Construction Workers In China Research Articles

Impact of challenge and hindrance job stressors on informal safety communication of construction workers in China: the moderating role of co-worker relationship

PurposeJob stressors have a considerable influence on workplace safety behaviors. However, the findings from previous studies regarding the effect of different types of job stressors have been contradictory. This is attributable to, among other factors, the effectiveness of job stressors varying with occupations and contexts. This study examines the effects of challenge and hindrance stressors on construction workers' informal safety communication at different levels of coworker relationships.Design/methodology/approachA three-dimensional framework of informal safety communication is adopted, including self-needed, citizenship and participatory safety communication. Stepwise regression analysis is then performed using questionnaire survey data collected from 293 construction workers in the Chinese construction industry.FindingsThe results demonstrate that both challenge and hindrance stressors are negatively associated with self-needed and citizenship safety communication, whereas their relationships with participatory safety communication are not significant. Meanwhile, the mitigation effects of the coworker relationship (represented by trustworthiness and accessibility) on the above negative impacts vary with the communication forms. Higher trustworthiness and accessibility enable workers faced with challenge stressors to actively manage these challenges and engage in self-needed safety communication. Similarly, trustworthiness promotes workers' involvement in self-needed and citizenship safety communication in the face of hindrance stressors, but accessibility is only effective in facilitating self-needed safety communication.Originality/valueBy introducing the job demands-resources theory and distinguishing informal safety communication into three categories, this study explains the negative effects of challenge and hindrance job stressors in complex and variable construction contexts and provides additional clues to the current inconsistent findings regarding this framework. The diverse roles of challenge and hindrance job stressors also present strong evidence for the need to differentiate between the types of informal safe communication.

What and how influence the safety knowledge sharing of new generation of construction workers in China: a study based on DEMATEL and ISM

PurposeNew generation of construction workers (NGCWs) who were born in the 1980s and later have gradually become the main workforce of Chinese construction industry. They may behave differently when dealing with knowledge-related activities due to divergent characteristics caused by generational discrepancy. To provide a theoretical foundation for construction companies and safety managers to improve safety management, this research explores the factors and paths impacting the NGCWs' ability to share their safety knowledge.Design/methodology/approachBased on literature review, main factors that influence the safety knowledge sharing of the NGCWs were identified. Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory and Interpretive Structural Modeling were applied to identify the hierarchical and contextual relations among the factors influencing the safety knowledge sharing of the NGCWs.FindingsThe results showed that sharing atmosphere ranked first in centrality and had a high degree of influence and being influenced, indicating itself an extremely important influencing factor of safety knowledge sharing of NGCWs. Six root influencing factors were identified, including individual characteristics, work pressure, sharing platform, incentive mechanism, leadership support and safety management system.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of influencing factors of safety knowledge sharing of the NGCWs identified in this study is limited, and the data obtained by the expert scoring method is subjective. In future studies, the model should be further developed and validated by incorporating experts from different fields to improve its integrity and applicability.Practical implicationsThe influencing factors identified in this paper can provide a basis for construction companies and safety managers to improve productivity and safety management by taking relevant measures to promote safety knowledge sharing. The research contributes to the understanding knowledge management in the context of the emerging market. It helps to answer the question of how the market can maintain the economic growth success through effective knowledge management.Originality/valueThis paper investigates the influencing factors of NGCWs' safety knowledge sharing from the perspective of intergenerational differences, and the 13 influencing factor index system established expands the scope of research on factors influencing safety knowledge sharing among construction workers and fills the gap in safety knowledge sharing research on young construction workers. Furthermore, this paper establishes a multi-layer recursive structure model to clarify the influence path of the influencing factors and contributes to the understanding of safety knowledge sharing mechanism.

