“They are a bloody nuisance quite frankly. Getting under your feet all day, complaining about the noise and dust, and regaling you with their life stories……. I wish they would all just b!@?*r off back to their own workplace. Fat chance of that, though, with the sun shining and neighbours constantly popping round for a gossip.” If that sounds familiar then you are far from alone because more and more jobbing builders are finding to their cost, yet another unexpected and little reported downside to the great work from home obsession that shows no sign of loosening its grip, post pandemic – despite Boris’s best protestations.
During the course of a typical career the average tradesperson will more than likely visit hundreds of homes, but if you thought that the absence of a regular brew and a piece of cake was the worst of potential client gripes then think again. In the present WFH climate it is becoming increasingly apparent that many builders, plumbers, and electricians are encountering the sort of behaviour that would be considered serious workplace harassment in any other context.
With millions of families confined to their homes during various national lockdowns, there is no disputing the fact that Covid had a very positive impact on the amount of renovation and home improvement work being undertaken by professionals. Unfortunately, even with the restrictions now pretty much lifted, these homeowners are still very much in evidence making life extremely uncomfortable for those trying to carry out the works.
As another disgruntled builder told us recently: “Tricky customers are nothing new, of course, but issues only ever really became apparent first thing in the morning, or maybe last thing at night, and then we had the property to ourselves for the rest of the day. Now, they are on your case 24/7 with a totally cavalier attitude towards safety and unwittingly holding up the job by hanging around while you are doing the work, questioning your skills set and insisting they could have got the same materials cheaper online. Even though they have no idea of what real quality craftsmanship and products look like.”
Another big bugbear, it seems, is having to work around animals that are not properly under control. All those “not just for lockdown cute puppies” have grown teeth it would appear, with a recent survey suggesting a third of tradespeople have been attacked by a homeowners’ pet whilst a similar amount have actually walked off the job after being asked to work amidst dog mess, maggot infested rubbish or flea infestations. As one wag put it: “when you can’t see the floor through the rubbish and pet poo, it’s time to walk away”. And that’s not the only thing to make the skin crawl. Contrary to popular myth, many tradespeople say they have had a customer flirt or attempt to seduce them in a way which made them feel uncomfortable and, far from finding these situations comical, they often feel demeaned or threatened by such behaviour.
Whilst accepting that, like all sectors of commerce, the building industry has its fair share of unscrupulous operators, few professions have ever been subjected to the sort of sustained media scrutiny that appears to have an almost pathological obsession with the so-called cowboy builder. The end result is a society which, sadly, still tends to look down on skilled manual work in general, often devaluing the knowledge, judgment, and craftsmanship it involves. It’s hard to imagine someone in a white-collar role encountering such high levels of harassment and casual disrespect without it ending in a tribunal hearing and hefty compensation.
In fact, tradespeople are actually some of the best insured small businesses in the UK and are required to follow health and safety regulations designed to protect customers. But it surely must cut both ways. Householders have a duty of care towards people in their homes too. At the most basic level, provide a clean workspace and ensure animals and children are well out of the way.
However tempting it may initially appear, the next time you are invited to quote for some domestic remedial work, it would be wise to take in more than just the job in hand and pay due diligence to the likely working conditions as the job unfolds. Scratch the surface just a little deeper and you may find a can of worms in more ways than you ever imagined
