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DissertationAre people that work in London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns?
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Student Name & ID
BA(Hons) Business Management
University of GreenwichThe Business School
21st
March 2013
Are people that work in London more stressed than people that
work in smaller towns?
Supervisor:
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Acknowledgements
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Executive Summary
In todays society, stress is become more and more of a problem for organisations. Employees are
becoming more stressed and consequently taking time off because of it. It is more important than
ever for employers to attempt to reduce factors that cause work place stress. Therefore this
dissertation looked at stress levels in different locations to answer the research question Are people
that work in London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns? It aimed to
investigate stress and the factors that cause this in each location to find a firm conclusion to this
question.
The aims of this research were:
To explore the relationship between work location and stress levels
To find the factors that influence stress in the different locations
Explore the cultures of offices in each environment
This dissertation used quantitative research in the form of a questionnaire to investigate the link
between location and stress levels. One hundred participants were surveyed about their stress levels
and the data was collected and analysed in a scientific way. The participants were sourced using
random and snowball sampling at a number of locations so that the reliability of the sample was
high.
The data presented a number of key findings and these are as follows:
People that work in London are more stressed than people that work in smaller towns
People that work in London find their commute to work more stressful than people that
work in smaller towns, and it tends to take them longer
People that work in London are less likely to take a lunch hour everyday
People that work in smaller towns are more likely to have a personal friendship with their
work colleagues and tend to talk to them more
These findings all lead to the conclusion that office location and culture does affect stress levels.
If this research was completed again in the future, a higher number of participants should be used so
that the findings can be generalised to a larger populations. It would also be a good idea to
investigate other large cities to see if the findings apply there too.
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Contents Page
Page
Glossary of Terms. 7
Chapter 1Introduction ........................ 8
1.1 Introduction ......... 8
1.2Research Aims ... 8
1.3Research Question ... 8
1.4
Context and Relevance .. 9
1.5
Scope of Research ....... 9
1.6Structure .. 10
1.7Conclusion .. 10
Chapter 2Literature Review 11
2.1 Introduction 11
2.2
What is Stress? . 11
2.3
Work Related Stress . 12
2.4
Daily Hassles and Stressors .... 13
2.5Stress Due to Location or Working Conditions .... 14
2.6Stress Management . 15
2.7Gaps in the Literature . 16
2.8
Conclusion .. 16
2.9
Conceptual Framework .... 17
Chapter 3Methodology . 19
3.1 Introduction 19
3.2 Research Approach 19
3.3 Research Design .. 20
3.4 Data Collection.. 20
3.5 Data Analysis ....... 21
3.6 Validity ... 22
3.7 Reliability .. 22
3.8 Ethical Considerations . 23
3.9 Conclusion ... 24
Chapter 4Findings 25
4.1 Introduction ... 25
4.2 Stress Levels of Participants ... 25
4.3 Journey to Work .. 26
4.4 Lunch Hour .. 28
4.5 Office Location .. 29
4.6 Work Colleagues .. 30
4.7 Overall Stress . 31
4.8 Summary ..... 32
4.9 Conclusion ..... 32
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Chapter 5Discussion 33
5.1 Introduction 33
5.2 Overview of Findings ... 33
5.3 Stress Levels ... 33
5.4 Journey to Work .. 34
5.5 Lunch Hour .. 34
5.6 Office Location .. 35
5.7 Work Colleagues .. 36
5.8 Overall Stress . 36
5.9 Summary of Findings ... 37
5.10 Conclusion . 37
Chapter 6Conclusion .. 38
6.1 Introduction 38
6.2 The Purpose of the Research .... 38
6.3 Addressing the Research Question ... 386.4 Key Findings ... 39
6.5 Limitations and Recommendations 39
6.6 Answering the Research Question .. 40
References 41
Appendices 44
Appendix 1 44
Appendix 2 47
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Glossary of Terms
Stress a state of physiological imbalance in the body which has unpleasant
emotional and cognitive components (Hussin, 2008, pg.16)
Daily Hassles the irritating, frustrating, distressing demands that to some degree
characterise everyday transactions with the environment (Kanner et al,
1981 cited by Haralambos et al, 2002, pg. 102)
Stressor something which causes stress(Haralambos et al, 2002, pg. 84)
Inductive Research Using evidence to form conclusions (Krishnaswamy et al, 2009)
