Connected Conversations: Mapping the Psychosocial Wellbeing Topic Network in Construction’s Social Media Discourse

Abstract

Construction workers worldwide grapple with a psychosocial wellbeing crisis characterized by elevated rates of stress, depression, substance abuse, and suicide. Although research interest has grown, existing studies have predominantly relied on small, cross-sectional surveys that cannot capture how stakeholder concerns evolve over time or reflect the authentic voices of those most affected. This investigation employed machine learning techniques to analyze 2,368 social media comments from X, YouTube, and Reddit spanning 2015 to 2022 and revealed how construction communities discuss psychosocial wellbeing when speaking freely in digital spaces. Structural topic modeling identified five dominant themes: nature and context of work (33.8%), industry environment and culture (22.6%), mental health conditions and outcomes (16.6%), interventions (15.5%), and mental health literacy (11.5%). Temporal analysis revealed a significant shift in how these conversations unfolded. Early discussions centered heavily on problems such as toxic workplace cultures and adverse health outcomes, but these problem-focused themes declined significantly ( p < 0.01 ) as solution-oriented discourse gained momentum. By 2021, discussions about interventions had overtaken conversations about mental health conditions and outcomes, marking a decisive shift from crisis articulation to action-seeking. Network analysis revealed that interventions correlated positively with mental health literacy ( r = 0.638 ) while showing strong negative associations with problem-focused topics ( r = − 0.777 ), indicating that solution-seeking behavior actively displaces problem-centered discourse. These findings suggest that the industry’s psychosocial wellbeing discourse has reached a critical turning point, presenting opportunities to implement interventions aligned with demonstrated stakeholder readiness for change. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing the first longitudinal social media analysis of psychosocial wellbeing discourse in construction as a scalable complement to cross-sectional surveys, documenting a problem-to-solution discursive transition that signals readiness for change, and establishing quantifiable relational patterns among mental health themes to guide integrated intervention strategies.