Nwaogu, J M and Chan, A P C (2021) Evaluation of multi-level intervention strategies for a psychologically healthy construction workplace in Nigeria. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 19(2), pp. 509-536. ISSN 1726-0531
Abstract
The need to improve the mental health of construction personnel has increased owing to high rates of mental health problems. Hence, a proper evaluation of a mix of implementable intervention strategies in the workplace will assist in achieving good mental health. Although there are recommendations in occupational health literature on strategies that can be adopted, it is unknown how they fit appropriately into the construction industry. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the mix of strategies for the construction industry and their criticality. Drawing from the context of developing countries with Nigeria as a case study, data was collected using the quantitative technique. A questionnaire survey consisting of 31 intervention strategies was administered to a purposive sample of 45 experts in the Nigerian construction industry. The data collected was analyzed using mean score analysis and fuzzy synthetic evaluation. The study revealed that strategies focused on boosting employee morale and engagement and interpersonal relationship offer higher chances of improving mental health among construction personnel. The study showed that implementing job crafting and sculpting may benefit the industry. The analysis showed that the overall criticality of the intervention strategies to the Nigerian construction workplace is high, suggesting that if implemented, the mental health of construction personnel can be improved. The study provides an initial understanding of the most critical multi-level intervention strategies to enhance good mental health among construction personnel in Nigeria and the global construction industry. These findings serve as a guide to policymakers and advocate the implementation of strategies to adopt for a psychologically healthy construction workplace in developing countries.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | developing countries; evaluation; morale; personnel; policy; valuation; employee; case study; questionnaire survey; Nigeria |
| Index terms: | occupational health, intervention strategy, survey, construction personnel, strategy, drawing, fuzzy synthetic evaluation, developing country, personnel, questionnaire, Nigeria, morale, case study, mental health, construction industry, implementation, interpersonal relationship, global construction |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, strategic management, workforce, contractual arrangements, technical documentation, Geography, development economics, financial risk, management, leadership, decision-making and optimization, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, occupational health and safety management, health conditions and diseases |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, International Construction, Human Resources, Design Practice, Procurement, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Cost Management, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here