Quantitative Data works by measurement and analysis of relationships between resulting
numbers(Sapsford and Jupp, 2006, pg.2)
Construct Validity The effect to which the design of a study is an adequate way to measure
what is being measured (Scruggs and Mastropieri, 2006)
External Validity The effect to which results from a study can be generalised to the rest of
the population (Judd and Kenny, 1981)
Random Sample The selection of people or events is literally at random (Denscombe,
2007, pg. 13)
Snowballing The sample emerges through a process of reference from one person to
the next (Denscombe, 2007, pg. 17)
Likert Scale An ordered response scale often used when collecting quantitative data
(Morgan, Griego and Gloeckner, 2001)
Correlation To determine whether two variable are related to each other (Jackson,
2011)
T-test Comparing two data sets to see if they are significantly different from each
other (Urdan, 2010)
Standard Deviation The amount to which the numbers stray from the mean (Jackson, 2011)
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Chapter 1Introduction
1.1Introduction
This chapter will introduce the research; discuss the aims and state why it is relevant in todays
society. It will briefly evaluate the context of the research and present the structure for this
dissertation.
Firstly, the research aims will be discussed and this will lead on to developing a focused research
question to investigate. It will then go on to say why this research is important and the relevance of it
in the work place. Following which it will highlight what this dissertation will examine and the
confines of it. Finally it will finish by outlining the structure for the rest of the research.
1.2Research Aims
This dissertation aims to explore whether the location of a work place can impact an individuals
stress levels. It will attempt to measure how stressed people are in different locations to determine
this. It also aims to try and find what factors contribute towards people being more stressed in
certain locations. It will explore the cultures in different locations and evaluate the impact that each
of these has on stress levels.
1.3Research Question
The research question for this dissertation needed to be narrow and specific due to time
restraints. Therefore it was important to choose a question that could easily be researched and
wasnt too broad. The research question for this dissertation was Are people that work in London
more stressed than people that work in smaller towns?This question will allow the researcher toexplore the difference in stress levels in two different locations. There was also a sub question of
what factors contribute towards the different stress levels in locations? This question will look to
highlight why people are more stressed due to location and look at factors such as culture and the
commute to a work place.
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1.4Context and Relevance
This research will be extremely important to organisations when looking at why employees are
stressed and where they should base their new offices. By eliminating factors, where possible, that
have been identified in this report, organisations can take steps to reduce employee stress levels.
With more regulations and media attention on stress in the workplace, organisations are now having
to try new measures to ensure the wellbeing of their employees.
According to CIPD stress is the number one cause of long term absence within a workplace
(Anonymous 3, 2011). Therefore, this research is extremely relevant in todays workplace
environment. With reports saying that stress can even lead to heart attack and strokes (Barrow,
2011), it is becoming more and more important for employers to tackle this problem.
A well known example of workplace stress was the case of Lloyds Banking Groups Chief Executive
Antonio Horta-Osorio. In 2011, Antonio was signed off of work for six weeks due to stress related
illness (Anonymous 4, 2011). This shows the consequences of workplace stress, it can be costly for
the organisation and can create negative media attention.
This dissertation will explore whether workplace location affects employee stress and discover the
factors that cause this. By highlighting these factors, organisations may be able to look to reduce
them and therefore reduce stress levels among employees.
1.5Scope of Research
This research will examine the link between stress levels and office location. It will do this by
using two sample groups: one from London and one from smaller towns. Due to time restraints, the
sample will be limited to 100 participants. This may mean that the results cannot be generalised to
the whole population.
The research will confine itself to exploring stress due to location and will not investigate job role
stress or other sources of stress in participants lives. It will not examine stresses within the work
place but will concentrate on the location of the work place and how this affects the culture.
