CONTRIBUTION OF STRESS TO CONSTRUCTION SITE ACCIDENTS, DANGEROUS OCCURRENCES AND NEAR MISSES

Abstract

One of the noted denouements of stress is the causation of accidents, dangerous occurrences and near misses. In construction, stress has been noted to be on the rise due to several antecedents such as; ambitious deadlines, workload, role conflict, poor communication, and dangerous working environments. This study therefore sought to empirically establish the contribution of organizational stressors, job- related stressors and work environment stressors to the occurrence of construction site accidents, dangerous occurrences and near misses. Data for the study was obtained from a questionnaire survey of 204 construction site workers in Ghana. Structural Equation Modelling was the foremost technique employed in analysing data from the survey. Data on construction related stressors showed ambitious deadlines, low salary and working in dangerous environment to be the stressors causing the most stress on construction workers in Ghana. The overall contribution of stressors to accident occurrence, dangerous occurrences and near misses achieved was 0.968 (96.8%) which denotes a very high contribution. Results from the Structural Equation Model (SEM) also showed workload to be the stressor contributing the most (79%) to accidents, dangerous occurrences and near misses occurring on construction sites. The study provides a powerful insight into the failings of construction site safety measures. It empirically points to the soft side of the problem. Data for the study was collected largely from sites with less labourintensive work and also highly skewed towards the male gender. This therefore may limit the number and type of stressors identified and used in the study. For better results, construction site health and safety officers will need to collaborate more closely with project managers to ensure stress is better managed on site since these are high contributors to incidents on site that have the potential to cause harm and/or damage.