An Interwoven Psychological Syndrome of Job Burnout and Work Engagement in Construction Project Management Professionals Due to Work–Family Imbalance

Abstract

Most current studies on the mental health of construction project management professionals (CPMPs) are conducted from a negative psychological perspective, lacking a comprehensive understanding of the positive–negative interwoven mechanism. This study developed a positive–negative dual-process psychological model of CPMPs to explore the interwoven mechanisms among five variables: family-supportive supervisor behavior (FSSB), work–family conflict, work–family enrichment, job burnout, and work engagement. We conducted a large-scale questionnaire survey among Chinese CPMPs. A total of 656 questionnaires were returned; 446 were considered valid. The groups of CPMPs prone to occupational psychological problems were identified, which enhanced the targeted organizational management in the construction industry. The hypothetical model was verified with SEM. The results revealed that the effect of work–family enrichment was more significant than work–family conflict, which implies that the positive psychology process may play a more prominent role than the negative process. There was a significant correlation between FSSB and work–family conflict/ enrichment; but no direct correlation between FSSB and job burnout/work engagement. This implies that the improvement of the work–family relationship plays a full mediating role in improving CPMPs’ occupational psychological health. This research provides a thorough understanding of CPMPs’ interwoven occupational psychological problems and gives suggestions to enhance their occupational psychological health.