Risk Perception and Coping Behavior of Construction Workers on Occupational Health Risks—A Case Study of Nanjing, China

Abstract

To reduce harm caused by occupational health risks of construction workers exposed to working environments, especially those for interior decoration, it is crucial for them to actively recognize and prevent these risks. Therefore, how to improve their occupational health risks perception and regulate their coping behaviors should be of great concern. However, most prior studies target construction worker safety, and little research focuses on risk analysis from the psychological level of workers. Hence, construction workers’ occupational health risk perception level and coping behavior level in Nanjing and the influencing factors were analyzed through statistical analysis with 341 valid questionnaires. Bootstrapping was applied to test the mediating effects of risk perception on the proposed factors and coping behaviors. This study revealed that construction workers have a high-level of occupational health risk perception, yet low-level coping behavior. Gender, age, education level, and unit qualification cause differences in individual risk perception level. Personal knowledge and group effects significantly affect the level of risk perception, which subsequently affect coping behavior. Education level, monthly income, and personal knowledge influence the coping behavior through risk perception. Recommendations were put forward for risk perception and coping behavior improvement from the perspectives of construction workers themselves, enterprises, and governments. This study sheds new light for research areas of occupational health and risk management and provides beneficial practice for improving construction workers’ responses to occupational health risks.

The Effect of Occupational Health Risk Perception on Job Satisfaction

“…Independent variable: occupational health risk perception. Occupational health risk perception used seven items, mainly from the study of Liu et al (2021) [1]. For instance, "frequent exposure to dust at work can lead to respiratory diseases (such as pneumoconiosis)" and "inhaling formaldehyde, benzene and other irritant gas will cause physical discomfort (such as headache)" (Cronbach'α = 0.885).…”

“…Portell et al (2014) [8] took medical staff as the research object and described nine dimensions of occupational risk perception from an individual level, namely individual knowledge, expert knowledge, fear, weakness, severity, the possibility of avoidable and controllable harm, and immediacy. Liu et al (2021) [1] considered that the occupational health risk perception of indoor construction workers will significantly affect the risk response behavior of employees, which provided a new research perspective for the occupational health of construction workers. Zhou (2014) [9] took bus drivers as the research object and provided specific suggestions for bus drivers by understanding their views on extreme heat and occupational health risks.…”

“…Compared with occupational safety accidents, occupational health risks are relatively hidden, and their hazards can only be found after a long time, such as excessive exposure to sunlight, excessive inhalation of formaldehyde, and so on. Occupational health risks refer to employees’ exposure to an environment harmful to the human body due to work reasons, which may lead to employees’ physical or mental health problems [ 1 ].…”

“…The working environment and perceived occupational health risks of employees are crucial to individual work output and the development of the enterprise. This is an important topic with practical significance [ 1 ], because the degree of perceived health risks will largely determine employees’ job satisfaction. The higher the workers’ subjective evaluation of their work environment safety (or the less external health risks employees perceive), the lower their perceived work stress [ 2 ].…”

Perception of Occupational and Environmental Risks and Hazards among Mineworkers: A Psychometric Paradigm Approach

“…However, building this culture requires the organization to understand how employees view and perceive various risks and hazards associated with the working environment [ 6 , 7 ]. Workers’ risk perception is also essential in building an effective risk communication strategy that meets the organization’s requirements [ 8 , 9 ]. Therefore, assessing workers’ perceptions and understanding what forms their perceptions will enable risk management to design and implement effective strategies to eliminate or reduce the negative impact of these risks and hazards [ 8 , 10 ].…”