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Stress Management in the Construction Industry

Stress Management in the Construction Industry

Mei-yung LeungDepartment of Civil & Architectural Engineering

City University of Hong Kong

Isabelle Yee Shan ChanDepartment of Real Estate and Construction

University of Hong Kong

Cary L. CooperLancaster University Management School

Lancaster UniversityUK

This edition first published 2015 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Leung, Mei-yung.Stress management in the construction industry / Mei-yung Leung, Isabelle Yee Shan Chan,

Cary Cooper. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-118-45641-5 (cloth)1. Construction industryEmployeesHealth and hygiene. 2. Construction workersJob stress. 3. Stress management. I. Title. HD8039.B9L48 2015 624.0683dc23

2014030548

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

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Set in 10/12pt Sabon by SPi Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India

1 2015

http://www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwellhttp://www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Contents

About the Authors viiPreface ixAcknowledgements xi

Chapter 1 Construction Personnel in Practice 1

1.1 Background to Stress Management in Construction 11.2 Construction Organisations 31.3 Construction Personnel 81.4 Construction Projects 121.5 Stress in the Construction Industry 14References 28

Chapter 2 Theories of Stress 37

2.1 The History of Stress Theory 372.2 Arousal Theories 412.3 Appraisal and Regulatory Theories 442.4 Summary 48References 48

Chapter 3 Stress 53

3.1 Stress Levels of Construction Personnel 533.2 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stress 653.3 Research Results on Stress among Construction Personnel 663.4 Case Studies 773.5 Practical Implications 843.6 Summary 85References 86

Chapter 4 Sources of Stress Affecting Construction Personnel 91

4.1 Stressors Affecting Construction Personnel 914.2 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stressors and Stress 1044.3 Research Results on Stressors and Different

Construction Personnel 105

vi Contents

4.4 Case Studies 1284.5 Practical Implications 137References 140

Chapter 5 Consequences of Stress 149

5.1 Consequences of Stress Affecting Construction Personnel 1495.2 (Inter)Personal Performance of Construction Personnel 1495.3 Task Performance of Construction Personnel 1515.4 Organisational Performance of Construction Personnel 1525.5 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stress

and Performance 1535.6 Research Results on Stress and Performance of Construction

Personnel 1585.7 Discussion 1655.8 Case Studies 1695.9 Practical Implications 177References 178

Chapter 6 Stress Management 185

6.1 Coping Behaviours 1856.2 Effectiveness of Coping Behaviours 1956.3 Determinants of Various Coping Behaviours 1966.4 Developing a Conceptual Model of the Individual Coping

Behaviours of Construction Personnel 1976.5 Studies on the Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel 1986.6 Case Studies 2116.7 Discussion 2176.8 Practical Implications 2236.9 Summary 224References 225

Chapter 7 Conclusions 233

7.1 Stress Management for Construction Personnel 2337.2 Practical Recommendations 2427.3 Recommendations for Further Research 2467.4 Conclusion 249References 251

Index 257

About the Authors

Dr Mei-yung Leung is Associate Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, PRC. She has more than 20 years of practical/teaching experience inthe construction industry/education and has participated in a number of prestigious construction projects in Hong Kong. She has over 150 interna-tional publications in various research areas covering stress management, construction project management, value management, facility management and construction education. DrLeung has successfully completed all levels of the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction training at the University of Massachusetts in the United States, and conducted various stress management seminars and full courses to construction companies, professional institutes, higher educations and religious organisations. She has received a number of international awards, including the Tony Toy Memorial Award issued by the Hong Kong Institute of Value Management in Hong Kong, the Thomas D. Snodgrass Value Teaching Award issued by the SAVE International The Value Society in the United States, and the Teaching Excellence Award issued by the City University of Hong Kong. Dr Leung isalso a senior Fulbright Scholar at the Pennsylvania State University and University of Southern California.

Dr Isabelle Yee Shan Chan is Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, PRC. She is the author of over 40 international publications in books, journals and conferences, covering areas of stress management, health and safety, culture and innovation in construction. In line with these research areas, she has participated in more than 10 research projects in the capacities of principal investigator, co-investigator and project coordinator. Stress management in construction is the research area of her PhD study; she has also successfully completed the mindfulness-based stress reduction programme inthe Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. Dr Chan is the vice-chairman of theInstitute of Safety and Health Practitioners in Hong Kong, and is also a visiting fellow of Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, UK.

