Development of a Job-Stress Model for Construction Professionals in South Africa and Hong Kong

AbstractThe construction industry is a stressful working environment. Tasks that are simultaneously high in job demand while low in job control and job support generally cause the most stress. This paper examines and compares the stress levels and the job demand, control, and support experienced by construction professionals (CPs) in South Africa (SA) and Hong Kong (HK). The construction industries of both regions are similar in terms of their practices and procedures, given their colonial roots. Using regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM), a job-stress model for CPs in both regions is developed. The results of t-tests show that CPs from SA reported greater job demands, higher levels of job control, and less job support and stress than their HK counterparts. Job control and job demand predicted the stress levels of CPs in both countries in the regression and SEM analyses. However, job support was a significant predictor of stress for only the HK and not the SA CPs. Practical recommend...

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