Mohamed, M A; Hamzah, M J A; Pauzi, N N; Shahrudin, N S N and Sheffie, S I M (2023) The effect of COVID-19 on construction site personnel: Psychological and physiological perspectives. In: Tutesigensi, A and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 39th Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2023, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a worldwide panic, with countries implementing restriction orders to curb its widespread infection. Aside from health, the pandemic imposed adverse impacts on global economic growth and its impact extended across various sectors, including construction. This study investigated the psychological and physiological effects of COVID-19 on construction site personnel, identified the contributing factors, and explored potential mitigation strategies for such issues. The quantitative study involved the distribution of a questionnaire to 227 construction site personnel in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The data were analysed using descriptive analysis via SPSS. It was found that anger, anxiety, and depression are psychological repercussions of insomnia, hypertension, and fatigue among construction site personnel. Factors like increased workload, job insecurity, and concerns about infection or exposure to the virus prompted it. They also expressed considerable apprehension about the possibility of losing their jobs and financial difficulties during the pandemic. This study suggested pre-construction workout programmes to strengthen construction site personnel’s muscles and cardiovascular system, leading to better physiological and psychological well-being.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | COVID-19; psychological; physiological; mental health; construction personnel |
| Index terms: | well-being, mitigation, anxiety, questionnaire, economic growth, exposure, mental health, insomnia, COVID-19, Malaysia, pandemic, personnel, depression, panic, fatigue, pre-construction, construction site, strategy, construction personnel, hypertension, programme, workload |
| Subjects: | financial risk, Geography, public and environmental health, health risk and incident analysis, management, economic development, behavioral psychology, health conditions and diseases, project controls, mental health and wellbeing, data collection methods, workforce, project delivery, work location |
| Topics: | Time Control, Site Management, Human Resources, Sustainability, Health and Safety, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Project Management, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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