A socio-ecological framework for improving the psychological health of foreign workers in developing countries: The case of saudi construction industry

Previous studies on occupational health and safety (OHS) management in construction havelargely focused on injuries and physical health, but marginally on an important, complex issuethat is the psychological health of foreign workers, leaving a significant knowledge gap inconstruction OHS research globally. Hence, this research aimed at investigating factorsaffecting the psychological health of foreign workers in the construction industry anddeveloping a framework of interventions to address them. Socio-ecological theory was used aslens to analyse the problem and to derive solutions from multiple perspectives. Thepsychological health of workers is a more serious concern in developing nations, particularly inthe GCC countries where foreign workers form the major workforce, warranting extensiveresearch. The Saudi Arabian construction industry was therefore chosen as the context for thisstudy. A mixed-methods strategy, involving both qualitative and quantitative data collection andanalyses, was adopted whereby interviews with 39 participants and a questionnaire survey with108 respondents from the construction industry of Riyadh were conducted. Fifteen factorscritically affecting the psychological health of foreign construction workers in this region werediscovered. Subsequently, a framework of interventions from three perspectives such asorganisation, community and state, is suggested to counteract them. This research contributessignificantly to knowledge and practice. First, the study adds a new dimension to OHS researchin construction, which concerns socio-psychological aspects, rather than the traditional physical,technical and managerial dimensions. Second, it has demonstrated how the socio-ecologicaltheory might be applied to investigate complex problems in construction and derive solutionsfrom multiple perspectives. Finally, OHS management in the GCC construction is poorlyresearched and the issue of psychological health has almost never been explored though it is anurgent need. This study fills this gap and functions as the seminal work on this topic in theregion. For practice, the study offers a holistic framework for policy makers and government authorities to enable them to improve the OHS condition, especially the psychological health, inthe Saudi Arabian construction sector. Similarly, valuable insights are offered for constructionorganisation as to how their OHS management systems might be improved.