Critical stressors influencing construction estimators in Hong Kong

Abstract

The main task of contractors' estimators is to predict the likely costs involved in executing a future project. This is an onerous job as any errors made can undermine project success and ultimately reduce the contractors' profit margins. The inherent uncertainty of most construction work, however, together with the often very short time periods involved, make errors unavoidable. Unsurprisingly, therefore, estimation is considered to be a very stressful business. To identify the nature of the stress involved, a survey of construction estimators in Hong Kong was conducted. Using correlation analysis, regression analysis and structural equation modelling, the relationships amongst the causes (stressors or stress factors) and effects (stress) were examined and a causal structural model developed. The results indicate work overload, role conflict, job ambiguity, and working environment to be the most critical stressors, with work underload and distrust being the main indirectly influencing factors. These results are similar to those of a previous study with site managers, suggesting that job ambiguity and work overload are the common problem in the construction industry. The study of the manageability of stress is expected to inspire other similar research involving other professionals in the construction industry. This is expected to be of particular significance in the long-term development of stress management in the industry in general.Construction, cost estimators, Hong Kong, stress, stressors, structural equation modelling,

Work Stress among Professionals in Building Construction Industry in Nigeria

“…The different stressors in building projects were broadly classified according to job demand, physical factors, organizational factors, and job role factors in line with evidence in literature on stress factors in the construction industry in general (Dainty et al, 1999;Lingard and Francis, 2004;Leung et al, 2005;Wahab, 2010). Consequently, the questionnaire was designed based on the goal of the current research as well as findings from the review of literature.…”

“…Viewed from a different perspective, several authors have also argued that stress can occur whenever there is a change in the equilibrium in man-machine -environment interaction, which may result in the distribution of generated stress among the components of a production system. Since man is known to be the weakest component of the work-environment system, most common signs of stress are manifested in some notable human responses such as crying, smoking, excessive eating, drinking alcohol, fast talking, fear, anxiety, guilt, anger, grief, depression and disgust (Lazarus, 1966;Leung et al, 2005;Yip et al, 2005;Wahab, 2010). In Hong Kong for instance, high levels of job burnout have been identified among construction professionals.…”

Subjective and objective stress in construction cost estimation

“…They can be events, people or thoughts which lead a person to perceive that some threatening demands are being made on him or her (Riley and Zaccaro, 1987). Generally, stressors can be divided into four different categories: (inter) personal, task, organizational and physical stressors (Leung, 2004;Leung et al, 2005b; see Table 1). Personal stressors may be related to the person's genetic make-up, family background, personality traits, cultivated habits and environmental influences (Khanna, 1998).…”

“…Estimators need to calculate contract sums accurately, therefore stress may occur by working in uncomfortable environments such as extreme temperatures (too cold or too hot) and overcrowded environments (Leung et al, 2005b). policy and climate in an organization. Policies made without concern for workers' feelings can cause great stress (Karasek et al, 1981).…”

Aportación al estudio de la satisfacción laboral de los profesionales técnicos del sector de la construcción: una aplicación cualitativa en la Comunidad Valenciana.

“…(Entrevista Nº 16: 14.35') La mayor parte de estos estresores han sido también identificados por otros investigadores del sector de la construcción (Sang et al 2007a;Campbell, 2006;Haynes y Love, 2004;Loosemore y Waters, 2004;Lingard, 2003;Lingard y Sublet, 2002;Sommerville y Langford, 1994;Sutherland y Davidson, 1993) quienes, a su vez, defienden que las presiones de tiempo y muchas horas de trabajo son perjudiciales para el bienestar psicológico de los sujetos empleados en el sector. Además, los factores "muchas horas de trabajo" y "sobrecarga de trabajo" están relacionados con el conflicto en las relaciones (Leung et al, 2004;Lingard y Sublet, 2002), mala salud mental (Sutherland y Davidson, 1993) y otras medidas del bienestar (Haynes y Love, 2004). Lingard (2003) también encontró una relación entre la sobrecarga de trabajo y el síndrome de estar quemado o "burnout".…”