Associations of Psychological Distress, Job Insecurity, and Mental Health on Psychological Well-being among Migrant Construction Workers: The Mediating Role of Burnout

Abstract

Purpose: Migrant labourers are heavily relied upon in the construction sector, working in challenging work environments, and frequently in precarious positions as labourers, which can have a negative effect on their mental health, yet are also extremely vulnerable to changes in their employment status, psychologically stressed by their work, and also exposed to several interacting negative determinants of their mental health. The overall objective of this study was to examine the relationship of psychological stressful factors, psychological insecurity status in job, psychological wellbeing and mental health, and to find out if burnout had any mediation between the examined relationships, with the purpose of gaining deep insights into these relationships among the migrant construction worker population.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The design followed was quantitative and a cross sectional design of the types of research. A structural questionnaire was used to collect data from 510 migrant construction workers. This study uses the approach of Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) methodology. Reliability and model confidence level test (indirect/ direct) was conducted on SmartPLS software by applying bootstrapping technique.

Findings: The results revealed that psychological distress, job insecurity, and burnout were significantly and negatively associated with psychological well-being, whereas mental health was positively associated with psychological well-being, consistent with established occupational health theory. Moreover, psychological distress, employment insecurity and mental health were important factors in burnout. Based on the results of the analysis these relationships were evident: the most significant relationship with burnout and mental and psychological distress was between job insecurity. This was confirmed when burnout was found to partially mediate the relationship between psychological distress and psychological well-being, mental health and psychological well-being, and lastly, job insecurity and psychological well-being in a mediation analysis. The structural model had a significant amount of variance explained, with 54.2% of the variance in burnout explained, and 64.0% of the variance in psychological well-being explained.

Practical Implications: they point to the need for developing several prevention strategies in the workplace for employment insecurity, health and psychological resources, reducing stressors and preventing feelings of burnout among migrant construction workers. These programs may help promote the health, productivity and sustainability of construction workers.

Originality/Value:: This study will help to improve knowledge in the occupational health and construction management fields by integrating the main concepts of psychological distress, job security, mental health, psychological well-being and burnout into a continuum unique for migration construction workers that has been poorly researched.