{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T17:51:21Z","timestamp":1782323481092,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted labour mobility across Europe, but its effects varied substantially across sectors. Construction remained relatively active in Romania, creating a specific context in which workers faced health-related constraints while maintaining employment continuity. This article examines how construction workers in Bra\u0219ov County perceived workplace changes, pandemic-related difficulties and migration intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is based on a questionnaire survey conducted among 384 construction workers, with data collected online in February\u2013March 2022. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise workers\u2019 perceptions, working conditions and migration intentions, while chi-square tests of independence and Spearman\u2019s rank-order correlation were applied to examine associations between sociodemographic variables, perceived difficulties, financial impact and willingness to work abroad. The findings indicate that most respondents reported limited changes in workload and working conditions, while the main difficulties were related to mask wearing, compliance with sanitary rules and extended project completion times. Although the overall intention to work abroad was low, perceived financial impact was positively associated with willingness to migrate. The study contributes worker-level evidence on labour mobility intentions in an essential sector during a period of restricted international movement.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0335155","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T17:27:13Z","timestamp":1782322033000},"page":"e0335155","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Workplace changes, perceived difficulties and migration intentions among Romanian construction workers during the covid-19 pandemic"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8794-1796","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Vasile","family":"Chasciar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-3115-0623","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Denisa Ramona","family":"Chasciar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6272-7414","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Claudiu","family":"Coman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8633-7584","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Vasile","family":"Gherhes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cristel","family":"Iotu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3342-936X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Adrian","family":"Netedu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0335155.ref001","volume-title":"Labour shortages and surpluses 2022","author":"European Commission","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref002","volume-title":"Global estimates on international migrant workers","author":"International Labour Organization","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref003","volume-title":"Migration and brain drain: Implications for developing economies","author":"World Bank","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1787\/30fe16d2-en","volume-title":"International migration outlook 2022","author":"OECD","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref005","volume-title":"Sociology of migration: Theories and Romanian case studies","author":"R Anghel","year":"2009"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref006","volume-title":"An analysis on migration in the construction sector","author":"Chartered Institute of Building","year":"2016"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref007","volume-title":"Migrant work and employment in the construction sector","author":"International Labour Organization","year":"2019"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref008","volume-title":"The construction sector in Romania during the COVID-19 pandemic","author":"A Smedoiu","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref009","unstructured":"Eurostat. Remittances data and trends. 2023."},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref010","volume-title":"Migration and development: Building resilient labour markets","author":"International Organization for Migration","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref011","volume-title":"Production in construction \u2013 monthly data","author":"Eurostat","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref012","volume-title":"Annual report on remittances and capital flows","author":"National Bank of Romania","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref013","unstructured":"Eurofound. Migrant workers in the construction sector in the EU. 2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref014","volume-title":"Guide on the employment of foreign citizens in Romania","author":"National Agency for Employment","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref015","volume-title":"Ghiduri pentru finan\u021b\u0103ri \u0219i integrare social\u0103 a lucr\u0103torilor migran\u021bi","author":"Ministerul Investi\u021biilor \u0219i Proiectelor Europene","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref016","volume-title":"Gesetz \u00fcber die Einwanderung von Fachkr\u00e4ften (Fachkr\u00e4fteeinwanderungsgesetz)","author":"Bundesministerium des Innern und f\u00fcr Heimat BMI","year":"2020"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref017","volume-title":"Decreto Flussi 2023: Programmazione dei flussi di ingresso dei lavoratori non comunitari","author":"Ministero dell\u2019Interno \u2013 Italia","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref018","volume-title":"Directiva 2009\/52\/CE privind sanc\u021biunile \u00eempotriva angajatorilor lucr\u0103torilor ilegali","author":"Parlamentul European, Consiliul Uniunii Europene","year":"2009"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref019","volume-title":"Directiva 2011\/98\/UE privind o procedur\u0103 unic\u0103 pentru eliberarea unui permis de \u0219edere \u0219i munc\u0103","author":"Parlamentul European, Consiliul Uniunii Europene","year":"2011"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref020","volume-title":"Labour market developments in the construction sector in the EU","author":"Eurofound","year":"2022"},{"issue":"19","key":"pone.0335155.ref021","first-page":"28","article-title":"Migration and reverse migration in the age of COVID-19","volume":"55","author":"A Dandekar","year":"2020","journal-title":"Economic and Political Weekly"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref022","author":"Fieldwire","year":"2020"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref023","volume-title":"Impact of COVID-19 on migration for work in the