Causes of the mental health challenges in construction workers and their impact on labor productivity

Mental health issues are increasingly affecting the performance of workers in many different industries, including the transportation construction industry. Depression, anxiety, etc. are the most prevalent health issues in the construction industry today, and identifying the major causes of these issues can help significantly in lessening their consequences. In this study, a selective literature review was conducted through which the major causes of mental health issues and their impact on the productivity of workers were identified and analyzed. The top-three factors leading to mental health issues were identified as work pressure, emotional and physical demands, and bullying and harassment. The results also demonstrated that the support of supervisors is an effective strategy for alleviating the rate of mental health issues and its negative impacts. Communication among the co-workers can also lead to stress relief and consequently prevent the corresponding adverse results. This information will help transportation construction project managers understand the main causes of mental and psychological problems among their workers, and they can use the outputs of this study to determine how each mental issue affects productivity and what strategies can be implemented to alleviate the adverse consequences.