity issues.
Assessment of structural model
Once it has been proven by the measurement model analysis that the data is valid and reliable, the model’s predictive capabilities and the relationship among the variables are examined in the next step, which is also known as structural model assessment.
Hair, Matthews, et al. (2017) explain that the relation between the variables being investigated is described by the inner or structural model. A structural model is critical in understanding the interrelationship between independent variables and dependent vari- ables. Evaluation of the structural model allows us to predict the relationships empirically that were earlier proposed. Moreover, in structural model analysis, initially, collinearity issues are evaluated, then the path coefficient and its significance are assessed, and finally, the coefficient of determination is assessed.
The structural model for the present study is displayed in Figure 4 which explores the relationship between welfare facilities and the satisfaction of the construction workforce.
Collinearity assessment
A high correlation among the variables is considered collinearity. It is problematic from a methodological perspective. Collinearity is usually determined through Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) and Tolerance values. Moreover, it is suggested by Hair, Matthews, et al. (2017) that for a structural model to be free from Collinearity issues Tolerance < 0.2 and VIF < 5.
Table 4. Discriminant validity assessment by HTMT criteria
Constructs
Eating, Drinking and Resting
Facility
Health and Hygiene
Facility
Safety, Training
& Other
Facilities Satisfaction
Transportation Facility Eating, Drinking and Resting Facility 1
Health and Hygiene Facility 0.708 1
Safety, Training & Other Facilities 0.694 0.537 1
Employee Satisfaction 0.668 0.686 0.769 1
Transportation Facility 0.538 0.525 0.751 0.597 1
The results of VIF for dimensions of welfare facilities are presented in Table 5 below. It can be observed that the VIF values are less than 5. Therefore, we can claim that the structural model has no collinearity issues.
Evaluation of path coefficients
The Partial Least Squares (PLS) algorithm allows us to compute the path coefficients and their relative significance. Moreover, these estimated path coefficients allow us to answer our proposed hypotheses. These path coefficients have standardized values that range between −1 to + 1. If the estimated values are near zero, it means there is a weak relationship between the constructs. Whereas, if the values are closer to + 1, it reflects a strong positive relationship between the constructs.
Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the PLS algorithm also generates t-statistic and p-values for the significance of the relationship. The algorithm uses a bootstrapping tech- nique to compute these values. If the t-statistic is greater than the critical value of 1.96, it indicates that the relationship is significant. Similarly, p-values less than 0.05 imply a significant relationship.
Table 6 indicates the results for the Path coefficient which is normally represented by the Beta (β), t-statistic, and p-values.
It can be observed from the results presented in Table 6 that the β = 0.713, which is closer to + 1. It means that for a one unit increase in the welfare facilities, there is a 71.3%
likelihood of attaining employee satisfaction. Likewise, these results indicate that there is a strong relationship between welfare facilities and employee satisfaction in the construc- tion sector of Balochistan, Pakistan.
Additionally, the t-statistic (20.963) and p-value (0.000) indicate that the relationship between the two constructs is significant. In aggregate, it can be stated that the proposed hypotheses are determined to be true.
Coefficient of determination evaluation (R2)
The coefficient of determination (R2) is generally evaluated to measure the proposed model’s predictive power. This coefficient is understood as the correlation between antici- pated and real values of a particular endogenous construct (Rigdon, 2014). It allows the
Table 5. Collinearity statistic (VIF) for higher order construct
CONSTRUCTS VIF
Eating, Drinking & Resting Facility 1.755 Health & Hygiene Facility 1.507 Safety, Training & Other Facilities 1.795
Transportation Facility 1.487
Table 6. Significance of path coefficient
Original Sample
(β) Sample Mean Standard Deviation t-Statistic P-value
Welfare Facilities -> Employee Satisfaction .713 .713 0.034 20.963 .000
researcher to determine the amount of variance that is explained by the exogenous constructs in the endogenous construct.
The R2 value ranges from 0 to 1. Values ranging between 0–0.25 indicate “weak”
predictive capability, whereas values ranging between 0.25–0.5 show “moderate” power, and values ranging from 0.5–0.75 imply “substantial” levels of model predictive capability (Henseler et al., 2009). For this study, the R2 value is 0.508. It means welfare facilities are explaining almost 51% of the variance in employee satisfaction. The predictive power is assumed to be substantial.
Discussion
The satisfaction of civil engineers and manual labor is very critical since it will help the construction industry in gaining a competitive advantage in terms of attracting a pool of highly skilled labor. Also, it will ensure the sustainability and efficiency of services in the sector. However, it is noted from the findings of this study that the satisfaction level in the construction industry is below the required level, and these current levels can be significantly improved by providing welfare facilities.
Accordingly, several benefits were proposed by Odeku and Odeku (2015) and Gyamfi et al. (2021).
In this study, it is proven that the satisfaction level of the civil engineers working on sites in Balochistan is positively influenced by the welfare facilities provided to them. The findings of this study are in coherence with the findings of previous studies that have examined the relationship in different contexts and using different types of data (Bandara et al., 2020; T. S. Nanjundeswaraswamy, 2019). Particularly, studies in the past have found a significant positive relationship between employee welfare activities and satisfaction (De Souza, 2009; Gopalakrishnan & Brindha, 2017; T. Nanjundeswaraswamy et al., 2019;
Wehigaldeniya et al., 2018).
Additionally, the findings also confirm that the welfare facilities namely; eating, drinking, resting, health & hygiene, safety, training & other facilities, and transportation facility were recognized by Ankita and Ankita (2014); Nithyavathi (2016); Ramya et al.