Professor Sir Cary Cooper is Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University Management School, UK. He is the author of over 120 books (on occupational stress, women at work and industrial and organisational psychology), has written over 400 scholarly articles, and is a frequent contributor to national newspapers, TV and radio. Professor Cooper is a Fellow of the British Academy of Management and also of the Academy of Management (having also won the 1998 Distinguished Service

viii About the Authors

Award). In 2001 he was awarded a CBE in the Queens Birthday Honours List for his contribution to organisational health, and in 2014 he was awarded a knighthood. Professor Cooper was the lead scientist to the UK Government Office for Science on their Foresight programme on Mental Capital and Well Being (20072008). He was appointed a member of the expert group on establishing guidance for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on promoting mental well-being through productive and healthy working conditions, 2009. Professor Cooper is Chair of the UKs Academy of Social Sciences (an umbrella body of 47 learned societies in the social sciences); and was Chair of the Chronic Disease and Well-being Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum in Geneva in 2009.

Preface

Due to the task complexity, tight timeframes, complicated work relationships, poor working environments and other factors, the construction industry haslong been recognised as a stressful one. A survey study conducted by the Chartered Institute of Building (2006) indicates that nearly 70% of con-struction personnel have suffered from stress, anxiety or depression directly resulting from their work. Stress is not only a matter for the individual, but is also areal cost for any project, organisation, industry, and even nation (e.g., due towork-related stress, more than 10 million working days were lost in the UK; Health and Safety Executive 2012). To survive in such a demanding and dynamic industry, with these numerous sources of stress, construction personnel must be able to adopt suitable coping behaviours. However, not all coping behaviours have a positive effect on the individual. Studies indicate that the adoption of maladaptive coping is not unusual among construction personnel. In addition, although health care is now receiving increasing attention from the construction industry, the majority of training events and guidelines in this area only address physical well-being and neglect the importance of psychological health.

Hence, this book aims to enhance the performance of construction personnel by developing and presenting an integrated and comprehensive stress manage-ment model. This will not only illustrate how construction personnel are affected by various stressors and how this influences their performance, but will also explain how stress levels can be managed by dealing with the various stressors and using appropriate adaptive coping behaviours. To achieve this aim, this book, based on an extensive literature review, survey studies and scenario analyses, investigates various components of stress management for construction personnel, including the multiple dimensions of the stress they experience, the nature of their stressors, the coping behaviours they adopt, and the consequences of stress for their performance.

Chapter1 sets out the aims and objectives of this book and provides an overview of the characteristics of the construction industry and the current state of research in this area. It summarises the background information, both practical and academic, required to contextualise the discussion which follows.

Chapter2 introduces the historical development of stress theories since the 1920s. The concept of stress was first developed by a group of psycho-biologists and then extended by other psychobiologists, sociologists and psychiatrists in different contexts. Various stress theories (mainly arousal and appraisal and regulatory theories) and their implications are discussed.

Chapter3 discusses the stress experienced by construction personnel and explains the arousal mechanisms for different types of stress by reference to

x Preface

different theories. Three main kinds of stress (work stress arising from personenvironment misfit, physical stress from the homeostatic effect, and emotional stress governed by the limbic system) are investigated, based on both quantitative and qualitative studies of construction professionals. Some practical implications are then set out at the end of the chapter.

Chapter4 introduces the sources of stress (i.e., stressors) in detail. Five main types including personal, interpersonal, task, organisational and physical are identified, and the results of a scientific investigation into how different types of stressors induce the three main kinds of stress among different construction personnel are discussed. Based on these findings, recommendations are made about the identification and assessment of key stressors and how these can be reduced for construction staff.

Chapter5 analyses the consequences of stress (i.e., performance) in terms of stress management in construction projects. Performance is classified along various dimensions, including personal, task and organisational, and each type is described in detail in the construction industry context. Conceptual models of stress and performance are then developed to illustrate the impact of stress on different types of performance for construction personnel. The results of a questionnaire survey and case study analysis are presented to show the significant relationship between stress and performance. These findings are then used as a basis for recommendations for how to manage the stress levels of construction personnel and optimise their ultimate project performance.

