Relationships between Social Support, Social Status Perception, Social Identity, Work Stress, and Safety Behavior of Construction Site Management Personnel

Abstract

The occupational injury death rate and mortality ratio owing to cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases in the construction industry are the highest among all industries in Taiwan. Reducing work stress and improving safety behavior is a must for reducing occupational disasters and diseases. Construction site management personnel’s safety behavior is an important paradigm for construction workers. This study explored the relationships among work stress, safety behavior, professional identity, social status perception, and social support for construction site management personnel by using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicated that low work stress can lead to favorable safety behavior. Greater company support, family support, and professional identity reduce work stress. Social status perception negatively influences work stress indirectly through the mediation of professional identity. The results revealed that construction site management personnel working within an exempt employee system (i.e., no overtime pay and compensatory leave) exhibited a significantly higher effort/reward ratio than those without this system. Gender, headquarter location, and site location also significantly influenced the on-site management personnel’s effort/reward ratio.