Coping Strategies among Construction Professionals: Cognitive and Behavioural Efforts to Manage Job Stressors

Abstract

Construction professionals are constantly exposed to varying stressors in their working environment and are likely to experience a high level of job burnout. Burnout threatens the mental and physical health of individuals and also decreases levels of job satisfaction and productivity. Research relating to managing job burnout has so far concentrated mainly on identifying job-related factors which are associated with burnout. Coping strategies affect the cognitive and behavioural efforts an individual exerts on stressful encounter and are considered to be moderators of burnout. This exploratory study investigated the coping behaviour of construction professionals in their working environment. It was designed to provide fundamental knowledge in deriving the most effective coping strategies for job stressors in the Hong Kong construction industry. A web-based questionnaire was adopted and a total of 342 valid responses were received. Factor analysis revealed that the coping behaviours observed could be satisfactorily described by four dimensions: Rational Problem Solving, Resigned Distancing, Seeking Support/Ventilation and Passive Wishful Thinking. Among these four coping dimensions, Rational Problem Solving was found to be used most frequently and to be explained by the most significant percentage variance. On-going research based on these findings will attempt to identify the most effective coping strategies associated with low levels of burnout.

Coping behaviors to deal with stress and stressor consequences among construction professionals

“…Problem-solving behavior deliberates problem-focused efforts to change the situation (Newton and Keenan, 1985;Yip and Rowlinson, 2006). It deals directly with the problem and its effects, as well as caters to time management, management skills and making selfadjustments (Leung et al, 2012).…”

“…It deals directly with the problem and its effects, as well as caters to time management, management skills and making selfadjustments (Leung et al, 2012). Yip and Rowlinson (2006) indicated that planned problemsolving is the most commonly embraced coping method for construction professionals. Positive re-appraisal is a coping strategy that individuals adopt for cognitive adjustments to a situation (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984).…”

“…Confrontational coping behavior detects potential stressors so as to improve the working environment for individuals when working together (Aitken and Crawford, 2007). Yip and Rowlinson (2006) revealed that confrontational coping behavior describes hostile efforts to change the condition and advocates some amount of risk-taking. These behavioral skills comprise planning, goal-setting and mental stimulation (Leung et al, 2006a).…”

“…These behavioral skills comprise planning, goal-setting and mental stimulation (Leung et al, 2006a). Pursuing social care behavior denotes seeking guidance and information from seniors or colleagues (Varhol, 2001;Leung et al, 2003;Yip and Rowlinson, 2006;Leung et al, 2006a;CIOB, 2006). Aitken and Crawford (2007) revealed that seeking support is the most commonly adopted strategy for persons suffering from stress.…”

“…According to Lazarus and Folkman (1984), "self-controlling behavior discusses ways to deal with and respond to stress through the clampdown of sentiments". With regard to accommodating tasks, individuals recognize their responsibilities to place things right (Yip and Rowlinson, 2006). Table I illustrates a summary of stress-coping behaviors among previous studies.…”