Chapter6 deals with the coping behaviours adopted by construction person-nel. Three main types are addressed: problem-, emotion- and meaning-based coping. Scientific research shows that different forms of coping behaviours have different effects on performance. To better manage stress among construction personnel, several practical implications from this body of work are presented.

Chapter 7 concludes the book and sets out an integrated stressorstresscoping behaviourperformance model, ending with a summary of its recommendations.

We hope that this book will prove useful to both academics and practition-ers. For the former, the empirical support to the stressorsstresscoping performance associations in construction not only lays a solid platform to fur-ther similar studies (fostering the development of stress management research in construction), but also fits into the current knowledge gap of psychological health in occupational safety and health (OSH) education in construction (fostering evolution of OSH education in construction). For the latter, the book benefits individual construction personnel by the overview and analyses ofvar-ious stress management strategies, and also facilitates the development of stress management interventions in construction. This is predicted to improve the holistic performance and productivity of individual construction personnel, which are key antecedents of project and organisational success.

Our goal is that this book will facilitate the development of stress manage-ment research and education in construction, while also enhancing the aware-ness of construction personnel on the importance of stress and stress management.

Mei-yung Leung, Isabelle Yee Shan Chan

and Cary L. Cooper

Acknowledgements

This book involved many people beyond the authors. The authors would like to express special thanks to colleagues and friends who assisted and contrib-uted greatly in the book writing process: Mr Qi Liang and Mr Sherwood Yu City University of Hong Kong, Dr Wilson Wan New City Construction Company Limited, Hong Kong; and Dr Jingyu Yu Hefei University of Technology, PRC. Their generosity is greatly appreciated.

We also thank Ms Madeleine Metcalfe of Wiley Blackwell for her contri-butions and patience in all phases of this project. Mrs Umamaheswari Chelladurai, Ms Audrey Koh and Ms Harriet Konishi, also from Wiley Blackwell, and Mrs Gerry Wood at Lancaster University greatly expedited the final stages of putting the book into print.

Stress Management in the Construction Industry, First Edition. Mei-yung Leung, Isabelle Yee Shan Chan and Cary L. Cooper. 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Construction Personnel in Practice

1

This first chapter introduces the background and objectives of the book. It also discusses the characteristics of the construction industry; the nature, functions and interrelationships of various construction organisations, projects and personnel from an international perspective; the contribution of various member throughout the construction life cycle; and the potential for these industrial, organisational, project and individual characteristics, as well as construction-related work tasks, to cause stress for construction personnel. Along with the discussion of stress management in construction in the chapters which follow, several studies of construction personnel from various nations will be discussed here in order to present an overview of the current environment, results and trends in stress management research in the construction industry context. This chapter provides background infor-mation to contextualise the discussion in the remainder of the book.

1.1 Background to Stress Management in Construction

The construction industry can be characterised as competitive, dynamic and challenging. A construction project is a unique human endeavour which combines the different goals and objectives of multiple stakeholders. They need to deploy various resources to tackle change and uncertainties and com-plete the work within a limited time and specific scope (Turner 1993). Normally, construction personnel working in different organisations (such as clients, government departments, consultancy companies, contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers) need to work together to ensure the success of a project. Communication and cooperation between stakeholders is critical for

Title PageCopyright PageContentsAbout the AuthorsPrefaceAcknowledgementsChapter 1 Construction Personnel in Practice1.1 Background to Stress Management in Construction1.2 Construction Organisations1.2.1 Governments1.2.2 Developers1.2.3 Consultants1.2.4 Contractors1.2.5 Suppliers

1.3 Construction Personnel1.3.1 Project Managers1.3.2 Architects1.3.3 Engineers1.3.4 Quantity Surveyors1.3.5 Construction Workers

1.4 Construction Projects1.4.1 Nature1.4.2 Construction Procurement

1.5 Stress in the Construction IndustryReferences

Chapter 2 Theories of Stress2.1 The History of Stress Theory2.1.1 Psychobiology2.1.2 Sociology2.1.3 Psychiatry

