IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/gender/v27y2020i4p632-646.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Masculinities in the construction industry: A double‐edged sword for health and wellbeing?

Author

Listed:
  • Esmée Hanna
  • Brendan Gough
  • Steven Markham

Abstract

Construction remains a male‐dominated industry and men in construction suffer high rates of illness and injury compared to other industries. Consideration of men and masculinities may support any attempt to maintain and promote the health and wellbeing of construction workers. This article discusses qualitative case study research conducted with stakeholders in the UK construction industry around health and wellbeing. Our thematic analysis highlights how masculinities operate to both inhibit and promote healthy practices. On the one hand, a culture of stoicism pertaining to illness or injury was evident, whilst a competitive ethos between occupational groups was observed to increase risk‐taking and poor health choices. However, interviewees identified homosocial camaraderie and respect for lived experience as a means to promote positive health behaviour. Differences between younger and older generations of employees were noted. Overall, we argue that men's work and associated health practices can be understood as ‘rational’ individualized responses to structural deregulation and insecurity within the construction industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Esmée Hanna & Brendan Gough & Steven Markham, 2020. "Masculinities in the construction industry: A double‐edged sword for health and wellbeing?," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 632-646, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:27:y:2020:i:4:p:632-646
    DOI: 10.1111/gwao.12429
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12429
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/gwao.12429?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. O'Brien, Rosaleen & Hunt, Kate & Hart, Graham, 2005. "'It's caveman stuff, but that is to a certain extent how guys still operate': men's accounts of masculinity and help seeking," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 503-516, August.
    2. Linda McDowell, 2003. "Masculine identities and low‐paid work: young men in urban labour markets," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(4), pages 828-848, December.
    3. Gough, Brendan, 2006. "Try to be healthy, but don't forgo your masculinity: Deconstructing men's health discourse in the media," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(9), pages 2476-2488, November.
    4. Fleming, P.J. & Lee, J.G.L. & Dworkin, S.L., 2014. ""Real men don't": Constructions of masculinity and inadvertent harm in public health interventions," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 104(6), pages 1029-1035.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Amna Chaudhry & John Amis, 2022. "Negotiating masculinities in times of crisis: On the COVID frontline in Pakistan," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 650-665, March.
    2. Trang Thi Quynh Dinh & Janne Tienari, 2022. "Brothers and broken dreams: Men, masculinity, and emotions in platform capitalism," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 609-625, March.
    3. George Ofori, 2023. "Get Construction Project Performance Parameters Right to Attain Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-21, September.
    4. Adams, Nicholas Norman, 2023. "“It's how people act out there that counts”: Examining linkages between emerging and protective organisationally desirable managerial masculinities and a reimagining of formal safety policies in the o," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Green, Gill & Emslie, Carol & O'Neill, Dan & Hunt, Kate & Walker, Steven, 2010. "Exploring the ambiguities of masculinity in accounts of emotional distress in the military among young ex-servicemen," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(8), pages 1480-1488, October.
    2. Terry Peak & Julie A. Gast, 2014. "Aging Men’s Health-Related Behaviors," SAGE Open, , vol. 4(4), pages 21582440145, November.
    3. Turner, Rachel A. & Szaboova, Lucy & Williams, Gwynedd, 2018. "Constraints to healthcare access among commercial fishers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 10-19.
    4. Ilyas Sagar-Ouriaghli & Emma Godfrey & Selina Graham & June S. L. Brown, 2020. "Improving Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviours for Male Students: A Framework for Developing a Complex Intervention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-34, July.
    5. Jonathan Pratschke & Enrica Morlicchio, 2012. "Social Polarisation, the Labour Market and Economic Restructuring in Europe: An Urban Perspective," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(9), pages 1891-1907, July.
    6. Oliffe, John L. & Ogrodniczuk, John S. & Bottorff, Joan L. & Johnson, Joy L. & Hoyak, Kristy, 2012. "“You feel like you can’t live anymore”: Suicide from the perspectives of Canadian men who experience depression," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(4), pages 506-514.
    7. Backhans, Mona C. & Lundberg, Michael & Månsdotter, Anna, 2007. "Does increased gender equality lead to a convergence of health outcomes for men and women? A study of Swedish municipalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(9), pages 1892-1903, May.
    8. Bottorff, Joan L. & Oliffe, John L. & Halpin, Michael & Phillips, Melanie & McLean, Graham & Mroz, Lawrence, 2008. "Women and prostate cancer support groups: The gender connect?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(5), pages 1217-1227, March.
    9. Victoria Ross & Neil Caton & Jorgen Gullestrup & Kairi Kõlves, 2019. "Understanding the Barriers and Pathways to Male Help-Seeking and Help-Offering: A Mixed Methods Study of the Impact of the Mates in Construction Program," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-12, August.
    10. Doyal, Lesley & Anderson, Jane & Paparini, Sara, 2009. "'You are not yourself': Exploring masculinities among heterosexual African men living with HIV in London," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 1901-1907, May.
    11. John Garry & Maria Lohan, 2011. "Mispredicting Happiness Across the Adult Lifespan: Implications for the Risky Health Behaviour of Young People," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 41-49, March.
    12. Fleming, Paul J. & Gruskin, Sofia & Rojo, Florencia & Dworkin, Shari L., 2015. "Men's violence against women and men are inter-related: Recommendations for simultaneous intervention," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 249-256.
    13. Anne Hammarström & Berit Lundman & Christina Ahlgren & Maria Wiklund, 2015. "Health and Masculinities Shaped by Agency within Structures among Young Unemployed Men in a Northern Swedish Context," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    14. Ewert, Rebecca, 2021. "“A country boy can survive:” Rural culture and male-targeted suicide prevention messaging," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    15. Lohan, Maria, 2007. "How might we understand men's health better? Integrating explanations from critical studies on men and inequalities in health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 493-504, August.
    16. Apesoa-Varano, Ester Carolina & Barker, Judith C. & Hinton, Ladson, 2015. "Shards of sorrow: Older men's accounts of their depression experience," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 1-8.
    17. Gough, Brendan, 2007. "'Real men don't diet': An analysis of contemporary newspaper representations of men, food and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 326-337, January.
    18. Marta Gil‐Lacruz & Ana I. Gil‐Lacruz, 2010. "Health Perception and Health Care Access: Sex Differences in Behaviors and Attitudes," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 69(2), pages 783-801, April.
    19. Batchelder, Abigail W. & Foley, Jacklyn D. & Kim, Jane & Thiim, Aron & Kelly, John & Mayer, Kenneth & O'Cleirigh, Conall, 2021. "Intersecting internalized stigmas and HIV self-care among men who have sex with men and who use substances," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    20. Mróz, Lawrence William & Chapman, Gwen E. & Oliffe, John L. & Bottorff, Joan L., 2011. "Gender relations, prostate cancer and diet: Re-inscribing hetero-normative food practices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(9), pages 1499-1506, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:gender:v:27:y:2020:i:4:p:632-646. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0968-6673 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.