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CIB Conferences

Abstract

The construction industry in developed regions relies heavily on foreign labour. Working in a new environment exposes these workers to unique organizational stressors that can deteriorate their well-being. Specifically, Nepalese Construction Workers (NCWs) face distinct challenges that may lead to severe physical and psychological stress. This study, therefore, aims to identify the critical organizational stressors and their impact on the stress of NCWs. Based on a conceptual model, a questionnaire survey was adopted to collect data from NCWs. In order to investigate the relationships among stressors (i.e., ethnic barriers, lack of acceptance, insufficient authority, low reward, and unfair treatment) and stress (burnout, emotional exhaustion, headache, and sleep disorder), Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were applied. The results of the regression analysis show that: (1) emotional exhaustion is significantly predicted by low reward and insufficient authority; (2) burnout is directly exacerbated by insufficient authority and lack of acceptance; and (3) insufficient authority is the significant predictor for headaches among NCWs. Notably, insufficient authority was identified as a critical stressor affecting both physical health and psychological well-being. Based on the results, a number of practical suggestions are proposed for the stress management of NCWs, including redesigning work to empower workers with appropriate authority, reviewing reward systems to ensure fairness, and organizing social activities to improve local acceptance and reduce cultural isolation. This study fills the research gap by empirically investigating the interaction between organizational stressors and stress for the Nepalese workforce, providing a theoretical basis for improving their occupational health in the construction industry.

Keywords

Foreign construction workers, Nepal construction workers, Stress, Organizational stressors, Construction industry

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