Due to limited time and budget, the research will ask participants to self evaluate their stress levels
and therefore it may have poor construct validity.
Overall, the research will look to highlight whether there is a difference in stress levels of participants
depending on their office location.
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1.6Structure
This dissertation will follow a logical structure to systematically answer the research question. It
will begin with a literature review to give general knowledge surrounding the topic of stress. It will
also discuss and evaluate previous research to see where this dissertation will fit within the
literature.
The dissertation will then go on to discuss the methodology used for this research. It will highlight
the methods used, the sample and the limitations of the research.
The findings will then be presented using tables and graphs to highlight the key points found.
Averages and correlations will be calculated to help form an answer to the research question.
There will then be a chapter to discuss what has been found and to relate it back to the existing
literature. This will allow the researcher to draw conclusions from the data.
Finally, there will be a conclusion which will draw all of the data together to form an answer to the
research question.
1.7Conclusion
This chapter has introduced the research and outlined the aims and relevance of it. It has
discussed the scope of the research and created a research question that can be investigated. The
next chapter will present existing literature surrounding the question Are people that work in
London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns? This will give background
knowledge for the topic and will be informative about what has previously been investigated.
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Chapter 2Literature Review
2.1 - Introduction
According to a Financial Times report, stress at work is the biggest problem in European
companies (cited by Mullins, 2002, pg. 650). Furthermore, according to Grable and Britt (2012)
people are now anxious as they believe their lives are filled with too much stress and strain.
Therefore, this literature review will aim to evaluate and critically analyse existing research and data
on the topic of Are people that work in London more stressed than people that work in smaller
towns?This will help to gain knowledge and ideas for the dissertation question and will be done by
initially defining stress, before going on to discuss different areas of stress. It will evaluate the
previous research that has been done and state why it is so important in the current market to deal
with employee stress. This literature review is broken down in to five main sections to help discuss
different aspects of the research question.
2.2 - What is Stress?
Stress is a word derived from the Latin word stringere, meaning to draw tight (Arnold and
Randall et all, 2010, pg. 435), but what does this really mean? According to Haralambos et al (2002,
pg.82), stress refers to the application of an outside or external force which places strain on an
object. Furthermore Kranner (2010) defines it as the amount of force put on a certain object or
area. Both Haralambos and Kranners definitions are quite general and focus on objects. However,
Mullins (2002, pg. 650) focuses more on human behaviour and takes a psychological approach by
saying that stress is a complex and dynamic concept. It is a source of tension and frustration, and
can arise through a number of interrelated influences on behaviour. Whereas, Varvogli and Darviri
(2011) have a more scientifically approach by defining stress as a state of threatened homeostasis
that can only be re-established by complex behavioural and psychological responses. Hussin (2008,pg. 16) offers the reader the most understandable definition that can be related to, by saying that
Stress is a state of physiological imbalance in the body which has unpleasant emotional and
cognitive components. Each definition varies on both approach and style and therefore it can be
argued that stress cannot clearly be defined.
Stress is a negative force on the body and can even prove to be fatal (Hewstone et al, 2005;
Haralambos et al, 2002) but short term stress can have a positive effect on individuals. According to
Bernstein et al (1997, cited by Haralambos et al, 2002, pg. 83) stress can be stimulating, motivating
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and desirable. However, according to Varvogli and Darviri (2011, pg.75) the stress system located
both in the central and peripheral nervous system, is generically activated whenever a threshold of
any stressor is exceeded. They then go on to say that due to this, stress is the second highest health
problem. This contradicts the previous statement made by Bernstein et al as it is not positive if it is
causing health problems. This is further supported by another author who states that exposure to
long term stress can harm your body. Chronic Stress influences high blood pressure and heart
disease. (Anonymous, 2011). This article also goes on to state that stress can somehow speed up the
ageing process. This shows that long term stress is harmful and may affect peoples health.
Therefore, it is impossible to say whether stress has a positive or negative effect on people as
different authors argue each side.