Linking Leader–Member Exchange and Informal Safety Communication of Construction Workers in China: A Cognitive Psychology Perspective

Linking Leader–Member Exchange and Informal Safety Communication of Construction Workers in China: A Cognitive Psychology Perspective

A Study of the Effects of Job Stress on the Psychosocial Safety Behavior of Construction Workers: The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience

A large number of studies have been conducted to demonstrate that job stress negatively affects construction workers’ physiological safety behaviors, but there is a lack of research on the impact of psychosocial safety behaviors on construction workers, which is an important component of overall workplace safety. This study modeled the effects between three job stressors (the job itself, job insecurity, and family-work conflict) and psychosocial safety behavior sub-dimensions (psychosocial safety compliance and psychosocial safety participation), using psychological resilience as a mediating variable. Data were obtained from 304 construction workers in China. The results showed that there were positive and negative effects between the three job stressors, psychosocial safety behavior sub-dimensions, and psychological resilience. Psychological resilience was mediated differently across the three job stressors and psychosocial safety behavior sub-dimensions. This study reveals the mechanisms by which job stress affects the psychosocial safety behaviors of construction workers and provides more empirical evidence to unravel the relationships between various job stressors and psychosocial safety behavior sub-dimensions. In addition, this paper discusses measures to improve psychosocial safety behaviors based on the perspectives of job stressors and psychological resilience.

Interregional migration of construction workers in China: roles of employment opportunities and environment amenities

PurposeWithin the labor-intensive construction industry characterized by distinctly structural shortages in the labor force worldwide, efficient and effective migration of construction workers across regions is critical for the smooth operation of construction activities. This study aims to investigate how the interregional migration patterns of construction workers are impacted by the disparities in both employment opportunities and environment amenities between the origin and destination provinces.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the push and pull theory and the archival data on 13,728 migrant construction workers in China, descriptive analyses are first performed to characterize the interregional migration patterns of the investigated construction workers. Combining regional data in the National Bureau of Statistics of China, this study uses hierarchical regression modeling techniques to empirically test the relative importance of the employment-related and environment-related factors in driving the interregional migration of construction workers after controlling for the effects of related economic and geographic factors.FindingsThe results provide evidence that the interregional migration of construction workers is principally driven by the disparities in employment opportunities while disparities in environment amenities (including climate comfort disparity, medical service disparity and educational service disparity) generally play much fewer substantive roles. With regard to the impacts of employment opportunities, the results provide evidence that compared with the disparity in job market size, the disparities in job income and industry development level are more significantly relevant factors, which positively pull and adversely push the interregional migration flows, respectively.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to a deepened understanding of how workers specifically balance their employment and amenity needs to make temporary migration decisions in the “laggard” labor-intensive construction industry. This study also adds to the literature on population migration by characterizing the specific characteristics of construction workers and the temporary nature of the workers' migration activities. The findings hold important practical implications for construction organizations and policymakers for effectively managing the mobility of migrant construction workers.Originality/valueThe extant literature on migrant construction workers has primarily focused on the consequences of international migration and the generalization of empirical findings on population migration mechanisms in other domains to the construction industry is substantially limited by the specific characteristics of construction workers and the temporary nature of their migration activities. In addressing this gap, this study represents an exploratory effort to quantitatively characterize the interregional migration patterns of construction workers in the labor-intensive construction industry and examines the roles of employment opportunity and environmental amenity in driving interregional migration.

Improving Safety Performance of Construction Workers through Learning from Incidents

Learning from incidents (LFI) is a process to seek, analyse, and disseminate the severity and causes of incidents, and take corrective measures to prevent the recurrence of similar events. However, the effects of LFI on the learner's safety performance remain unexplored. This study aimed to identify the effects of the major LFI factors on the safety performance of workers. A questionnaire survey was administered among 210 construction workers in China. A factor analysis was conducted to reveal the underlying LFI factors. A stepwise multiple linear regression was performed to analyse the relationship between the underlying LFI factors and safety performance. A Bayesian Network (BN) was further modelled to identify the probabilistic relational network between the underlying LFI factors and safety performance. The results of BN modelling showed that all the underlying factors were important to improve the safety performance of construction workers. Additionally, sensitivity analysis revealed that the two underlying factors-information sharing and utilization and management commitment-had the largest effects on improving workers' safety performance. The proposed BN also helped find out the most efficient strategy to improve workers' safety performance. This research may serve as a useful guide for better implementation of LFI practices in the construction sector.

