Published 6 Sep 2022
S2. Ep13. Talking with Dr Natalie Galea about her (construction) research into the 5 day work week, gender equality, work hours, and the mental & physical health impacts from working in the construction industry
In this week’s podcast episode, we talk with Dr. Natalie Galea – Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Adjunct Senior Lecturer at The University of New South Wales, and former Australian Olympian!
After representing Australia at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics in Judo, she worked in the construction industry for 15 years until 2015; a career that took her through Australia, North Africa, and the Middle East – delivering large-scale building projects within local and international Tier 1 construction companies.
More recently she has undertaken a PhD in the Built Environment, specialising in research which focusses on the Construction industry and related sectors.
In this podcast, we spoke about her career in the Construction industry, and why she stepped out of the industry and moved into research, and we explored her research and its findings – whilst also discussing the topics related to her research in a broader context. We covered:
- How, where, and when Gender inequality present in the Construction industry
- Mental health and stress across the industry
- Work conditions across the industry and the effect on both Men and Women
- Her research and findings from recent research on a 5 day work week on major construction sites
- Future research opportunities
- The risk of failing to entice younger construction professionals to the industry, or pushing people out of the industry
If you have an interest in the construction industry, work across development, head contracting or sub-contracting, or even project financing – you’ll find this podcast of interest.
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Building Talks Podcast
Talking to professionals in construction, property development, architecture, and beyond.
