Influencing Factors and Synergistic Paths of Successful Aging at Work for Construction Workers

Amid ongoing demographic transitions and persistent labor shortages, the Chinese construction industry faces a pressing challenge: an increasingly aging workforce. Facilitating successful aging at work (SAW) has become crucial to harnessing the capabilities of older workers and mitigating workforce constraints. This study seeks to explore the factors that influence SAW among construction workers and examine how these factors interact to support its realization. First, the grounded theory approach was employed to identify the factors influencing SAW for construction workers. Subsequently, the established measurement scale was adapted, and data collected through a questionnaire survey. Finally, the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method was applied to analyze the synergistic paths among influencing factors. The results showed that influencing factors of SAW among construction workers, including individual, work-related, organizational, and social dimensions. Through the fsQCA method, six configurations were identified and further divided into three synergistic paths: all-round friendly; organization-driven; and resource compensation. This study overcomes the limitations of previous studies that ignored the synergistic effects among factors, providing a method for addressing the aging challenges faced by construction workers. Further, this paper proposes measures to promote SAW for Chinese construction workers, offering new insights into the career development of older construction workers and helping to address the challenges posed by aging.