Perceptions of construction workers regarding the utility of mindfulness-based stress reduction initiatives: An exploratory study

Psychological stress remains a major cause of accidents and fatalities on construction projects. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) initiatives have been proposed as a mechanism for managing psychological stress. Although a plethora of studies have reported on MBSR initiatives, literature focusing on the concept in the South African construction industry context appears scant. Adopting a qualitative single embedded case study research design, this study contributes towards developing this body of knowledge by eliciting the perceptions of various construction actors concerning an identification of the causes of psychological stress among construction workers, an understanding of the impact of such stress on construction labour and/or project productivity and the utility of MBSR in facilitating psychological stress reduction. The data was collected through interviews with 19 purposively recruited interviewees and subsequently analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings reveal that the level of workload, supervision and/or managerial style of project managers and impact of factors like working away from home as major causes of psychological stress. It was also discovered that psychological stress posts a significant negative impact on construction productivity. Finally, the study reveals a low level of knowledge of MBSR initiatives among the interviewees. However, interviewees were optimistic that the initiative's potential to engender a reduction of psychological stress if adopted and effectively implemented within the South African construction industry context. This study provides a platform upon which further studies can be undertaken to not only unravel the benefits of the MBSR initiative but also to provide structured implementation protocols to enable effective implementation.