The major paving company I worked for consistently ranked near the top in annual salary rankings for the construction industry. So whenever I ran into classmates, they\u2019d often pester me, saying, \u201cYou make good money, so you should treat us.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the reality is far from so peaceful. We must consider why the annual income is so high. The reason for the high annual income is simply that the work is grueling, involving a lot of overtime and late-night work.<\/p>\n
My base salary is no different from that of an ordinary office worker\u2014if anything, it\u2019s on the low side\u2014but because I work so much overtime and late-night shifts, my annual income ends up being quite high\u2026<\/p>\n
Paving companies are a lot like the military. The reality is that they hire an excessive number of new graduates every year, and the company is sustained by the few who manage to survive.<\/p>\n
At my company, there were about 50 people in my graduating class, but only three of us are still here five years later. I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s the same at general contractors.<\/p>\n
The construction industry as a whole is hiring in droves, as if to say, \u201cIf even one person stays, we\u2019ll be lucky,\u201d while watching as many young people leave the industry.<\/p>\n
If we allow this situation to continue, the number of young people who feel aversion (or even hostility) toward the construction industry will continue to grow. Isn\u2019t this a problem for the construction industry as a whole?<\/p>\n
Many major paving companies are divided into \"Construction Departments\" and \"Materials Departments.\"<\/p>\n
The Construction Department, as the name suggests, is the department responsible for paving work. The Materials Department manufactures and sells the materials used for paving. (We\u2019ll focus on the Construction Department this time, but it\u2019s just as much of a living hell no matter which department you\u2019re assigned to.)<\/p>\n
When assigned to the Construction Department, new hires are practically forced to move into the dormitory. Rent at the dormitory is extremely cheap\u2014about 3,000 yen, including utilities. New hires can\u2019t help but save a lot of money. However, the dorm rooms are often located right above the office or right across the street from it\u2014an environment that forces them to be in \u201cwork mode\u201d all the time\u2014so I feel sorry for the new hires.<\/p>\n
On top of that, I have to interact with my senior coworkers even outside of work, and since the walls are so thin, I have no privacy. It feels just like those \u201ccrab-processing ships\u201d and \u201coctopus rooms\u201d people often talk about online. If you have a good senior coworker, it\u2019s heaven, but there are also some who are total jerks, so you can\u2019t let your guard down.<\/p>\n
A typical day at a major paving company is as follows.<\/p>\n
7:30 Morning Meeting
\n8:00 a.m. Work begins on site
\n12:00 Lunch break
\n1:00 p.m. Work on site resumes
\n5:30 p.m. Return to the office<\/p>\n
At first glance, you might think this is no different from a typical construction business. However, the work may continue even after that.<\/p>\n
7:30 p.m. Night Shift on Site
\n12:30 a.m. Returned to the office
\n12:00 a.m. Begin preparing site documents<\/p>\n
We're constantly short-staffed, and I can't even get a decent night's sleep. On top of that, even on my days off, I get assigned work under the guise of \"working on my day off,\" so I can't really rest.<\/p>\n
Many new hires quit because they find construction work unpleasant. Even on major job sites, there are many job openings for construction management in the road construction sector.<\/p>\n
Even if the government works hard to address the labor shortage in the construction industry, it won\u2019t be able to resolve the issue immediately. It is clear that fundamental reforms are needed.<\/p>\n
While it goes without saying that the \u201ctwo-day weekend system,\u201d which is currently popular in the industry, should be fully implemented, I believe it is also necessary for clients to \u201creduce nighttime construction work.\u201d I would like to see efforts made not only by companies but also by government agencies.<\/p>\n
Now is the time to stop nighttime construction.<\/p>\n
We anticipated the counterargument that conducting construction work only during the day would disrupt traffic and prevent us from meeting the deadline. But shouldn\u2019t the construction industry come together to overturn such outdated conventions?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n