Personal Characteristics Moderate Work Stress in Construction Professionals

Abstract

Studies of work stress in the construction industry have largely considered work characteristics as cofounding factors of work-related psychological illnesses and have paid minimal attention to the characteristics of construction personnel. However, literature from the field of psychology suggests that characteristics of individuals are heavily associated with stress-induced psychological illnesses. This study, using multiple correspondence analyses of data collected from 283 professionals in the Australian construction industry, investigated the simultaneous influence of six personal characteristics of construction professionals, such as gender, age, occupation, income, marital status, and personality traits, on work-related psychological illnesses. Key findings are (1) marital status is a vital moderator of work stress whereby professionals with a status of separated, divorced, or widowed are at high risk of suffering severe anxiety, depression, and acute stress; and (2) female professionals at middle management levels reported mild to moderate anxiety and depression, whereas their male counterparts were largely within normal ranges. These findings imply that in order to reduce productivity losses and economic costs caused by work stress, construction organizations should have (1) specialized programs that identify and provide social and emotional support for employees who are suffering marital discord; and (2) family-friendly and female-friendly employment policies and terms.