Perceptions of the relative importance of job control and support factors, as moderators of workplace stress, among South African construction professionals

Occupational stress is moderated by the extent to which workers can control aspects of their work and the type and level of support they receive from colleagues and managers. An ongoing research project explores these factors among professionals working in the South African construction industry. Preliminary findings from descriptive analysis of data from 36 participants show that the five highest ranked job control factors, in terms of perceived importance, are: the volume of project work respondents are engaged in; control over the competence level of other staff engaged on those projects; the flow of work facing respondents; the type of work encountered; and the availability of particular staff (although the latter factor is significantly less important to female professionals). The five highest ranked job support factors, with no significant gender or professional discipline differences, are: adequate compensation (payment); adequacy of co-worker competence; positive job security; supervisor competence; and appropriate career path potential in the employing organisation. Subject to the confirmation of these factors in a later phase of the research project, the implications thereof include: companies wishing to implement effective proactive stress management strategies should look carefully at employee control issues such as how, what, how much and when work is allocated to staff; the composition of work teams should be carefully considered, especially in terms of competence and cooperation; whatever their size, professional firms in the construction industry should develop explicit career path opportunities for employees.