Dual-Path Influence of Risk Perception on Construction Workers’ Safety Participation and the Moderating Role of Mindfulness

Abstract

Working in risky environments, construction workers’ actions to contribute to cultivating a safety-oriented environment (i.e., safety participation) have consistently emerged as a leading factor in construction safety incidents. Safety participation is crucial for improving workplace safety among construction workers. Although the perception of workplace risk has been found to influence safety participation behavior, the results have been inconsistent. Some studies suggest that risk perception decreases safety participation behavior, whereas others suggest it increases it. In this study, we consider anxiety and reflection about death as important psychological mechanisms to explain why risk perception may either increase or decrease safety participation behaviors. Based on emotion as social information theory, we propose from an emotional perspective that risk perception increases construction workers’ death anxiety and thus decreases their safety participation behavior. Subsequently, we propose from a cognitive perspective that risk perception increases construction workers’ death reflection, thereby increasing their safety participation behavior. Further, these relationships are affected by construction workers’ mindfulness (an individual’s awareness and attention to the experience of the present moment without judgment). Using data from 532 construction workers, we tested the proposed conceptual model. Construction workers with high levels of mindfulness showed a decrease in the negative effect of death anxiety on safety participation behavior, whereas the positive effect of death reflection on safety participation behavior increased. These findings extend the relevant literature on risk perception and safety participation behavior by adding two critical psychological explanatory mechanisms, death anxiety and reflection, and mindfulness, an essential contingent factor. In addition, this study enriches current theoretical perspectives by applying emotion as social information theory to explore the relationship between risk perception and safety participation behavior. This research uncovers the complex role of risk perception in the safety participation of construction workers, indicating that risk perception may not only reduce safety behaviors by increasing death anxiety but also enhance safety behaviors by promoting death reflection. Furthermore, the mindfulness trait of construction workers, that is, the ability to focus on the current work state, is crucial for alleviating the negative impact of death anxiety and strengthening the positive influence of death reflection. These findings offer a new perspective for construction safety management, suggesting that introducing or enhancing mindfulness training can effectively improve the safety behaviors of construction workers. Construction organizations can implement specific measures to enhance safety, such as regularly organizing mindfulness exercises on-site, integrating mindfulness elements into risk assessments and safety training, and providing psychological health support for workers. These initiatives can raise safety awareness and promote proactive participation in safety management. By adopting these practical measures, the construction industry can not only reduce the occurrence of accidents but also elevate the safety standards across the sector.