Insight into the Mechanism of Noncompliance Tasks in Construction Workers’ Unsafe Behaviors

Abstract

Construction safety has always been a major concern in the engineering field, and studies have noted that noncompliance tasks have a significant impact on the behavior of individuals. However, from the perspective of task characteristics, the mechanisms by which noncompliance tasks specifically influence construction workers’ unsafe behaviors are unclear. To investigate the mechanism by which noncompliance tasks affect construction workers’ unsafe behaviors, this study developed a theoretical model based on the cognitive-affective personality system theory (CAPS), with the mediating variables of emotional exhaustion and team identification and the moderating variable of self-efficacy, taking 414 frontline construction workers in China as the survey object, and adopted structural equation modeling (SEM) for safety management practice research. The results reveal that noncompliance tasks have a positive effect on construction workers’ unsafe behaviors; emotional exhaustion and team identification play a mediating role between noncompliance tasks and construction workers’ unsafe behaviors; and self-efficacy not only negatively regulates the relationship between noncompliance tasks and emotional exhaustion but also positively regulates the relationship between noncompliance tasks and team identification. The findings of this study contribute to the existing body of knowledge by revealing the mechanism by which noncompliance tasks result in unsafe behaviors of construction workers, which provides a theoretical foundation for unsafe behavior research. Practically, this study deepens the understanding of the causal mechanism of task characteristics on unsafe behavior, which helps project managers effectively prevent and control the unsafe behavior of construction personnel. It has been shown that reducing unsafe behavior among workers is an effective way to avoid safety accidents in the construction industry. In this study, the CAPS theory and questionnaire data from 414 frontline construction workers in China were used to determine the mechanism by which noncompliance tasks result in unsafe behaviors of construction workers. It is recommended that the construction team leader should pay attention to the rationality of assigning task content to workers and prevent the occurrence of noncompliance tasks from the root. Furthermore, high self-efficacy of construction workers weakens the negative impact of noncompliance tasks, which encourages management to choose workers with this trait. Finally, noncompliance tasks will lead to unsafe behavior of workers by increasing emotional exhaustion and reducing team identification. Providing workers with sufficient praise and material rewards may help to mitigate the negative impact of noncompliance tasks, thereby reducing the occurrence of unsafe behavior on the construction site.