The influence of the psychological contract on the safety of performance of construction workers in China

PurposeIn the absence of previous work, this study investigates how the psychological contract (PC) influences the safety performance of construction workers in China.Design/methodology/approachThe literature is first consulted to obtain a set of PC and safety performance measures that fits the specific situation of construction workers, which is then moderated by five construction experts. A questionnaire survey of 206 workers from 4 different construction sites is followed by a descriptive statistical analysis of the nature of the PC and level of the safety performance of the respondents. Finally, a regression analysis is used to ascertain the level of influence of the PS, and an analysis is made of the influence of PC on safety performance.FindingsA set of PC and safety performance measures is identified that fits in the construction workers' specific situation. The PC of the respondents is found to be intact and well-performed, and their safety performance is maintained at a high level. Safety performance is highly influenced by the state of the PC, with the three dimensions of safety performance (safety result, safety compliance and safety participation) positively correlated with the three dimensions of the PC (normative, interpersonal and developmental).Originality/valueSuggestions are made to improve safety production management and safety performance by providing adequate material and economic conditions, helping the workers establish good interpersonal relationships and realize their personal values.

Research on the influence of role stressors on unsafe behavior among construction workers in China

Individuals’ unsafe behavior is identified as one of the important reasons leading to construction industry accidents. The purpose of the present study is to explore the mechanism of role stressors’ impact on unsafe behavior, the mediating role of psychological strain and the moderating role of empowering leadership among construction workers. The sample used for the analyses in this study includes 600 employees from 10 different construction companies in China. Bootstrap analysis was performed to explore the mediating role of psychology strain, and hierarchical linear regression analysis was performed to explore the moderating role of empowering leadership. The results showed that role stressors were positively related to unsafe behavior; psychology strain mediates the relationship between role stressors and unsafe behavior; and empowering leadership moderates the relationship between psychological strain and unsafe behavior. The findings indicate that empowering leadership can decrease unsafe behavior.

Can Professionalization Alleviate Job Burnout in Construction Workers in China? A Multivariable Mediating Model.

Burnout is at all-time highs across modern professions. As a typical labor-intensive industry, the high-pressure and task-driven nature of the construction industry makes construction workers more prone to burnout. It is still unclear whether increasing the professionalization level can lessen the many harmful consequences of job burnout on construction workers' employment. Therefore, this study examined the influencing mechanism of professionalization on job burnout in the construction industry. First, a theoretical model based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory was developed with workload, job insecurity, and work-family conflict as moderating variables. A reliable sample of 441 Chinese construction workers were then recruited in the investigation. The data analysis was supported by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that: (i) an increase in the professionalization level could be directly effective in alleviating job burnout among construction workers; (ii) workload and work-family conflict could play an independent and continuous mediating role between professionalization and job burnout; and (iii) while job insecurity caused by a low professionalization did not have a direct impact on job burnout, it could have an indirect impact on job burnout through workload and work-family conflict, respectively. This study enriches the literature on job burnout among construction workers, as well as provides a theoretical basis and practical management guidance for Chinese construction companies to alleviate job burnout in workers from a professionalization standpoint.

Occupational Dust Exposure and Respiratory Protection of Migrant Interior Construction Workers in Two Chinese Cities.

Migrant interior construction workers are increasing in China. Construction workers are at an increased risk of work-related illness (WRI) due to prolonged exposure to and inhalation of dust. Dust concentrations in the air can be reduced significantly with effective respiratory protection measures. We assessed the dust exposure and factors associated with respiratory protection of migrant interior construction workers. The total dust concentration in the workplace ranged from 0.07 to 335.27 mg/m3, with a total dust exceedance rate of 50.00%. The respiratory dust loading ranged from 0.03 to 220.27 mg/m3, with a respiratory dust exceedance rate of 71.42 %. The highest total dust concentration occurred when masons were polishing cement walls. We performed a questionnaire survey of 296 persons in two cities in China, in which 87.84% had no respiratory protection or only one protection measure. Gender, workplace, respiratory disease, and protective attitude all had an effect on the level of respiratory protection. The dust exposure in most jobs exceeds hygiene standards. The respiratory protection of migrant interior construction workers in China is inadequate.

