Warning: Working in construction may be harmful to your psychological well-being!

Psychological well-being is an emerging topic within construction management literature. This chapter reviews existing construction management literature, identifying stressors experienced by those working in the construction sector and their consequences. Stressors identified include the culture of long working hours, high workload, time pressures, project-based working and poor work/life balance, leading to poor psychological well-being among construction professionals. Given the project-based structure and the prevalence of the competitive tendering procurement process within construction, there may be a link between the underlying characteristics of the sector and employee well-being, through the stressors those characteristics place on the workforce. The consequences of poor well-being are varied, but include absenteeism, high staff turnover and other performance concerns. The chapter then proceeds to summarise the business and ethical cases for improving the well-being of the construction workforce. It further offers practical suggestions for ways in which the sector, employers and individuals could improve employee well-being. Strategies might include less reliance on subcontracting, the appointment of a well-being champion within an organisation and stress management techniques. The chapter concludes by providing directions for future research. For example, the scope of existing research could be broadened to investigate wellbeing along occupational and gender lines, to determine if specific groups are at particular risk. Further research must also aim to explore the link between the structure and culture of the sector, working practices and employee well-being.