Stress and support in the New Zealand construction industry : a study of project supervisors and managers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Business Studies (MBS) at Massey University, Distance, New Zealand

Abstract

The impact that stress has in the lives of individuals is considerable. Although it is a common concept, it is often misunderstood by many individuals. Stress is the way in which an individual responds to a range of environmental stressors. Thus, interventions for stress have received an increasing amount of attention in management literature. A portion of this field that has received a considerably less amount of attention is the role of support as an intervention for stress in the construction industry. This study seeks to explore the impacts of support on stress in construction managers. The first phase of the study utilised a social cross-sectional questionnaire approach and the second half used a semi-structured interview. Participants were sought from the four different sectors within the industry, the quantitative study had 47 respondents and the qualitative study had 11 participants. It is important to note that although a quantitative approach was the original intention of this study, it is the qualitative findings that have contributed the most to the overall findings. The findings of this study, developed using thematic analysis methodology, are conveyed through a matrix which explores the different types of support at different levels during stressful events. The study has concluded that support at a team level is made up of all four types of support: emotional, tangible, informational and companionship. However, as the provider of the support becomes further removed from the individual, the type of support experienced moved towards an informational support focus.