Professionalism and ethics in post-disaster reconstruction projects

Disasters are increasing in frequency and severity, causing major impacts on cities, human habitats, lives, and livelihoods. Therefore, there is an increased demand for construction professionals to undertake rebuilding after disasters to reconstruct resilient human habitats, ensuring the well-being of people. However, the ethical decision-making in post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) is challenged due to the dynamic nature of post-disaster chaos, time-compression, resource scarcity, political influence, and legal complexities. Furthermore, the influx of funds and donations in PDR contexts can foster unethical practices, particularly when standard procedures are bypassed in favour of expediency. While the construction sector is often criticised for unprofessional and unethical practices, these challenges are even greater in PDR. However, existing PDR literature has largely focused on technical, administrative, and ‘build back better’ aspects, leaving the Professionalism & Ethics (P&E) of PDR professionals in complex post-disaster contexts underexplored. Thus, this research aims to identify challenges to the P&E of PDR professionals and explore means to enhance their professional and ethical conduct. Adopting a multi-staged convergent mixed-method research strategy, a survey and five case studies were conducted. Data collected from 239 survey responses were analysed using factor analysis. Case studies were conducted in Italy, Mozambique, Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Data collected by interviewing professionals in PDR were analysed thematically. Findings disclosed six categories of challenges to the P&E of PDR professionals: business-cultural, disaster-contextual, competence-based, professional institution-related, administrative, and social challenges. Further, three means of enhancing the P&E of professionals in PDR were identified: knowledge and skills, wider climate, and individual morality. Finally, an approach to enhance the P&E of professionals in post-disaster reconstruction was suggested. This research offers an interdisciplinary insight into the built environment body of literature by shedding light on its interdependence with ethical relativism. Further, it has theoretical implications in the domains of organisation theory, public administration theory, professionalism, and morality. In addition, it provides real-world implications for policymaking and practice by suggesting means to reconstruct after disasters in a sustainable and socially responsible manner to improve the quality of life of people.