Occupational stress among Nigerian construction trade artisans in the building construction sector

Abstract

Background: Construction work can negatively affect artisans’ mental health in the form of stress. This research investigated the effect of cognitive behavioral intervention on occupational stress among Nigerian construction trade artisans in the building construction sector. Methods: In this randomized controlled study involving 3 waves of data collection, 140 construction trade artisans who presented with high occupational stress symptoms at the study onset were assigned randomly to either a treatment condition (n = 70) or to a waitlist control condition (n = 70). The study involved pre-treatment and post-treatment assessments and a 3-months follow-up. The artisans’ occupational stress questionnaire and artisans’ dysfunctional thoughts at work scale were the data collection instruments. Results: Results revealed a significant effect of group on artisans’ occupational stress and dysfunctional thoughts at work. Also, significant effects of time on artisans’ occupational stress and dysfunctional thoughts at work were recorded. Finally, group × time interaction effects on artisans’ occupational stress and dysfunctional thoughts at work were significant. Conclusion: Cognitive behavioral intervention effectively reduced occupational stress symptoms and dysfunctional thoughts at work among Nigerian construction trade artisans compared with a waitlist control condition.

Management of work stress in science education lecturers' population using rational emotive occupational health coaching: Implication for educational evaluators

“…RCT study involves the random assignment of participants to different treatment conditions (William, 2018). Similarly, Ogbuanya et al (2017a), (2017b), Nwokeoma et al (2019), Onyishi et al (2021), Ugwuanyi et al (2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2020d), Ede et al (2020), Ogba et al (2020), Okide et al (2020), Umoke et al (2020), Agboeze et al (2020), Omeje et al (2021) have adopted the design in their recent studies.…”

Mental health challenges of manual and trade workers in the construction industry: a systematic review of causes, effects and interventions

“…For example, Campbell and Gunning (2020) identified a diverse list of strategies that employers could adopt to improve mental wellbeing that centre around the causes of poor mental health, for example, establishing manageable workloads to reduce job stress and ensure good work-life balance, maintaining a strong, supportive and inclusive culture that encourages positive professional relationships among all colleagues, zero tolerance for bullying and harassment. Omeje et al (2021) found that cognitive behavioural intervention effectively manages job stress in the construction industry. However, the longterm effectiveness of the intervention is inconclusive.…”

“…, 2017), workers in “blue-collar” jobs or occupations (Dong et al. , 2015), “operatives” (George and Loosemore, 2019) and “construction trade artisans” (Omeje et al. , 2021).…”

“…In contrast, Langdon and Sawang (2018) identified the trades such as form workers or steel fixers, general labourers and machine operators and supervisors as "construction workers". Additionally, several variants of construction workers have been used in the extant literature, such as "site-based workers" (Turner and Lingard, 2020), "construction field-workers" (Lim et al, 2017), workers in "blue-collar" jobs or occupations (Dong et al, 2015), "operatives" (George and Loosemore, 2019) and "construction trade artisans" (Omeje et al, 2021).…”

A Two-Pronged Approach to Understanding Reciprocity and Mental Health Relationship in Developing Countries: Evidence from Young Informal Construction Workers in Nigeria.

“…The construction industry in Nigeria is a signi cant employer of labour, engaging approximately 20% of the working population, with a majority of workers employed informally (NBS, 2018; Odediran & Babalola, 2013; Oni et al, 2022). Within this industry, formal workers, such as Engineers and Architects, primarily assume supervisory roles, while informal workers, commonly referred to as artisans, tradesmen, or labourers, carry out the labour-intensive tasks on construction sites (Omeje et al, 2021). Given the physical demands of construction work and the escalating youth unemployment rate in Nigeria, young people constitute a substantial portion of the workforce in this industry.…”