The culture of complaint in construction: affirmative reflections on its role and function

Anecdotal evidence and literature searches suggest that the construction industry is generally portrayed in negative terms; it is conservative, risk-reluctant, unable to produce innovation, and so forth. This 'culture of complaint' occasionally surfacing in talks and writing is examined as what is in essence ideological, that is, rather than being a marginal gesture of little social and cultural significance, complaining is serving as a functional mechanism enabling, inter alia, a sense of community, the warding off of criticism, and to cope with perceived uncertainties. The commonplace dismissal of the construction industry is thus worthy of more systematic scholarly attention.