2.3 - Work Related Stress
According to the World Health Organization stress, especially that relating to work, is the
second most frequent health problem, impacting one third of employed people in the European
Union. (Varvogli and Darviri, 2011, pg.75). This is supported by Furedi (1999, cited by Haralambos et
al, 2002, pg. 103) who states that stress has overtaken the common cold as the main cause of
absence from work. Therefore, it has become important for employers to manage stress within the
workplace. This is shown by Arnold et al (2010) who states that stress can affect peoples health in
both positive and negative ways and therefore, the wellbeing of employees has now become
something that employers focus on.
Workplace stress is often caused by employees feeling that they have to meet unrealistic targets and
goals in order to meet employers requirements (Jaramillo et al, 2011). Furthermore, Soylu (2007, pg.
313) states that the competitive global economy is putting increasing pressure on employees
throughout the world through greater work demands, heightened organizational change and
restructuring, and reduced job security.
Both Jaramillo (2011) and Soylu (2007) support each other
by going on to say that workplace stress is therefore increasing due to these new higher demands.
This is also supported by Arnold and Randall et al (2010, pg. 436) who say that work related stress is
due to the lack of fit between an individuals capacity and the demands of the work environment.
Reineholm et al (2011) uses research to discuss that few companies focus on promoting health
within the workplace and instead deal with stress problems after they have occurred. This is
supported by Soylu (2007) who says that 550 million working days are lost each year due to stress
related illness in the United States. This shows that organisations are not preventing employee stress
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as they are taking days off because of it. Jaramillo et al (2011) also say that peoples health is
deteriorating as their workplace stress levels are increasing; this supports Reineholm et al and Soylus
findings. Furthermore, Behrman and Perreault (1984, cited by Jaramillo et al, 2011, pg. 341) say that
stress is an unavoidable characteristic of certain job roles. This shows that there is a need for
organisations to prevent stress within the workplace.
However, Arnold and Randall et al (2010, pg. 433) say that over the last few years the management
of employee well-being has become a priority issue for all types of organisation. They go on to say
that according to CIPD (2007) the number of organisations with an employee well-being strategy in
place has increased from 26 percent to 42 percent in one year. This contradicts what Reineholm et al
(2011) said about the lack of organisations that promote staff well-being.
2.4 - Daily Hassles and Stressors
Spector (1998) states that stressors refer to environmental conditions or situations that
elicit an emotional response such as anger or anxiety (citied by Mazzola, 2011, pg. 93). According to
Haralambos et al (2002, pg.82) stressors are the external stimulus which places strain on the
individual or more simply, something which causes stress (pg. 84).
It is really important to deal with stressors in a positive way. According to Clarke et al (2012, pg. 1)
Stressor exposure is the primary environmental challenge believed to contribute to a range of
neuropsychiatric conditions, most notably clinical depression and anxiety disorders. This shows how
important it is to try to reduce stress.
One major cause of stressors is daily hassles. These are little things that happen every day that cause
stress. According to Kanner et al (1981, cited by Haralambos et al, 2002, pg. 102) daily hassles are
the irritating, frustrating, distressing demands that to some degree characterise everyday
transactions with the environment. The opposite of this is daily uplifts, which according to
Haralambos et all (2002, pg. 102) give people a boost which makes them feel better. Therefore, it is
important to try and balance hassles and uplifts to remain in a positive state of mind. This is shown
by Johansson et al (2011) who say that people have both hassles and uplifts throughout everyday
life. When hassles outweigh the uplifts, people may begin to feel stressed. This is further supported
by Haralambos et al (2002) who argue that daily hassles lead to more stress than major life events
and McIntosh et al (2010) who state that daily hassles are often associated with depression.
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Haralambos et al (2002, pg. 102) also go on to discuss that daily hassles build up and wear people
down, so making them more vulnerable to psychological and physical disorders.
