https://doi.org/10.24928/2018/0256

Respect for People’S Well-Being: Meditation for Construction Workers

João Bosco Pinheiro Dantas Filho¹, José de Paula Barros Neto², Alexandre Mourão³, Andréa Benício da Rocha⁴, Andre Vieira Luccas⁵ & Angela Saggin⁶

¹Architect, Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, Researcher of GERCON, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil, [email protected]
²Full Professor, Department of Structural Engineering and Civil Construction, Leader of the GERCON, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil, [email protected]
³Civil Engineer, Technical Director of C. RolimEngenharia Ltda., Brazil, [email protected]
⁴Yoga and meditationinstructor, Ayurveda therapist, Espaço Tenda, Fortaleza, Brazil,[email protected]
⁵Civil Engineer, Researcher of GERCON, Fortaleza, Brazil,[email protected]
⁶Civil Engineer, Lean & Green Coordinator of C. RolimEngenharia Ltda., Brazil, [email protected]

Abstract

Stressful environments are often found in construction industry which makes important to study the relation between stress and work. Alcohol or illicit drugs were reported to be common short-term alternatives to reduce anxiety in male-dominated industries and have long-term implications for health and well-being. "What countermeasures can be used by construction workers?" A set of emotion-focused coping strategies is identified, such as physical exercise, recreational activities and meditation. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, meditation is an instrument of physical, emotional, mental, social and cognitive strengthening that promotes concentration, stimulates well-being, relaxation, reduces stress, hyperactivity and depressive symptoms. "But would construction workers be willing to meditate?" The purpose of this paper is to assess the initial perceptions of construction workers under meditation training. This research has a qualitative approach and its strategy is a unique case study. Four meditation sessions were applied at the construction site during lunch break. Multiple sources of evidence were used: interviews and videos. The data analysis was qualitative. The results indicate: (1) construction workers consider that meditation values them and (2) they also recommend its implementation. This research gives some information that there is viability for meditation in construction.

Keywords

Lean Construction, Safety, meditation, workers’ health, well-being

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Reference

Filho, J. B. P. D. , Neto, J. P. B. , Mourão, A. , Rocha, A. B. , Luccas, A. V. & Saggin, A. 2018. Respect for People’S Well-Being: Meditation for Construction Workers, 26th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , 1160-1169. doi.org/10.24928/2018/0256

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