ABSTRACT

This article considers how construction workers based in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) negotiate the need to be mobile for work at different scales and with what effects. It tackles the seldom considered question of how travel becomes normalized as a facet of work in construction, an employment sector characterized by volatility. Specifically, we explore the experiences of workers and their families negotiating the shift from having extensive employment options in different places during a time of high labour demand, to limited and constrained options that may require significant changes (for instance, relocation, more time apart from family, or lower pay) in a period of economic contraction. How workers respond to these conditions contributes to conceptualizations of agency and mobility in construction workplace cultures. The article draws on 73 semi-structured interviews with workers, employers and industry and community stakeholders conducted between 2014 and 2018, and data from project employment reports and field observations. The article reveals how long commutes and extended periods away from home are understood to be inevitable aspects of construction work that shape the field of expectations of workers and their families, and what this dominant discourse means on the ground in lived experience.

摘要

本文考虑了总部位于加拿大纽芬兰和拉布拉多（NL）的建筑工人如何就移动办公的需求进行谈判，以解决不同规模的工作以及产生的影响。它解决了很少考虑的问题：如何将旅行规范化为建筑业的一个工作面，建筑业是一个以波动为特征的就业部门。具体来说，我们探讨了工人及其家庭的谈判经历，从在劳动力需求旺盛的时期在不同地方提供广泛的就业选择，转变为可能需要进行重大改变（例如搬迁，除了家庭或低薪人士）。工人如何应对这些条件有助于在施工场所文化中对代理和流动性进行概念化。本文基于2014年至2018年之间对工人，雇主，行业和社区利益相关者进行的73次半结构化访谈，以及项目就业报告和实地观察的数据。这篇文章揭示了通勤多长时间和远离家乡的时间被理解为建筑工作的必然方面，它塑造了工人及其家庭的期望领域，以及这种占主导地位的话语在现实生活经验中意味着什么。