Healthy sites build profitable businesses

You plan for weather, materials and suppliers. But do you plan for burnout?

For most builders, profit leaks don’t just come from overruns or variations, they come from tired, overstretched teams. The lads on site are grafting hard, QSs are juggling RFIs and you’re trying to hold it all together.

When stress runs high, mistakes creep in. Snags increase. Deadlines slip. That eats straight into margin. Let’s be honest: A healthy team is your biggest profit driver.

The story: How a builder turned wellness into margin

A builder I coached was doing $1.8m turnover with decent jobs: High-end extensions, small new-builds and a few design-and-build contracts. But profit was always under pressure.

Every project finished late. His site managers were doing 12-hour days, apprentices were quitting and clients were getting twitchy. The culture was “crack on at all costs.”

We made three small changes:
– Shorter site hours on Fridays to protect recovery time.
– Weekly check-ins, ten minutes to talk workloads, not just progress.
– Clear programme planning, so teams weren’t constantly firefighting.

Six months later absence went down 35%, rework decreased by 20% and gross profit went up from 13% to 17%. That 4% gain meant nearly $70k more profit: Without winning a single extra job.

Step 1: Treat team fatigue as a risk, not a cost

You wouldn’t ignore a cracked lintel or unstable scaffold. Fatigue is just as dangerous, only it hits productivity, not structure.

Track wellness like you’d track safety or quality. Each Friday, run a quick check-in with your foremen: Who’s stretched? Who’s clocking 60-hour weeks? Who’s off their game?

Use a simple red-amber-green rating for each team. If someone’s in the red, deal with it before it becomes absence or burnout. Add a “Wellness” column to your weekly site report template.

Step 2: Build the programme around people

Too many builders plan a job around the client’s wish date, not the crew’s capacity. Then they wonder why everyone’s stressed and snag lists grow.

If your site team’s stacked with back-to-back jobs, you’re guaranteeing mistakes. Use your programme to create recovery space. Rotate crews between heavy graft and lighter tasks. If you’ve got multiple projects running, don’t let your PMs hoard staff and spread the load..

Step 3: Reward the right behaviours

Builders often bonus for completion dates or hitting valuations. Fair enough but you can’t reward speed if it kills quality. Start recognising the forepeople who keep sites calm, safe and snag-free. Reward the ones who maintain morale as well as targets.

One client of mine gives his site leads a quarterly “Build Smart” bonus, based on client feedback and team retention, not just deadlines. That’s created a culture of steady output over panic overtime. Healthy competition, fewer bust-ups and better profit.

Step 4: Talk more than you shout

Site culture’s tough. No one wants to admit they’re knackered, but silence costs you. If people can’t speak up early, small stressors turn into resignations or arguments that derail projects.

Use your daily huddles to check more than just progress. Ask “How’s everyone coping this week?” or “Anyone burning out?”. A five-minute chat can stop a five-day delay.

Step 5: Lead like you mean it

If you’re on the phone to clients at 10pm and replying to emails on Sunday, you’re teaching your team that’s the norm.

Start modelling balance. Leave site on time twice a week, take holidays and switch off your phone for one evening. You’ll come back sharper and they’ll follow suit. Strong leadership isn’t shouting louder, it’s about showing restraint and rhythm.

The builder’s ROI on wellbeing

Let’s do some quick maths.

Say you’ve got 15 people across sites and management. Each loses just one productive day a month to stress, poor sleep or lack of focus. That’s 180 days a year gone. At an average chargeable day of $250, that’s a minimum of $45,000 in lost productivity.

Now imagine cutting absenteeism by 25% and improving retention so you don’t lose a trained carpenter mid-programme. That’s another $60,000+ in hidden savings. You don’t need more work. You need healthier workers.

Action point checklist

• Add wellness to weekly site reports: Make it part of the agenda.
• Set realistic programmes: Plan breaks and rotation between jobs.
• Reward smart working: Bonus for teamwork and safety, not just speed.
• Hold five-minute check-ins: Include wellbeing in toolbox talks.
• Watch your own habits: Model the behaviour you want.
• Track results: Watch for fewer snags, absences, and overruns.
• Celebrate small wins: Team morale compounds profit.

Profit isn’t just built on bricks, it’s built on balance. When your crew’s healthy, your sites run smoother, your clients stay happier and your margins rise. Wellness isn’t a perk, it’s part of your programme.

By Greg Wilkes, Founder of Develop Coaching, author of Building Your Future and host of the Develop Your Construction Business podcast.