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Cheung, C M, Bowen, P, Cattell, K and Davis, J (2019) Measuring What Counts: Workplace Well-Being of Project Professionals. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (Eds.), Proceedings 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 874-883.

  • Type: Conference Proceedings
  • Keywords: Workplace Well-being, ASSET, APM, Project Professionals, Stress, Psychological Health, Project Managers
  • ISBN/ISSN:
  • URL: http://www.arcom.ac.uk/-docs/proceedings/d826f70eada32e38e4375bc2d6f384c9.pdf
  • Abstract:

    Increasingly it has been recognised that financial success, coupled with employee well-being, is a more fulsome and appropriate measure of enterprise success. Ample evidence exists relating to the adverse health consequences of stressful and adverse working condition on employees. Impaired well-being, both physical and psychological, costs the UK economy up to £57 billion a year in lost productivity through a combination of absenteeism and presentism. This picture is mirrored globally. Although workplace well-being has been regarded as a strong indicator of work performance, very limited research has focused on studying the well-being levels of project professionals (PPs) who are responsible for delivering projects, programmes and portfolios of strategic importance to organisations in all industries, including the construction industry. The better PPs and their teams perform, the better organisations are able to deliver on strategy. Funded by the Association for Project Management (APM), this study assesses current levels of workplace well-being of PPs, identifies factors contributing to their well-being, and explores interventions designed to facilitate improvement.

    Self-reported data were collected from APM members using a psychometrically validate instrument, A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool (ASSET), administered via an online survey. A total of 130 responses were received. The data were analysed using ANOVA and structural equation modelling. The preliminary results revealed that PPs’ well-being levels with respect to balanced workload, work relationships, and feedback on performance were atypical and constituted high-risk. Although some of these issues could be address at the individual and organisational level, those that are widespread and deeply rooted in the culture of the project management profession will require formal mental health promotion programmes at the level of professional organisations.