(2016); Reasons et al. (1981); Sadyojathappa (2015); and International Labour Office (2013) as being crucial for the construction industry were confirmed by this study.
Apart from this, the employee satisfaction gaps in these vital welfare facilities were also reported.
The study finally emphasizes the strategies that give importance to employee welfare activities in the construction industry. Strategies incorporating these activities for the well- being of employees lead to an increase in the satisfaction level of employees, hence increasing the overall organizational performance. Fulfilling the employee welfare require- ments stipulated by statutory bodies such as International Labour Office (2013) are man- datory for construction companies in Pakistan. According to the findings of the Health Department of Western Australia, Occupational Health and Safety Committee (1990), Nithyavathi (2016), and Sadyojathappa (2015), the welfare activities for employees include shelters, rest and lunch rooms, toilets, and washing rooms, medical first aid boxes, and changing rooms endorsed by this study, must be included in the organizational strategies for the employees’ satisfaction and betterment of the organization.
Policy implications
Generalizability of findings to other settings, people or time is interchangeably used as
“external validity.” As a result, the findings of this study provide useful implications for government policymakers and regulatory bodies in Pakistan to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the construction industry. Apart from this, the study also gives a pathway to improve the current policies regarding employee welfare activities particularly, the policies that emphasize non-welfare facilities. Additionally, if the provisions of welfare facilities such as health, hygiene, eating, drinking, resting, safety, training and transportation are evaluated and monitored regularly, it can be beneficial for a wide array of stakeholders via uplifting employee satisfaction. These insights can help concerned authorities in developing such policies.
Practical implications
The results and findings of this research have shown the importance of the welfare facilities provided to employees on the level of satisfaction of civil engineers working on sites in Balochistan province. The outcome of this research demonstrates that welfare facilities have a significant effect/impact on the level of employee satisfaction.
An increase in welfare facilities would increase the satisfaction level of the sampled civil engineers and this increase in satisfaction would ultimately increase the efficiency of the departments, making them more efficient and successful. Thus, the departments should focus on increasing the welfare facilities provided because, as per the result of this study, a 1% increase in welfare facilities would increase employee satisfaction by 71.3%.
The public works department could also use the findings of this research for future policymaking decisions regarding the improvement of welfare facilities in the construction industry of the province. The Public Works Department of Balochistan province could also use the outcome of this research to create a prioritized list of welfare facilities, identifying the more important facilities which have a greater impact on the level of satisfaction of civil engineers. In this study, transportation, Eating, drinking, and resting facilities were shown to have the greatest impact on employee satisfaction. Policymakers may implement quick and out-of-the-box measures for the improvement of such high-impact welfare facilities.
Limitations and future directions
As this research was carried out in the Public Works Department of Balochistan province in Pakistan, it is proposed that in the future a similar study may be carried out from the perspective of civil engineers working in construction firms in private ownership. In the current study, welfare facilities, such as health and hygiene, transportation, eating drinking and resting, training and safety were considered. Therefore, it is suggested that in the future researchers could determine the impact of additional variables on the level of satisfaction.
Moreover, in this study the welfare facilities were measured using four dimensions however, in the future researchers can test the individual impact of these dimensions directly on the satisfaction of the construction workforce.
Conclusion
The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationship between welfare facilities and the satisfaction of civil engineers working at construction sites in the province of Balochistan.
Following the results and outcomes of the research, it was proven, both statistically and theoretically, that welfare facilities had a noticeable impact on the level of satisfaction of the sampled civil engineers.
In this study, four dimensions with sixteen manifests of welfare facilities were considered to calculate the measure of welfare facilities and their effect on the employee’s level of satisfaction. All of the parameters regarding the welfare facilities considered had a noticeable positive impact on the level of satisfaction, however, the observation denotes that the sampled civil engineers gave more importance to transportation facilities with a more significant impact on their satisfaction level. The outcomes of this research also revealed noticeable relationships between the level of satisfaction and eating, drinking, toilet, and break facilities respectively.
The construction industry has a very significant role in the country’s economy, therefore, it is important to have satisfied professionals in this field, with a high level of performance, as their attitude toward their work not only affects the efficiency of the organizations they are working in but also national development.
In the case of public work departments (the sample frame of this study), this becomes even more significant because the civil engineers working in the Public Works Department of Balochistan province not only affect the efficiency and effec- tiveness of their departments but the delivery of the Government services, as they deal with the general public on behalf of the government.
Human resources are considered significant, as compared to other resources, there- fore, they should be managed carefully. Employee welfare and satisfaction have a vital role in human resource management. Generally, organizations face multiple issues in retaining knowledgeable and professional employees because alternative job opportu- nities are available for them as organizations constantly seek to hire knowledgeable individuals. As Balochistan province is acknowledged to be a hard area to work in, there is a lack of knowledgeable professional experts in the construction industry, as com- pared to the level of development being carried out in the province, therefore, the public works department needs to take steps to increase the welfare facilities offered to its civil engineers employed in the construction field to encourage, motivate and satisfy them, so that they can be retained.
From the findings of this study, the Public Works Department of Balochistan province can design policies to create an environment where the dampened morale of workers can be raised and a high productivity rate can be achieved. The Public Works Department of Balochistan province can also use the outcomes of this research to identify the most important facilities, which have the greatest impact on the level of satisfaction of the civil engineers and carry out quick measures for improvement, as recommended in this study.
It is, therefore concluded that the successful implementation of the findings of this research will enhance the satisfaction of civil engineers, thereby, increasing the productivity and efficiency of the department. The improved welfare facilities will enhance the employ- ees’ physical health, loyalty, and intelligence. This study will also contribute to the literature gap found in the context of Balochistan province regarding the research area.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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