Stress Management in the Construction Industry (E-Book) von Mei-yung Leung

About the Authors vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xi

Chapter 1 Construction Personnel in Practice 1

1.1 Background to Stress Management in Construction 1

1.2 Construction Organisations 3

1.3 Construction Personnel 8

1.4 Construction Projects 12

1.5 Stress in the Construction Industry 14

References 28

Chapter 2 Theories of Stress 37

2.1 The History of Stress Theory 37

2.2 Arousal Theories 41

2.3 Appraisal and Regulatory Theories 44

2.4 Summary 48

References 48

Chapter 3 Stress 53

3.1 Stress Levels of Construction Personnel 53

3.2 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stress 65

3.3 Research Results on Stress among Construction Personnel 66

3.4 Case Studies 77

3.5 Practical Implications 84

3.6 Summary 85

References 86

Chapter 4 Sources of Stress Affecting Construction Personnel 91

4.1 Stressors Affecting Construction Personnel 91

4.2 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stressors and Stress 104

4.3 Research Results on Stressors and Different Construction Personnel 105

4.4 Case Studies 128

4.5 Practical Implications 137

References 140

Chapter 5 Consequences of Stress 149

5.1 Consequences of Stress Affecting Construction Personnel 149

5.2 (Inter)Personal Performance of Construction Personnel 149

5.3 Task Performance of Construction Personnel 151

5.4 Organisational Performance of Construction Personnel 152

5.5 Development of a Conceptual Model of Stress and Performance 153

5.6 Research Results on Stress and Performance of Construction Personnel 158

5.7 Discussion 165

5.8 Case Studies 169

5.9 Practical Implications 177

References 178

Chapter 6 Stress Management 185

6.1 Coping Behaviours 185

6.2 Effectiveness of Coping Behaviours 195

6.3 Determinants of Various Coping Behaviours 196

6.4 Developing a Conceptual Model of the Individual Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel 197

6.5 Studies on the Coping Behaviours of Construction Personnel 198

6.6 Case Studies 211

6.7 Discussion 217

6.8 Practical Implications 223

6.9 Summary 224

References 225

Chapter 7 Conclusions 233

7.1 Stress Management for Construction Personnel 233

7.2 Practical Recommendations 242

7.3 Recommendations for Further Research 246

7.4 Conclusion 249

References 251

Index 257

This systematic review of stress management in construction will help an understanding of the issues and theory as well as offering practical recommendations.

• addresses the growing concern to make work in construction healthier, safer, and more productive
• integrates research results, survey statistics and scenario analyses to reveal underlying causes of stress
• offers recommendations for reducing Stress

Dr Mei-yung Leung is Associate Professor of the City University of Hong Kong, PRC. She has more than twenty years of practical/teaching experience in the construction industry/education and has participated in a number of prestigious construction projects in Hong Kong. She has over 150 international publications in various research areas covering stress management, construction project management, value management, facility management, and construction education. Up to the present, she has attracted over HK$ 15 million in the capacity of investigator in both professional and research projects. Dr. Leung has successfully completed all levels (including the teaching level) of the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction training at the University of Massachusetts in the USA, and conducted various stress management seminars and full course to construction companies, professional institutes, higher educations and religious organizations. 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 USA, and the Teaching Excellence Award issued by the City University of Hong Kong. Dr. Leung is also 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 principle 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 program in the Hospital Authority in Hong Kong. Dr. Chan is the vice-chairman of the Institute of Safety and Health Practitioners in Hong Kong, and is also a visiting fellow of Hughes Hall of University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Professor Sir Cary Cooper is Professor of Organizational 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 organizational 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 Award). In 2001 he was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his contribution to organizational 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 (2007-2008). He was appointed a member of the expert group on establishing guidance for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence on "promoting mental wellbeing through productive and healthy working conditions", 2009. Professor Cooper is Chair of the UK's Academy of Social Sciences (an umbrella body of 47 learned societies in the social sciences; and was Chair of the Chronic Disease and Wellbeing Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum in Geneva in 2009.