The Evolutionary Game of Post-conflict Management for New Generation of Construction Workers in China: The Mediating Role of Foremen.

The emotional perception of the new generation of Chinese construction workers is becoming stronger, and the traditional punishment-type management model is gradually failing. In order to address the safety hazards caused by the negative emotions generated after workers' conflict events, the motivation of workers to actively participate in the construction of safety climate is increased, and the safety performance of construction projects is enhanced. This paper introduces emotional event theory to assess workers' psychological perceptions and uses foreman as an intermediary for safety management to analyze the decision-making process between managers and work-groups in the safety management process. By establishing a tripartite evolutionary game model of manager, foreman, and worker, the evolutionary differences among the three parties when the manager is strict or appeasing are examined. The results of the study showed that managers who showed appeasement were more effective than those who showed stringency in accomplishing the safety goals of the project. As the workers' psychological perception index increased, workers were more inclined to adopt aggressive strategies, and their behavior was more influenced by their own moral identity as well as the foreman's attitude under the manager's appeasement attitude. This study can provide managers with suggestions on how to handle the situation after a conflict, which can help regulate the behavior of construction teams and eliminate safety risks.

Identification and prioritization of key health hazards to workers in roadway construction

Abstract Although various rating systems have been developed to promote sustainable development in roadway construction, sustainability evaluation from the perspective of safeguarding workers’ health is currently lacking. Three approaches were used in the study to identify and prioritize key health hazards to workers in roadway construction, including bibliometric analysis, questionnaire survey and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Bibliometric analysis indicates that submicron particles and polycyclic aromatic compounds are the primary concerns of researchers, and ergonomics also attracts some attention. A questionnaire survey was conducted among construction workers in China. The results suggest that the most frequently encountered occupational disorders by roadway construction workers are musculoskeletal disorders, heat stroke, respiratory health issues and hearing loss, and the most commonly encountered hazards are noise, dust, asphalt fumes, heat stress and some adverse working conditions. Perceptions on associations between the health hazards and disorders were obtained. Although there are some discrepancies between the AHP scores provided by two groups of professionals in China, the commonly agreed top occupational hazards include dust, asphalt fumes, noise, high-/low-temperature stresses and chronic injuries. The findings may be incorporated into rating systems for roadway construction to encourage the industry to adopt better practices for the well-being of workers.

Analysis of Factors Influencing the Job Satisfaction of New Generation of Construction Workers in China: A Study Based on DEMATEL and ISM

China’s construction industry is facing serious problems of aging construction workers and labor shortages. Improving the job satisfaction of construction workers is a key point for retaining existing construction workers and for attracting younger generations into the construction field in China. At present, the new generation of construction workers (NGCW) born after 1980 has been the main force on construction sites in China. Therefore, it is very important to study and explore the influencing factors of the job satisfaction of the NGCW. This paper aims to determine the influencing factors of job satisfaction of the NGCW through literature research and to clarify the interaction mechanisms and hierarchical structures of influencing factors using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) to design appropriate human resource practices to promote their job satisfaction. Research findings show that there are 12 main influencing factors of job satisfaction of the NGCW, which are at three levels: personal traits, job characteristics and social environment, and the influencing factors can be divided into a cause group and an effect group, including four layers: the root layer, controllable layer, key layer and direct layer in the multi-level hierarchical structure model. Furthermore, the critical influencing factors of the job satisfaction of the NGCW consist of education level, competency, career development, salaries and rewards, rights protection and work–family balance. This research enriches the job satisfaction literature of construction workers and provides an important reference for decision makers in construction enterprises and the construction industry to understand what influences the job satisfaction of the NGCW and how it is influenced to then improve it in China.

