In conversation: Becca Creighton on Setting a New Standard of Wellbeing in Construction

Construction has a reputation for long hours and rigid weeks, and genuine work-life balance has rarely been part of the conversation. Magrock's New Full-time Contract, announced earlier this month, sets out to change that, giving employees real choice in how they structure their working week without compromising the standards Magrock's clients rely on. Becca Creighton, Head of People, talks through how the initiative took shape, what it means for the business, and what it means for her personally.

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Q1: Can you give us an overview of what the new full-time contract involves?

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At its core, the new company-wide initiative gives all employees greater choice in how they structure their working week, allowing everyone to either condense their contracted hours into four days, with an option that includes working from home on the fifth day. The move focuses on providing employees flexibility without disruption to company efficiency or delivery.

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This follows the successful trial of a four and a half day working week, rolled out nationally across our regional offices and the live construction sites. Over the course of the year, we gathered feedback directly from employees and monitored business productivity and operational output throughout.

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What we learnt through the trial shaped the new contract and gave us the confidence to go further with this permanent change.

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Q2: Take us back to the start. What inspired Magrock to explore a more flexible working week?

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As Head of People, I'd say our journey towards a more flexible working week really started by listening to our employees. During our Investors in People accreditation process, we spoke extensively with our workforce through surveys, focus groups, and feedback sessions. We achieved a 100% response rate from our employees, which gave us a fantastic level of insight into what mattered most to our people.

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The feedback consistently highlighted themes around work-life balance, flexibility, communication, collaboration, and creating a workplace that supports people both professionally and personally. Our employees were telling us that flexibility was increasingly important, and as a people-focused business, we felt it was important to explore how we could respond to that.

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At Magrock, we've always believed that our people are our greatest asset and that the 'Magrock Way' is built on valuing and investing in them. The idea wasn't simply to reduce working hours. It was about creating a happier, more engaged workforce while maintaining productivity and delivering the high standards our clients expect.

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We also recognised that the world of work is changing. Employees increasingly want greater balance and flexibility, and forward-thinking businesses need to evolve alongside those expectations. Following six months of consultation and review, we launched a six-month trial of a new 4.5-day working week, reducing the working week from 42 hours to 39 hours whilst carefully measuring productivity, employee engagement, and business performance.

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Ultimately, the inspiration came from a simple principle: listen to our people, embrace positive change, and create a working environment where our employees can thrive both at work and outside of it.

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Q3: At this point in Magrock's ten-year journey, what does the new full-time contract mean for the company, and how does it reflect the values the business has been built around?

The new full-time contract is more than just a change to working hours, it's a statement about the kind of company we want to be. It demonstrates that we're prepared to challenge traditional ways of working, listen to employee feedback, and create innovative solutions that benefit both our people and the business.

At this stage in our journey, we have the confidence, maturity, and operational foundations to take bold steps that support employee wellbeing while maintaining the high standards our clients expect. The move recognises that attracting, retaining, and developing great people is critical to our long-term success.

It's also a direct reflection of Magrock's values of Trust, Passion and Respect. It starts with trust, trusting our people to deliver great outcomes while working in a way that gives them more balance. It's about respect, recognising that our employees have commitments and priorities outside of work and that wellbeing matters. And it's about passion, creating an environment where people feel energised, engaged and able to bring their best selves to work. By making this change, we're living our values, not just talking about them.

This announcement is both a celebration of how far we've come in the last ten years and an investment in the future. It positions Magrock as a forward-thinking employer and supports our ambition to continue growing while remaining a great place to work.

Q4: How did the people of Magrock help to shape the new full-time contract, and how did the business look for feedback throughout the process?

Our people were at the heart of shaping the new contract from the very beginning. Through employee surveys, focus groups, regular feedback sessions and our Investors in People engagement process, we asked our teams what mattered most to them. The message was clear, greater flexibility and work-life balance were key priorities.

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Throughout the last 18 months, we continued to gather feedback, both formally and informally, to understand the impact on our people and the business. That ongoing dialogue allowed us to make informed decisions and ensure the contract reflected the needs of our workforce. The way I see it, this wasn’t done to our people, it was developed with them, step by step.

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Q5: What impact do you expect the new full-time contract to make to employees; day to day?

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We expect the new full-time contract to make a real difference to our employees' day-to-day lives by giving them more time and flexibility outside of work, without impacting their pay or career opportunities. Whether that's spending more time with family, attending appointments, pursuing personal interests, or simply having more time to recharge, it's about creating a better work-life balance.

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We believe that when people feel trusted, valued and supported, they're more engaged, more productive, and able to bring their best selves to work every day. Giving that buzz and excitement of a bank holiday feeling, every week.

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Q6: How will Magrock keep delivering the standard of client service it's known for, while giving its workforce more flexibility in how they work?

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Client service has always been, and will continue to be, our top priority. The move to a more flexible working week has been carefully planned to ensure we maintain the high standards our clients expect from Magrock.

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This isn't about working less effectively; it's about working smarter. We've focused on improving efficiency, planning workloads effectively, and ensuring teams remain fully available to support our clients. By giving our people greater flexibility and a better work-life balance, we expect to see higher levels of engagement, wellbeing and productivity, which ultimately benefits our clients too.

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For us, it's about creating a win-win: supporting our people while continuing to deliver the quality, responsiveness and service that Magrock is known for.

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Q7: Where does this new way of working move Magrock in the wider industry's conversation about work-life balance, and what might it mean for attracting and retaining talent?

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This new way of working positions Magrock as a progressive employer that is willing to challenge traditional working practices and put people first. The construction industry hasn't always been known for flexibility, so we're proud to be part of the conversation about how businesses can better support employee wellbeing while continuing to deliver exceptional results.

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From a talent perspective, we know that work-life balance is increasingly important to current and future employees. Offering a more flexible full-time contract helps us stand out in a competitive market, attract high-quality talent, and retain the great people we already have. It’s about creating a workplace where people want to join, stay, and build their careers, and that's a key part of Magrock's long-term success.

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Q8: As Head of People, you've led Magrock through a complex journey to deliver a landmark announcement within the construction industry. What does delivering Magrock’s New Full-Time Contract mean to you?

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On a personal level, delivering Magrock's New Full-Time Contract means a huge amount to me. When I joined Magrock three years ago, I was excited by the opportunities ahead, but I never imagined just how willing the business would be to listen, challenge itself and embrace meaningful change for its people.

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This hasn't happened overnight. It's been a long journey of conversations, feedback, testing, learning and, at times, taking a leap of faith. What has stood out throughout is the genuine commitment from the leadership team to do what's right for our people, even when it means doing things differently from the rest of the industry.

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As Head of People, you always hope to influence positive change, but being part of something that can have a lasting impact on employees' lives is incredibly special. Seeing this become a reality, knowing it was shaped by the voices of our people and fully backed by the business, makes me immensely proud.

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I couldn't be happier with what we've achieved together. It's a landmark moment for Magrock, and for me personally, it's proof that when you have a business built on trust, passion and respect, and the courage to embrace change, amazing things can happen.

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For full details on Magrock’s new full-time contract and what it means for the business and its clients, you can read the full announcement here