A Different Type of Project Crashing: Sources of Occupational Stress within the Project Management Profession and the Influence of Occupational Stress on the Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention of Project Managers

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether certain characteristics of projects influenced the level of occupational stress experienced by project managers working in the United States. A secondary purpose of this research was to examine the direct effect of occupational stress on both the job satisfaction and turnover intention of project managers as well as the indirect effect of occupational stress on turnover intention through job satisfaction. This quantitative study was based on the responses of 196 project managers in various industries throughout the United States and adopted the organizational health perspective as discussed in Hart and Cooper (2001) to consider the effects of occupational stress from the perspective of both the individual and their organization. Study findings were mixed. While none of the project-level characteristics were found to be significant predictors of occupational stress, this research concluded that project managers working in organizations with a project management office had lower levels of occupational stress than their peers working in organizations without a project management office. The structure or type of a project management office within the organization also significantly influenced the level of occupational stress for project managers, with project managers working for enterprise project management offices having the lowest level of occupational stress. Other outcomes of this research were confirming that occupational stress both significantly decreased job satisfaction and significantly increased turnover intention for project managers within the sample. Job satisfaction was also confirmed to mediate the relationship between occupational stress and turnover intention. The results highlight the consequences of excessive amounts of occupational stress for both the individual and the organization.