An assessment of prevalence of poor sleep quality among construction workers in Southern India

Purpose Sleep quality has been associated with health and safety issues influencing construction labour productivity in developing countries. Despite its significantly adverse contribution to these facets if left unattended to, limited studies have sought to establish its prevalence and causal factors in labour-intensive contexts. This study aims to bridge the gap between the prevalence and casual factors of poor sleep quality among construction workers. Design/methodology/approach Adopting a case study research design, data were collected from a randomly selected sample of construction workers ( n  = 475) recruited from four construction-based corporations in Southern India. Self-administered questionnaires comprising a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale was used to measure sleep quality among respondents alongside demographic characteristics, lifestyle preferences and work-habits data. Data were analysed using multivariate logistic regression analysis and descriptive statistical techniques. Findings Slightly more than a third of the construction workers ( n  = 33.9%) surveyed experienced poor sleep quality based on a PSQI method score of = 5. Also, the nexus between demographic characteristics, lifestyle preferences and work habits on the incidence of poor sleep quality among construction workers was confirmed. Practical implications The study contributes to the contemporary discourse on improving sleep health of construction workers to enhance their well-being thereby enabling their contribution towards achieving improved construction labour productivity. Originality/value This study makes an original contribution to the extent that it seeks to not only determine the prevalence of sleep quality within the construction industry and associated causal factors but to explore its implications on construction labour productivity.