Conceptual model for managing mental health in the culturally diverse construction workforce

Due to the intricate nature of the construction industry, construction workers are exposed to a plethora of stressors which may cause psychological health problems. Meanwhile, in the context of globalization, there is a growing trend of workforce diversity within the construction industry. Consequently, the mental health conditions, as well as the management of mental health issues of construction workers may be influenced by cultural diversity. To better address the mental health issues of construction workforce, the impact of cultural diversity should be considered. However, how diverse culture influences construction workers' psychological health is unclear. Therefore, there’s a need to investigate the relationships among mental health, cultural diversity, sources of stress, and coping behaviors so as to reduce workers' psychological issues in the culturally diverse worksite. The aim of this research is to develop a conceptual framework of mental health for the multicultural construction workforce. This study was grounded in the transactional theory of stress and coping which is the most frequently applied theoretical approach to studying psychological stress and coping. Within this framework, the main antecedent, mediating, and outcome variables were identified. Personal stressors and situational stressors were identified as the main causal antecedents; appraisal and coping were determined as the mediators; psychological problems were recognized as the outcomes. Similarly, the occupational stress model demonstrated the interactions of personal stressors and environmental stressors determined the coping behaviors and psychological consequences in the workplace. The resource-congruence model postulated that culture played a crucial role on all aspects of coping-well-being process. The differences derived from cultural diversity may impose significant effects on the coping-well-being procedure as well. Hypotheses regarding the relationships of the main factors were proposed based on the conceptual framework. The conceptual model may contribute to the understanding and explanation of the stressor-coping-psychological well-being process in a multicultural construction workplace and the continuing work on the theory of stress and coping.