Title: Determinants of employee well-being in project work

Authors: Charlotte Bråthen; Margrethe Ommundsen; Andreas Wald; Maria Magdalena Aguilar Velasco

Addresses: School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Universitetsveien 25, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway ' School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Universitetsveien 25, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway ' School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Universitetsveien 25, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway ' School of Business and Law, University of Agder, Universitetsveien 25, 4630 Kristiansand, Norway

Abstract: Projects are supposed to foster innovation and flexibility and to create better conditions for learning. Accordingly, project work usually has a positive connotation for both, firms and the individual worker. However, project work can also involve stress, poor work-life balance, and burnout and thus be detrimental to employees' well-being. Well-being not only has an instrumental function for stimulating employee's motivation and work performance, but it is a fundamental human goal itself. This paper contributes to research on work-related well-being in projects by investigating the antecedents of well-being. We develop a research model based on the job-demand-support-control model which we test using a sample of Scandinavian project workers. We identify project control and co-worker support as factors enhancing the well-being of project workers and project demand as a negative factor of influence. Our findings can help organisations in creating project-work environments that support the well-being of project workers.

Keywords: job-demand-support-control model; project complexity; project demand; project work; project worker; well-being.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2021.117949

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2021 Vol.13 No.3, pp.197 - 217

Received: 02 Jan 2020
Accepted: 13 Jul 2020

Published online: 05 Oct 2021 *

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