Sources of occupational stress in UK construction projects: an empirical investigation and agenda for future research

What is it about?

Globally, there has been a noticeable increase in awareness regarding occupational stress as a significant concern across all industries, with particular emphasis on the construction industry. This heightened awareness has placed substantial responsibility on employers that heavily rely on their workforce's performance to prevent stress rather than merely addressing mental health issues when they arise. While stress, anxiety, and depression rank as the second leading cause of work-related ill health in the UK construction sector, there exists a scarcity of empirical studies explicitly focused on investigating the sources of occupational stress among construction workers and professionals at both the construction project and supply-chain levels. This study aims to investigate the primary stressors (sources of stress) in UK construction projects and identify the most effective strategies for preventing or reducing stress in this context. The research approach employed here is a qualitative multi-methods approach that integrates deductive and inductive methods for theory building. This approach involves case study interviews and a focus group. The results reveal seven main stressors, with "workflow interruptions" emerging as the predominant stressor within construction. Additionally, the study sheds empirical light on the limitations of the critical path method, provides a framework that can be used for proactive stress prevention in construction projects, and generates new questions and proposals that can guide future research agendas for addressing occupational stress and mental health issues within the construction industry. The findings from this study have the potential to assist decision-makers in the prevention of stress within construction projects, ultimately enhancing workforce performance.

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