مدیریت استرس شغلی حرفه ای در پروژه های بزرگ ساخت و ساز Managing occupational stress of professionals in large construction projects

1. Introduction The construction industry has long been recognised to be a stressful industry, due to its complexity (Enshassi and Al.Swaity, 2015). Further, continuous increase in complexity of work and growing demand for higher productivity have become common features of the construction industry and thereby creating a challenging environment towards achieving time, cost and quality targets of construction projects (Ibem et al., 2011; Jang et al., 2003). Under such circumstances, many professionals including Project Managers, Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors have to work under pressure (Ng et al., 2005). Thus to a certain extent, occupational stress has become a general phenomenon for construction professionals, where 68% of the construction professionals are reported to suffer from stress, anxiety or depression (Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), 2006 as cited in Enshassi and Al.Swaity, 2015). Occupational stress is defined as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker” (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 1999). Generally it is considered that prolonged negative stress is harmful to physical, mental and emotional health of professionals under various circumstances (Bowen et al., 2014; Strutton and Tran, 2014). As a result, excessive stress interferes with their performance and productivity and thus the efficiency of the overall project delivery (Amankwah et al., 2015; Ng et al., 2005). As highlighted by Ilbem et al. (2011), recent studies show that construction workers experienced more negative stress at their workplace and this had undesirable effects on their health and productivity at work. Therefore occupational stress is recognized as a growing problem worldwide and has significant impacts on both the employees and organizations. These impacts include low motivation and morale, decrease in performance, high turnover and sick leave, accidents, low job satisfaction, low quality products and services, poor internal communication and conflicts etc. (Strutton & Tran, 2014; Leung, et al., 2011; Cotton & Hart, 2003; Schabracq and Cooper, 2000). Further, study by Lingard (2003) revealed that burnout arises among engineering profession in Australia as a result of a complex interaction of individual, work-related and situational factors. Similarly, in Sri Lanka too, a considerable level of stress that construction project managers are suffering is almost at a burnout level (Senaratne and Rasagopalasingam, 2017).(Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), 2006 as cited in Enshassi and Al.Swaity, 2015). Occupational stress is defined as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker” (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), 1999). Generally it is considered that prolonged negative stress is harmful to physical, mental and emotional health of professionals under various circumstances (Bowen et al., 2014; Strutton and Tran, 2014). As a result, excessive stress interferes with their performance and productivity and thus the efficiency of the overall project delivery (Amankwah et al., 2015; Ng et al., 2005). As highlighted by Ilbem et al. (2011), recent studies show that construction workers experienced more negative stress at their workplace and this had undesirable effects on their health and productivity at work. Therefore occupational stress is recognized as a growing problem worldwide and has significant impacts on both the employees and organizations. These impacts include low motivation and morale, decrease in performance, high turnover and sick leave, accidents, low job satisfaction, low quality products and services, poor internal communication and conflicts etc. (Strutton & Tran, 2014; Leung, et al., 2011; Cotton & Hart, 2003; Schabracq and Cooper, 2000). Further, study by Lingard (2003) revealed that burnout arises among engineering profession in Australia as a result of a complex interaction of individual, work-related and situational factors. Similarly, in Sri Lanka too, a considerable level of stress that construction project managers are suffering is almost at a burnout level (Senaratne and Rasagopalasingam, 2017).