Omer, M M; Moyo, T; Al-Otaibi, A; Alawag, A M; Rizal Alias, A and Rahman, R A (2025) Critical factors affecting workplace well-being at construction sites across countries with different income levels. Construction Innovation, 25(1), pp. 104-130. ISSN 1471-4175
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to analyze the critical factors affecting workplace well-being at construction sites across countries with different income levels. Accordingly, this study's objectives are to identify: critical factors affecting workplace well-being at construction sites in low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle- and high-income countries, overlapping critical factors across countries with different income levels and agreements on the critical factors across countries with different income levels. Design/methodology/approach: This study identified 19 factors affecting workplace well-being using a systematic literature review and interviews with construction industry professionals. Subsequently, the factors were inserted into a questionnaire survey and distributed among construction industry professionals across Yemen, Zimbabwe, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, receiving 110, 169, 335 and 193 responses. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including mean, normalized value, overlap analysis and agreement analysis. Findings: This study identified 16 critical factors across all income levels. From those, 3 critical factors overlap across all countries (communication between workers, general safety and health monitoring and timeline of salary payment). Also, 3 critical factors (salary package, working environment and working hours) overlap across low-, low-middle and upper-middle-income countries, and 1 critical factor (project leadership) overlaps across low-middle, upper-middle and high-income countries. The agreements are inclined to be compatible between low- and low-middle-income, and between low- and high-income countries. However, agreements are incompatible across the remaining countries. Practical implications: This study can serve as a standard for maintaining satisfactory workplace well-being at construction sites. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first attempt to analyze factors affecting workplace well-being at construction sites across countries with different income levels.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction projects; construction sites; income levels; well-being in construction; workplace well-being; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | well-being, agreements, construction site, Saudi Arabia, statistics, survey, package, methodology, systematic literature review, Yemen, Malaysia, construction industry, Zimbabwe, monitoring, income, construction project, working hours, critical factor, interview, questionnaire |
| Subjects: | research methods, control systems, mathematical modelling, Geography, contractual arrangements, data collection methods, work location, risk assessment, employment law, industry analysis, economic analysis, mental health and wellbeing, research evaluation and metrics, contract formation, production management |
| Topics: | Geographical Context, Procurement, Business Strategy, Legal Issues, Health and Safety, Project Management, Research Practice, Risk Management, Contract Administration, Site Management |
| 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