Postpandemic Era: Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Construction Workers' Situational Awareness

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on construction safety, intensifying the challenges faced by workers and exacerbating the industry's preexisting safety issues. Unlike many other sectors that could shift to virtual operations, construction heavily relies on the presence and skills of workers. While previous studies have examined the effects of COVID-19 on the construction industry, little attention has been given to how the pandemic influenced workers' safety situational awareness and safety decision-making. This research aims to study the impact of COVID-19 on construction workers' situational awareness and safety decision-making, specifically focusing on hazard recognition (HR) and safety risk perception (SRP). The results pertaining to 67 recruited construction workers showed that COVID-19 had no impact on their ability to identify hazards. However, there was a notable difference in their safety risk perception, indicating that workers who had experienced COVID-19 had a higher level of safety risk perception. This finding can be explained by the principle of reinforced learning, which suggests that behaviors are shaped by their consequences. In other words, the experience of injuries and infectious diseases, which are less visibly linked to the occupation, acts as powerful feedback that reinforces the significance of proper perception and mitigation of risks. In an ideal situation, the primary focus should be on preventing accidents. However, if accidents do occur, as the findings of this study uncover, it is important to view them as opportunities to improve safety and prevent future incidents. This perspective acknowledges that accidents and injuries, including personal life events like COVID-19, provide opportunities that can potentially offer valuable safety lessons and increase workers' situational awareness. Employers and workers can utilize these experiences to strive for a safer work environment. Sharing experiences and lessons learned among workers can foster a proactive safety culture, leading to continuous improvement in workplace safety.