Occupational stressors among Sri Lankan construction professionals

Abstract

The construction industry is widely recognized as a high-pressure work environment due to demanding workloads, strict deadlines, and challenging work conditions. Occupational stress is a significant concern among construction professionals. Despite growing attention to mental health in construction, limited empirical evidence exists on the relative significance of occupational stressors affecting construction professionals, particularly in the Sri Lankan context. Therefore, this study aims to identify and rank the most significant occupational stressors among Sri Lankan construction professionals and highlight their implications for psychological resilience. A quantitative research approach was adopted using a structured questionnaire survey. Data were collected from 41 construction professionals across engineering, quantity surveying, architecture, and site supervision/management through snowball sampling. A five-point Likert scale was used to assess the significance of identified stressors, and Weighted Mean Rating (WMR) was employed to rank them. The findings indicate that task-related stressors are the most dominant. High workload and strict deadlines jointly emerged as the highest-ranked stressors, followed by long working hours, lack of resources and task complexity. Among organisational stressors, workplace injustice recorded was identified as the most significant factor. Poor work environment and exposure to dangerous working conditions were the most prominent physical stressors, while poor work–life balance was identified as the leading personal stressor. The study concludes that occupational stress among Sri Lankan construction professionals is systemic and multidimensional. By identifying the most critical stressors, the research provides a context-specific basis for targeted stress management interventions and resilience-building strategies within the construction industry.