Informal Safety Communication of Construction Workers: Conceptualization and Scale Development and Validation.

Existing studies have highlighted the importance of informal safety communication among workers at construction sites. However, there is still a lack of empirically tested theoretical models with valid and reliable scales for describing and measuring construction workers’ informal safety communication (CWISC). Accordingly, this study aimed to fill this need by developing an instrument to assess the communication performance of construction workers. Four stages of scale development were described: construct formation, item generation, factor extraction through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (n = 219), and scale assessment through the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (n = 156). Using questionnaire data drawn from construction workers in China, the CWISC was verified to be a three-dimensional construct including citizenship safety communication (CSC), self-needed safety communication (SSC), and participatory safety communication (PSC). The corresponding CWISC scale with 12 items was shown to have acceptable internal consistency reliability, as well as content, convergent, and discriminant validity. The CWISC scale could serve as an instrument to assess and identify the weaknesses in informal safety communication performance of construction workers. In turn, this information could help supervisors implement appropriate management practices to those workers to enhance workplace informal safety communication. Related studies taking a multidimensional CWISC into account were expected to be carried out.

Research on the influencing factors of knowledge transfer among construction workers based on social cognitive theory

PurposeThis paper aims to employ social cognitive theory (SCT) as a theoretical framework to investigate the influencing factors affecting the knowledge transfer effectiveness of construction workers in China. The mediating role of their knowledge transfer willingness is also assessed.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire on knowledge transfer among Chinese construction workers is designed and subsequently analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM), with a total sample of 288 construction workers.FindingsThe SEM results show that the knowledge self-efficiency, blood and geographic relationships, and trust relationship promote knowledge transfer willingness and positively influence the knowledge transfer effectiveness of construction workers. However, the effect of organizational culture on knowledge transfer willingness and effectiveness is nonsignificant.Practical implicationsThe results are conducive to managers and governments formulating strategies to optimize the learning mechanism of construction workers and facilitate their obtaining of resources from the project, thus easing skill shortages and promoting the transformation of construction workers into industrial workers.Originality/valueThis paper innovatively proposes blood and geographic relationships as research variables, expanding their scope. Furthermore, SCT is applied to enable future research to better understand individual knowledge transfer behavior from both personal and environmental perspectives.

Safety Stressors and Construction Workers' Safety Performance: The Mediating Role of Ego Depletion and Self-Efficacy.

As an important influencing factor of construction workers' safety performance, safety stressor has received increasing attention. However, no consensus has been reached on the relationship between different types of safety stressors and the subdimensions of safety performance, and the mechanism by which safety stressors influence safety performance remains unclear. This study proposed a multiple mediation model with ego depletion and self-efficacy as mediators between safety stressors and workers' safety performance. Data were collected from 335 construction workers in China. Results demonstrated that: (1) the three types of safety stressors (i.e., safety role ambiguity, safety role conflict, and interpersonal safety conflict) all had negative effects on workers' safety performance (i.e., safety compliance and safety participation); (2) self-efficacy mediated all the relationships between the three safety stressors and safety performance; (3) ego depletion only mediated part of the relationships between the three safety stressors and safety performance; and (4) only part of the multiple-step mediating effects through ego depletion and self-efficacy were supported. This study made contributions by shedding light on the mechanism by which safety stressors influence workers' safety performance and providing more empirical evidence for the relationship between various safety stressors and the subdimensions of safety performance. Additionally, targeted strategies for improving workers' safety performance were proposed according to the findings.

