Mental and Physical Health for Construction-related Employees: Effects of Work from Home (WFH) and Demographic Indicators

9 pages•Published: May 15, 2022

Hongyue Wu, Xingzhou Guo and Yunfeng Chen

Abstract

The rapid and broad shift to Work from Home (WFH) caused by the COVID-19 creates great changes for construction-related employees, which may impact their mental and physical health and further influence organizational management. Demographic indicators are also critical factors influencing mental and physical health. However, the impacts of WFH on mental health were unclear. Also, limited studies explored specific health-related symptoms and demographic differences for construction-related employees considering WFH. This study aims to explore the mental and physical health of construction-related employees considering WFH and demographic indicators using an online survey in the U.S. Based on responses from 73 construction-related employees, two-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) results showed that age had a significant impact on depression, pain in the neck, shoulders, or back, and eyestrain symptoms, while WFH, gender, and marital status were not significant factors. Employees between 40 – 59 years old had worse mental and physical health, while participants older than 60 years old reported the best mental and physical health. The potential reason is the differences in pressures, abilities, and past experiences among age groups. The findings contribute to the theoretical understanding of construction-related employees’ health and its related factors. The study also helps construction- related employees to improve mental and physical health under the WFH arrangements considering demographic differences and prepare them for future challenges.

Keyphrases: construction related employees, demographic indicators, mental health, physical health, work from home

In: Tom Leathem, Wes Collins and Anthony Perrenoud (editors). ASC2022. 58th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference, vol 3, pages 183-191.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/RBkQ
	https://doi.org/10.29007/dgvj

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2022:Mental_Physical_Health_Construction,
  author    = {Hongyue Wu and Xingzhou Guo and Yunfeng Chen},
  title     = {Mental and Physical Health for Construction-related Employees: Effects of Work from Home (WFH) and Demographic Indicators},
  booktitle = {ASC2022. 58th Annual Associated Schools of Construction International Conference},
  editor    = {Tom Leathem and Wes Collins and Anthony Perrenoud},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {3},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/RBkQ},
  doi       = {10.29007/dgvj},
  pages     = {183-191},
  year      = {2022}}

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