Does the construction industry be ready to implement mental health interventions: a study in the Vietnamese context

Purpose There is a growing concern about implementing mental health interventions to foster the well-being of construction employees. The performance requires the involvement of several stakeholders, such as individuals, organizations, communities, and government bodies. Thus, their readiness heavily affects the success of mental health interventions. However, there remains a limited understanding of the extent to which these stakeholders are ready to implement mental health interventions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the readiness for implementing mental health interventions (RMHI), with the focus on the Vietnamese context. Design/methodology/approach The review of previous research and semi-structured discussions with experienced construction practitioners enabled the establishment of 24 variables that reflect the RMHI under the Social Ecological Model (SEM) framework. Then, 165 validated responses were collected via the convenience sampling method. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was used to explore the level of RMHI. Findings The findings show that the interpersonal level had the highest readiness for RMHI, with a score of 3.683, followed by organizational (RMHI = 2.990), community (RMHI = 2.702), individual (RMHI = 2.647), and policy (RMHI = 2.496) levels. Overall, the RMHI was relatively medium (RMHI = 3.029). Originality/value This study is one of the first to investigate RMHI in the construction context. The relatively low readiness at the individual and policy levels highlights that government agencies should focus on issuing supportive policies and incentivizing firms to adopt mental health programs. It also implies a need for targeted awareness and educational initiatives aimed directly at construction employees.