A few days ago, I witnessed a scene that left me thinking. At a construction site, an engineer was shouting instructions in Spanish to a group of workers who barely understood. The frustration was palpable on both sides. There was no malice, just a chasm of misunderstanding. And I wondered: how can we talk about organizational culture when basic communication doesn't flow? Is it possible to build shared values in a sector where conditions are so fragmented?
The Dominican construction industry rests on a reality we must address honestly. The vast majority of our workforce in the initial phase comes from Haiti, workers who shoulder the most demanding tasks under highly informal conditions. Many arrive with verbal contracts, without basic protections, earning significantly less than their peers for the same work. This is not empty criticism, but rather an acknowledgment of a system we have normalized and which we must transform if we aspire to more than mere rhetoric about "our people" and "our values.".
But there's a darker layer: many contractors operate as informal lenders, advancing money to workers at exorbitant interest rates. Furthermore, they withhold payments because they use those funds for other projects, creating a cycle of perpetual debt. This financial mismanagement—contractors living in debt themselves—falls on those least able to defend themselves. When we hear of "mutinies" or violent responses on construction sites, we rarely ask what triggered them: it's almost always the withholding of payment after days or weeks of completed work.
Herein lies the first obstacle: we want organizational culture without addressing workplace dignity. It's like applying fine finishes to a cracked foundation. Culture isn't decreed in a manual no one reads; it's built through daily interactions, fair wages, and physical and emotional safety. When a worker labors in fear of arbitrary deportation or knowing that an accident will leave them destitute, what values do we truly share? Fear isn't culture; it's survival.
The second obstacle is the gap in timeframes. While an administrative worker thinks about quarterly projections, the laborer thinks about tomorrow's paycheck, the money they'll send to their family, whether there will be work next week. These aren't parallel worlds; they are incompatible economic realities that generate conflicts we misinterpret as "lack of commitment" or "resistance to change.".
So, is it utopian? No. But it's not possible with traditional methods either. Creating an organizational culture in construction requires starting with the uncomfortable: formal contracts instead of verbal agreements; timely and transparent payments without intermediaries who profit from debt; decent and comparable wages; safety protocols that are followed without exception; and communication channels in the languages spoken on the construction site, not just in offices.
And here I must be clear: I know real estate business owners willing to formalize this workforce, to lift them out of immigration uncertainty, and to offer them decent working conditions. But they need a legal framework to facilitate this. A dialogue between the private sector and immigration authorities is urgently needed to create effective regularization systems: temporary permits tied to specific projects, where the construction company assumes direct responsibility for its workers. These men and women, who toil from dawn till dusk, drive real estate development and, consequently, the Dominican economy. They deserve legal certainty, access to healthcare, and the dignity of not living under constant persecution. Informality is not only unjust; it is unsustainable.
True organizational culture is measured in the everyday: Is there drinking water on the construction site? Is there a decent place to eat? Can workers report dangerous situations without losing their jobs? These aren't "extra perks"; they're foundations. And on solid foundations, everything else can be built: ongoing training, career advancement opportunities, recognition of effort, and a sense of belonging.
Utopia or possibility? Possibility. But only if we accept that organizational culture isn't imported from a manual; it's built from the honesty of acknowledging our contradictions and the courage to transform them. From the administrator to the worker. Without exception.
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