Impact of Covid-19 on the Construction Workers
Construction workers are responsible for the manual labour that is involved in the construction process. As construction is traditionally a very tough work environment, wherein, quite often the well-being of the workers is ignored and neglected. These needs to be changed and a proactive approach towards this matter will be beneficial. The Covid-19 pandemic has completely disrupted the normal working of the world. The construction industry was also vastly impacted in terms of health, social and economic aspects. Construction workers have faced a lot of problems in terms of finding work as all kinds of construction activities were stopped in their entirety. It has significantly affected their well-being. This will be further discussed in this study (Bsisu, 2020).
Covid-19 Pandemic has significantly affected the construction industry. It has a negative influence on human health and has disrupted all important aspects of life. Globally, construction sites were completely closed down as a result of the lockdown and many restrictions were imposed. This led to many companies in the construction industry facing liquidity problems. Furthermore, companies faced economic recession and to cope with it, they laid off many of their workers. Many companies were also compelled to start reducing the salaries of their workers(Al Amri and Marey-Perez, 2020).
Workers have been victims of increased stress due to the limited compassion shown to them by the management. The Covid-19 pandemic is responsible for creating such a situation that has reduced workers' morale. Fear of job loss and pay loss has created fear and insecurity among the workers. This has vastly affected the mental health of workers and impacted their well-being(Brown et al.,2020). To address this worry further, the current study tried to assess the influence of Covid-19 on the well-being of employees. This analysis would also seek to discover the right organizational policies in place to enhance and impact workers' involvement, morale, and job efficiency.
The preceding section focuses on the effects of covid-19 on construction workers. The majority of the consequences of this latest epidemic are negative, affecting employees' physical and emotional health. Besides, the organizations related to construction activities did not take any possible steps to prevent these negative impacts on their employees. All the issues related to the research topic are discussed in this chapter followed by some statistical evidence and real-time cases.
this study will assess and investigate the impact of Covid-19 on the well-being of construction workers. The well-being of employees is dependent on the organization's methods and policies for dealing with it. Companies must address adverse emergencies like Covid-19 in such a way that they do not negatively affect workers' health, security, safety, and well-being. This study has included the help of eight people who were polled. All respondents were given the freedom to select whether or not to participate in the survey. They can also choose to opt-out of the survey at any time. Two Foramen, two Supervisors, one Mason, one Mechanical Worker, one Electrical Worker, one Instrument Worker, one Painter, and one Plumber are among the eight responders. Their comments will provide vital information to the investigation.
When workers were questioned about their top stress issues during the Covid-19 period, they provided a variety of replies. The majority of them said they were worried about losing their jobs, which was stressful. This demonstrates the construction workers' current employment insecurity. The stress of salary loss was the second most prevalent source of stress among workers, behind job loss. It demonstrates the workers' reliance on their jobs to make ends meet. One of the respondents stated that the increased workload as a result of the reduced number of workers was the source of his stress. Workers' mental health suffers as a result of job and wage loss. This issue is related to the first goal of determining the impact of increasing workloads and pay decreases on worker morale. During the Covid-19 epidemic, the world economy experienced a severe downturn, affecting the economies of several countries. The governments of the nations impacted by the outbreak will almost certainly declare a state of emergency for an extended period. It has influenced both international and national GDP. Because of these factors, the firms involved in the building had to halt their operations, and they were also suffering from unforeseen losses. Organizations began lowering worker compensation to surviving in the diversified circumstances and competitive market.
The survey poll also enabled the goal of gathering worker sensitivities and sentiments about work-life balance to be met. Seven of the total respondents offered a positive response, emphasising that their organisations provided good work-life balance to their employees. Workers were permitted to spend meaningful time with their families, and working outside of office hours was discouraged. They also made certain that employees could take vacations. One responder further stated that his employer frequently discussed employee mental health at management meetings. Another responder stated that his employer gives paid sick leave to its employees. It has also stated that his organisation has a demanding schedule for its employees and does not provide sufficient work-life balance.
Workers were polled on the steps their employers were doing to guarantee worker productivity and engagement. The comments varied and demonstrated how each organisation approaches this issue in their unique way. The majority of workers stated that to enhance worker engagement, corporations encouraged workers to actively participate in meetings to discuss issues that emerge in projects. Furthermore, one of the employees stated that his employer supported family games to give them a sense of belonging. These replies are directly linked to particular actions that help to increase the advantages of worker engagement. During the epidemic, communicating with employees the lack of physical contact was a big problem. Furthermore, keeping employees interested and motivated amid a crisis was critical. As a result, the workers were asked how their firms kept in touch with them and helped them stay engaged. Different employees replied differently when asked how their firm keeps them engaged. All of the respondents mentioned online meetings. Some of the workers' firms also get frequent health reports from them. This aided in the achievement of the study's second goal, which was to examine worker engagement metrics.
Workers stated that they sought the assistance of loved ones, attended therapy sessions, communicated personal anguish with coworkers, and purposefully avoided social media and news channels broadcasting Covid-19 news to remain emotionally healthy. To grasp the workers' point of view, they were urged to learn from the "new-workplace normal." A typical solution was to learn about new digital technologies. This demonstrates how digital technology will impact the building business in the next years. To gauge workers' expectations, they were invited to make some recommendations for employers to prevent a similar issue in the future. The Covid-19 epidemic has utterly altered the world's usual functioning. In terms of health, social, and economic issues, the building sector was also greatly harmed. Construction employees have had a difficult time finding work because all construction operations have been halted in their totality. It has had a huge impact on their well-being. A crisis time, such as the Covid 19, disturbs employees' mental equilibrium owing to employment and wage instability. As a result, workers were polled to learn more about the effects of isolation and Covid-19 on worker engagement. This is also one of the research's goals.
Fear of job loss and salary loss has caused workers to be fearful and insecure. This has had a significant influence on workers' mental health and well-being (Brown et al.,2020). To address this concern further, the current study attempted to analyse the impact of Covid-19 on employee well-being. This research would also strive to identify the best organisational strategies to improve and influence workers' participation, morale, and job efficiency.
Construction employees are in charge of the manual labour involved in the construction process. Because construction has traditionally been a highly difficult work environment, the workers' well-being is frequently disregarded and neglected. This has to change, and taking a proactive approach to the issue will be advantageous. The Covid-19 Pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the building sector. It harms human health and has affected all facets of daily living. As a result of the lockdown, building sites throughout the world were entirely shut down, and severe limitations were enforced. As a result, many construction businesses are experiencing cash issues.