Relationships between occupational stress and occupational safety and health outcomes amongst construction workers: A meta-analysis of evidence from the past twenty years

Occupational stress (OS), as well as occupational safety and health (OSH) outcomes, amongst construction workers has gained increasing attention in the last several years. Much research has been carried out to explore the relationships between OS and OSH outcomes. However, a study synthesising quantitatively the relationships between OS and OSH outcomes is lacking. This study systematically reviewed the relationships between OS and OSH outcomes amongst construction workers during the past two decades employing meta-analysis methods. Ninety-eight records extracted from 20 papers were analysed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 3.0 software. These records were from 6,536 construction workers. The relationships between OS and OSH outcomes (accidents, injuries, occupational health problems, safety behaviour and unsafe behaviour) were analysed. The potential moderators (OS type and region) possibly affecting the relationships were also analysed. Results showed that OS is negatively correlated with safety behaviour, while positively correlated with occupational health problems and unsafe behaviour. OS type was a significant moderator that significantly affected the relationships between OS and both safety behaviour and unsafe behaviour. Region was also a significant moderator that significantly affected the relationship between OS and occupational health problems and the relationship between OS and safety behaviour. Based on the findings, practical recommendations were proposed to alleviate OS amongst construction workers, thereby improving OSH outcomes within the construction workforce.