Impact of Job Stressors and Stress on the Safety Behavior and Accidents of Construction Workers

Abstract

Construction workers (CWs) are usually exposed to various job-related hazards while working on construction sites, especially when there is a lack of appropriate equipment, working without support, or being forced to work quickly. All these can induce serious stress and lead to dangerous situations at work. Hence, to prevent CWs from injury, this study sets out to investigate the relationships between job stressors, stress, safety behavior, and accidents. A survey of CWs was carried out using statistical tools to analyze the data. Five job stressors, two different types of stress, and safety behavior among CWs were identified using factor analysis. The results of the correlation and regression analyses showed that (1) physical stress is predicted by job certainty, co-worker support, and safety equipment, while psychological stress is predicted by both supervisor support and job certainty; (2) supervisor support and physical stress predict safety behavior; and (3) the risk of accidents can be reduced by safety behavior, whereas a high level of job control increases it. Finally, several recommendations are made, including on-the-job training, stress-reduction programs, and appropriate employment policies, to enhance safety behavior and decrease the number of accidents on construction sites. This paper provides empirical support to and extends some accident-causation theories, and sets a base for further study regarding stress management for Hong Kong’s construction participants working in Mainland China.