Code | Theme identified | Excerpts from focus group discussion |
E1 | Chronic pain | I get chronic pain all over my body after working so hard for long hours at the construction workplace. |
E2 | Coronary heart disease | I know of a construction worker who suffered from coronary heart disease and was hospitalized for long periods due to excessive work demands. |
E3 | Lose valuable things like job, relationships and status | The demanding nature of my work has placed me at the point that I have lost valuable things like extra jobs, relationships and some social status. |
E4 | Loss memory/ forgetfulness | Anytime I overwork myself I experience loss of memory or forgetfulness. |
E5 | Accident-prone | I get injured a lot during work because when my attention is fully on the demanding task, I tend to ignore safety rules and become prone to accident. |
E6 | High blood pressure | There was a time I was threatened to work excessively hard and the impulse or fear resulted in me having high blood pressure. |
E7 | Insomnia or sleep disturbances | The project I am working on has delayed, so workers are supposed to work for long hours throughout the night with little time for sleeping, this has given me insomnia, as my regular sleep pattern has been disturbed. |
E8 | Stroke or Cancer | Some construction employees have suffered stroke or cancer due to the poor working conditions with no time for regular exercise and other unhealthy habits. |
E9 | Headache | When I work continuously for long hours I get a headache. |
E10 | Musculoskeletal injuries | Musculoskeletal injuries are very common with construction employees due to the nature of our work. |
E11 | Family problems | I am having family problems because of my work, as my wife complains I do not have time for the family since I have become so engaged at work lately. |
E12 | Sexual dysfunction | When there is a heavy workload at the construction site, I become anxious and worry about my work, this makes me sexually dysfunctional at times. |
E13 | Diabetes mellitus | I have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, which I believe resulted from the poor working conditions that made me adopt certain lifestyle affecting my health. |
E14 | Feeling faint or dizzy | Working under stressful working conditions makes me feel like fainting or becomes dizzy. |
E15 | Loss of motivation, energy or interest | After putting all my energy into work with the expectation of getting some recognition from the superiors, I did not get any such as I expected, from that time I have lost my motivation, energy and interest in working hard for the company. |
E16 | Tightness in the chest | Anytime I am overwhelmed with work I feel some tightness in the chest. |
E17 | Dietary extremes | When there is work pressure on me, I tend to eat very little as compared to my usual days when I eat a lot, thus, moving from one dietary extreme to another. |