Psychological decision-making process of construction worker safety behavior: an agent-based simulation approach

Objectives. Relationships between safety behavior and its antecedents have been widely studied. However, the psychological decision-making process of construction worker safety behavior (CWSB) is rarely examined from the systematic perspective. Thus, this study constructed the theoretical framework for the decision-making process of CWSB and systematically explored effects of individual factors (education, age and safety knowledge), organizational factors (safety climate and leader–member exchange [LMX]) and psychological factors (psychological capital [PsyCap] and communication competence [CommComp]) on the dynamic performance of CWSB. Methods. Data were collected from the literature and 536 construction workers in China. The theoretical model was tested with the agent-based simulation (ABS) technique. Results. High level of education, safety knowledge, safety climate, LMX, PsyCap and CommComp help to reduce unsafe behavior at the cut-off point. However, the age–safety relationship might present a U-shape, which denotes that reasonable age structure of construction worker groups may be an option for bettering safety performance. The results indicate that the psychological decision-making process of CWSB is not only the result of individual rational decision, but also the product of organizational and psychological impacts. Findings of this study shed lights on safety behavior management practices based on the psychological decision-making process of CWSB.

How Leaders and Coworkers Affect Construction Workers’ Safety Behavior: An Integrative Perspective

Leaders and coworkers have a critical influence on construction workers’ safety behavior, but limited attention has been paid to how they work together. This study took an integrative perspective, exploring the combined effects of leaders (safety leadership) and coworkers [coworkers’ safety knowledge and behavior (CSK/B)] on construction workers’ safety behavior (compliance and participation) through their risk perception. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey administered to 348 frontline construction workers in China, and hierarchical linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. Results show that both safety leadership and CSK/B positively affected workers’ safety compliance and participation via risk perception. In addition, compared with safety leadership, CSK/B had a stronger impact on workers’ risk perception, as well as a stronger impact on safety compliance and safety participation via risk perception. This study deepens understanding of the forming mechanism of construction workers’ safety behavior by examining the mediating role of risk perception and comparing the influence of safety leadership and CSK/B. Practically, this knowledge will enable construction managers to develop appropriate strategies for fostering construction workers’ safety behavior.

Impact of mindfulness on construction workers’ safety performance: The mediating roles of psychological contract and coping behaviors

This research developed and tested an integrative model regarding the effects of mindfulness on construction workers’ safety performance. Both psychological contract of safety and coping behaviors were examined as mediators. Empirical data were collected from 498 construction workers in China using a detailed questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the data using AMOS and Mplus. The results showed that mindful workers were likely to have higher safety performance. Psychological contract of safety had stronger mediating effects on the relationship between mindfulness and safety performance than the coping behaviors. Furthermore, this research found that mindfulness was more related to errors and violations than safety participation. Problem-focused coping primarily mediated the effect of mindfulness on safety participation, while emotion-focused coping primarily mediated the effects on errors and violations. In addition, married workers reported more operational errors; older workers were more reluctant to follow safety rules; and workers with low education level were less likely to engage in voluntary safety activities. Theoretical and practical implications and associated research limitations are also discussed in this paper.

Effect of leader-member exchange on construction worker safety behavior: Safety climate and psychological capital as the mediators

There are ubiquitous binary leader-member exchanges between construction workers and their supervisors. Leader-member exchange (LMX) has been regarded as an antecedent variable of work performance. However, few studies empirically examined the influence pathways of LMX on worker safety behavior, especially in the context of construction industry, thereby reducing its potential to improve construction safety. This study explored the relationship between LMX and construction worker safety behavior (CWSB), while the mediating roles of safety climate (SC) and psychological capital (PC) for the LMX-CWSB relationship and the mediating role of SC for the LMX-PC relationship were also tested. Data were collected from 536 construction workers in China through field survey. The hypothesized model was examined with the structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques. Results show that: (a) LMX directly impacted SC and PC, and indirectly affected CWSB through SC and PC, demonstrating LMX’s cascading role on CWSB; (b) SC directly impacted PC and CWSB, and mediated the LMX-PC and LMX-CWSB relationships; and (c) PC positively associated with safety participation behavior (SPB), and mediated the LMX-SPB and SC-SPB relationships. These findings illustrate the complexity of LMX-safety interrelationship and the necessity of initiating both organizational and individual safety interventions simultaneously. This study sheds lights on safety performance research based on the cross-level model. Systematic intervention measures such as cultivating supervisor-worker exchanges and positive safety climate, and enhancing construction workers’ psychological capital are suggested to upgrade construction safety performance.