EU","author":"European Migration Network","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref024","volume-title":"Informare privind lucr\u0103torii non-UE \u00een Rom\u00e2nia \u00een perioada pandemiei","author":"Ministerul Muncii \u0219i Protec\u021biei Sociale","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref025","volume-title":"Labour migration in essential sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic","author":"Eurofound","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref026","volume-title":"Migrants and the COVID-19 pandemic: An initial analysis","author":"L Guadagno","year":"2020"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref027","volume-title":"Construction activity in Romania in the pandemic context","author":"National Institute of Statistics","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1007\/978-0-230-36639-8","volume-title":"The age of migration","author":"S Castles","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref029","volume-title":"Migration Theory: Talking Across Disciplines","author":"C Brettell","year":"2008"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0335155.ref030","first-page":"138","article-title":"A model of labour migration and urban unemployment","volume":"59","author":"M Todaro","year":"1969","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref031","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1086\/258726","article-title":"The costs and returns of human migration","volume":"70","author":"LA Sjaastad","year":"1962","journal-title":"Journal of Political Economy"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref032","volume-title":"Labour mobility indicators for Romania","author":"Eurostat","year":"2023"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0335155.ref033","first-page":"173","article-title":"The new economics of labour migration","volume":"75","author":"O Stark","year":"1985","journal-title":"American Economic Review"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref034","article-title":"The NELM approach: household strategies and migration","volume-title":"Handbook of International Migration","author":"E Taylor","year":"1999"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9780511572210","volume-title":"Birds of passage: migrant labour in industrial societies","author":"M Piore","year":"1979"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref036","volume-title":"Labour shortages in the construction sector","author":"European Labour Authority","year":"2022"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0335155.ref037","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.2307\/2060063","article-title":"A theory of migration","volume":"3","author":"E Lee","year":"1966","journal-title":"Demography"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref038","volume-title":"Migration Outlook: Romanian Workers Abroad","author":"OECD","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref039","volume-title":"International migration systems","author":"R Kritz","year":"1992"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0335155.ref040","first-page":"5","article-title":"Modernising Romanian society through migration networks","volume":"1","author":"D Sandu","year":"2010","journal-title":"International Review of Social Research"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref041","volume-title":"Temporary migration regimes and their sustainability in times of COVID-19","author":"BSA Yeoh","year":"2020"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0335155.ref042","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"45","DOI":"10.1186\/s40878-021-00252-2","article-title":"Rethinking labour migration: Covid-19, essential work, and systemic resilience","volume":"9","author":"B Anderson","year":"2021","journal-title":"Comp Migr Stud"},{"issue":"2","key":"pone.0335155.ref043","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"195","DOI":"10.2298\/IJGI2102195P","article-title":"The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the volume of labor migration, employment, and remittances","volume":"71","author":"O Podra","year":"2021","journal-title":"J geographical I JC"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref044","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100018","DOI":"10.1016\/j.plas.2021.100018","article-title":"Impact of covid-19 on field and office workforce in construction industry","volume":"2","author":"A Pamidimukkala","year":"2021","journal-title":"Project Leadership and Society"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0335155.ref045","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"425","DOI":"10.1002\/hfm.20882","article-title":"Impact of COVID-19 on health and safety in the construction sector","volume":"31","author":"S Stiles","year":"2021","journal-title":"Hum Factors Ergon Manuf"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref046","volume-title":"Stranded irregular migrant workers during the COVID-19 crisis: The question of repatriation","author":"A I\u00e7duygu","year":"2020"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref047","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.35188\/UNU-WIDER\/2020\/896-2","volume-title":"Migration and the labor market impacts of COVID-19. 2020\/139","author":"N Barker","year":"2020"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0335155.ref048","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"921","DOI":"10.1007\/s41027-020-00281-y","article-title":"Estimating earnings losses of migrant workers due to COVID-19","volume":"63","author":"MI Abella","year":"2020","journal-title":"Indian J Labour Econ"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref049","volume-title":"Comunicat privind contingentul de lucr\u0103tori nou-admis pentru anul 2023","author":"Ministerul Muncii \u0219i Solidarit\u0103\u021bii Sociale","year":"2023"},{"key":"pone.0335155.ref050","volume-title":"Directiva 2011\/98\/UE privind o procedur\u0103 unic\u0103 pentru eliberarea unui permis de \u0219edere \u0219i munc\u0103","author":"Parlamentul European, Consiliul Uniunii Europene","year":"2011"}],"container-title":["PLOS One"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0335155","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T17:27:30Z","timestamp":1782322050000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/dx.plos.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0335155"}},"subtitle":[],"editor":[{"given":"Federico","family":"Zilia","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"editor"}]}],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"references-count":50,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0335155","relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-6203"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-6203","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]}}}