Psychosocial aspects of project work: a comparison between product development and construction projects

Different project goals provide different prerequisites for project work and team processes. Two important aspects of project goals are technological certainty/uncertainty and adequacy of goal definition. Product development projects and construction projects are different in these respects. The study explores differences between the two types of projects with regard to psychosocial aspects of the work situation. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire study (n=98). The items in the questionnaire were designed to investigate social processes, individual work environment, and input/output factors. Results indicate that there were more developed team processes in the product development projects, and that co-workers on such projects experienced development of professional skills to a greater extent. In general, social processes requiring conceptual co-operation and communication were less pronounced in the construction projects investigated. The paper discusses how the differences found between the two kinds of projects can be related to work settings. Possible implications for future research are considered.