2.2 Arousal Theories2.2.1 Fight or Flight Cannon2.2.2 Eustress versus Distress Selye2.2.3 The YerkesDodson Law

2.3 Appraisal and Regulatory Theories2.3.1 Transactional Stress Model Lazarus and Folkman2.3.2 Model of Controlled Processing and Compensatory Control Hockey2.3.3 Stress-Adaptation Model Hancock and Warm

2.4 SummaryReferences

Chapter 3 Stress3.1 Stress Levels of Construction Personnel3.1.1 Work Stress3.1.2 Physical Stress3.1.3 Emotional Stress

3.2 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stress3.3 Research Results on Stress among Construction Personnel3.3.1 Statistical Studies

3.4 Case Studies3.4.1 Public Toilet Construction3.4.2 Highway Project

3.5 Practical Implications3.6 SummaryReferences

Chapter 4 Sources of Stress Affecting Construction Personnel4.1 Stressors Affecting Construction Personnel4.1.1 Personal Stressors4.1.2 Interpersonal Stressors4.1.3 Task Stressors4.1.4 Organisational Stressors4.1.5 Physical Stressors

4.2 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stressors and Stress4.3 Research Results on Stressors and Different Construction Personnel4.3.1 Statistical Studies of Stressors of Construction Personnel

4.4 Case Studies4.4.1 Building Information Modeling in Housing Projects4.4.2 Design of a Water Tank in a Residential Project

4.5 Practical ImplicationsReferences

Chapter 5 Consequences of Stress5.1 Consequences of Stress Affecting Construction Personnel5.2 (Inter)Personal Performance of Construction Personnel5.2.1 Personal Satisfaction5.2.2 Interpersonal Relationships

5.3 Task Performance of Construction Personnel5.3.1 Project Outcomes5.3.2 Safety Behaviours

5.4 Organisational Performance of Construction Personnel5.4.1 Sense of Belonging5.4.2 Intention to Stay

5.5 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stress and Performance5.5.1 Conceptual Model of Stress and Performance5.5.2 Relationship between Stress and Performance

5.6 Research Results on Stress and Performance of Construction Personnel5.6.1 Statistical Studies5.6.2 Correlation Analysis

5.7 Discussion5.7.1 Performance of Construction Personnel by Age5.7.2 Performance of Construction Personnel by Gender5.7.3 Stress and Performance5.7.4 Interrelationships among the Six Types of Performance

5.8 Case Studies5.8.1 A Mega International Airport Project5.8.2 A Project on a Constrained Site at Traffic Congestion Zone Hong Kong Island

5.9 Practical ImplicationsReferences

Chapter 6 Stress Management6.1 Coping Behaviours6.1.1 Problem-Based Coping Behaviours6.1.2 Emotion-Based Coping Behaviours6.1.3 Meaning-Based Coping Behaviours

6.2 Effectiveness of Coping Behaviours6.2.1 Effectiveness of Problem-Based Coping6.2.2 Effectiveness of Emotion-Based Coping6.2.3 Effectiveness of Meaning-Based Coping (MBSR)

6.3 Determinants of Various Coping Behaviours6.4 Developing a Conceptual Model of the Individual Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel6.5 Studies on the Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel6.5.1 Questionnaire

6.6 Case Studies6.6.1 Drainage Installation in a City Centre6.6.2 Luxury Low-Density Residential Building

6.7 Discussion6.7.1 Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel6.7.2 Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel of Different Age Groups6.7.3 Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel of Different Genders Groups6.7.4 Coping Behaviours, Stress and Performance of Construction Personnel

6.8 Practical Implications6.9 SummaryReferences

Chapter 7 Conclusions7.1Stress Management for Construction Personnel7.1.1Stress of Construction Personnel7.1.2Stressors for Construction Personnel7.1.3The Consequences of Stress for Construction Personnel7.1.4Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel7.1.5An Integrated StressorStressCoping Behaviours Performance Model

7.2Practical Recommendations7.2.1Recommendations for Managing Stressors7.2.2Recommendations for Managing Stress7.2.3Recommendations for Coping with Stress7.2.4Summary of Practical Recommendations

7.3Recommendations for Further Research7.3.1Triangulation and Longitudinal Studies7.3.2Physiological Stress Measurement7.3.3Cross-Cultural Stress Management

7.4ConclusionReferences

IndexEULA