Stress among construction site managers — A preliminary study

This article presents the results of a pilot study investigating stress among site managers in a large UK construction organization. It involved in-depth interviews and standardized psychosocial questionnaires. A total of 36 male middle and senior construction site managers took part in the study. The major sources of stress isolated by the managers were related to; communication problems; work overload; conflict; and the limited time spent with family. The results revealed that job satisfaction levels were not as high as comparable managerial groups, and most dissatisfaction was related to employee relations issues. Mental well-being was lower than for other population groups. Furthermore, low levels of social support from a spouse or partner were significantly associated with high anxiety, depression and reduced level of mental well-being. Comparisons with white-collar managers are made and the article also proposes recommendations based on the findings of this study.