The Roles of Motivation and Coping Behaviours in Managing Stress: Qualitative Interview Study of Hong Kong Expatriate Construction Professionals in Mainland China

被引:24
作者
Chan, Isabelle Yee Shan [1 ]
Leung, Mei-yung [2 ]
Liang, Qi [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Hong Kong, Dept Real Estate & Construct, Pokfulam Rd, Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
[2] City Univ Hong Kong, Dept Architecture & Civil Engn, Tat Chee Ave, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
来源
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH | 2018年 / 15卷 / 03期
关键词
construction; coping behaviours; expatriates; motivations; stress management; ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT; WORK; ANTECEDENTS; STRATEGIES; BURNOUT; HEALTH; PERFORMANCE; IMPACT; LIFE;
D O I
10.3390/ijerph15030561
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
Driven by fast-growing economies worldwide, the number of international construction projects is booming, and employing expatriates has inevitably become a strategy used by construction firms. However, stress arising from expatriate assignments can lead to early return, assignment failure, and staff turnover, causing in significant losses to an organisation. Extensive research has focused on the effectiveness of coping behaviours in relation to stress. However, studies investigating the antecedents of coping are rare. The limited studies to date tend to focus on content-based motivations (identifying what), instead of on how coping behaviours can be motivated in the stress management process (identifying how). Focus on expatriate construction professionals (ECPs) is further limited. Hence, this study aims to investigate from a process theory perspective the role of motivation in the stress management process. Using a qualitative interview study approach, involving 22 in-depth interviews, this study first identifies the content of motivation, coping behaviours, performance, and stress in the context of Hong Kong ECPs working on cross-cultural projects in China; it then unveils and explains the associations between the identified variables. Based on the results, stakeholders are recommended to review pre-departure training, so as to ensure that key elements such as personal awareness of stress (cognitive, affective, and physical), expectancies of coping strategies on stress (adaptive or maladaptive), and expectancies of the influence of stress on performance are covered.
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页数:24
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