Demystifying the Impact of Age on Safety Performance of Construction Workers: Examining the Mediating Roles of Experience and Fatigue

Abstract

Construction is one of the most hazardous industries with high fatal and nonfatal accidents rates. However, many accidents could be prevented by improving workers’ safety performance. Numerous factors impact their performance, such as safety culture and attitude, distraction, and personal characteristics. Among these factors, age has been widely cited in past research, but there is no unanimity among researchers regarding its impact on workers’ safety performance. Both positive and negative impacts of age on safety performance have been reported in studies, along with several researchers who found no significant difference in safety performance among workers of different ages. To demystify the impact of age on construction workers’ safety performance, this research hypothesizes that the relationship between age and safety performance is mediated by other factors such as experience and fatigue. A survey was conducted among 135 randomly selected participants from 38 construction sites in Iran. The survey consisted of three sections, namely demographic information, subjective fatigue assessment, and safety performance measurement. Statistical analysis revealed that the relationship between age and safety performance is mediated by experience and fatigue, explaining the disparity among past research findings. The findings of this study highlight that age does not have a direct impact, but an indirect impact mediated by multiple factors, on workers’ safety performance. Future research must consider mediating factors when studying the role of age in workers’ safety performance. The results suggest that researchers and practitioners should focus on other factors such as fatigue and safety training, which employers can positively influence.