Langdon, R R and Sawang, S (2018) Construction workers' well-being: What leads to depression, anxiety, and stress? Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 144(2): 04017100, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Work-related stress is an important issue in any industry, particularly in construction, in which stressful environments are frequently encountered. "What are the primary stressors in the construction workplace?" and "What are the relationships between the strain effect of psychological distress and the countermeasures and coping mechanisms used by construction workers?" are, therefore, critical questions. The first question was addressed by using Q-methodology survey with 18 participants. The results showed that time, personal finance and the nature of tasks are important stressors. For the second question, a questionnaire survey administered to 91 participants on two construction sites of a single contractor was used to collect data about the stressors, psychological strain effects, and coping strategies they used. Mediated regression analysis of the data showed that lack of personal and family time, increases in the cost of living, and fears about job security all act as powerful stressors. Coping strategies including acceptance, self-blame, and disengagement are associated with higher levels of psychological distress. Increased substance use, although associated with lower levels of anxiety, may only be a short-term coping mechanism. An anomaly was found with humor as a coping strategy, in which the relationship was found to be counterintuitive and contrary to the findings of previous research. Future research should examine this more closely. Employers should better inform workers about the negative effects of maladaptive coping strategies and offer opportunities for adopting more positive alternatives.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction workers; coping; labor and personnel issues; mental health; stressors; work-life demands |
| Index terms: | strategy, construction site, survey, stressors, personnel, methodology, well-being, psychological distress, anxiety, questionnaire, depression, construction worker, mental health, regression analysis, coping |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, mental health and wellbeing, practitioner, work location, management, research methods, health conditions and diseases, behavioral psychology, statistical analysis |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Site Management, Human Resources |
| 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