2.5- Stress Due to Location or Working Conditions
All different kinds of things can be seen as stressors to different people. Often location or
working conditions can make people feel stressed. According to Arnold and Randall et al (2010,
pg. 465) our physical surroundings can affect our moods and overall mental state, whether or not
we find them consciously objectionable. This is supported by Haralambos et al (2002) who discuss
that many environmental factors affect levels of stress within individuals; these include temperature,
humidity and noise. Furthermore, Plaisier et al suggested that poor working conditions may be an
important precursor of stress (Plaisier et al, 2006, cited by Rusli et al, 2008, pg. 49). A specific
working condition which may cause stress is isolation. Haralambos et al (2002) state that social
isolation in a workplace can cause stress among employees as they are spending long amounts of
time on their own. According to Cartwright and Cooper (1996) the design or setting of an office may
also cause stress. If employees are spread throughout a building, there will be poor communication
between them and this may lead to stress.
However, it is not always the physical environment that causes stress. Oke and Dawson (2012)
discuss that often the culture of a workplace can cause stress if it does not match the culture of the
employee. Therefore, by controlling the conditions within the workplace, organisations may be able
to reduce stress.
Cardwell and Flanagan (2005) discuss the effects of noise and overcrowding on stress levels. They
found that people were more agitated, irritable and stressed after spending time in an area that is
noisy and crowded. This can not only be applied to offices that are noisy but it also may be the case
that people that use public transport, especially in London, arrive to work already stressed.
Office location can also cause stress if employees have to commute long distances to it. Cartwright
and Cooper (1996, pg.16) state that travel itself can be a source of stress, traffic jams, delayed
trains and flights can present stressful challenges to employees. The topic of office location and its
relation to stress will be investigated throughout this dissertation.
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2.6 - Stress Management
It is clear from the above research that it is important for organisations to put stress
management programmes in to place. According to Varvogli and Darviri (2011, pg. 74), stress is a
significant problem of our times and therefore needs to be managed effectively. They go on to say
that stress coping methods are thecognitive, behavioural and psychological efforts to deal with
stress. This is supported by Hussin (2008, pg.17) who states that employees cannot function
effectively unless stress is dealt with wisely and systematically. Hussin (2008, pg.17) also supports
the notion for organisations to put stress coping methods in to place by saying that when an
organization recognises that workers are their most valuable assets, their only rational response can
be to support their workers in managing stress positively.
Within the coping methods, there are three steps that organisations plan to take: primary, secondary
and tertiary. Primary interventions attempt to alter the source of the workplace stress by making
changes such as redesigning jobs to give employees greater flexibility or more decision control.
Secondary interventions help employees better recognize and manage stress symptoms as they
occur. (Sidle, 2008, pg. 111). Arnold and Randall et al (2010) support this and go on to say that there
are also tertiary interventions to deal with stress, for example, these would include employee
rehabilitation programmes.
According to Arnold and Randall et al (2010) it is important to include employees in each step of the
management interventions in order for them to be successful in the long term. Primary interventions
work to tackle stress and make it manageable for employees. Secondary interventions are used to
weaken or break the link between exposures to stress and problems with well-being. Finally,
tertiary methods are used to repair the damage caused by stress (Arnold and Randall et al, 2010,
pg. 479). This supports what Sidle (2008) discussed about stress management techniques.
However, surprisingly, according to research more than one in four HR directors in Britain admit
they have no formal policy to manage stress or anxiety (Anonymous 2, 2012,pg. 5). According to
Hamaideh and Ammouri (2011) stress may not always be able be prevented in all jobs but may be
able to be minimized if the source can be identified. This shows that organisations first need to find
the source of peoples stress and attempt to reduce it. Smith et al (2012) contradict this by discussing
the importance of being proactive when dealing with stress and how procedures have been
implemented in to organisations to prevent stress. They state that organisations are now sending
employees on courses to learn to deal with stressful situations before they have occurred.
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Haralambos et al (2002, pg. 118) say that stress management is a bigbusiness. Organisations are
increasingly employing stress consultants in an attempt to reduce or eliminate stress in the
workplace. This shows that whether organisations already have procedures in place or not, in the
future more and more will attempt to protect employees against stress.
2.7- Gaps in the Literature
When conducting this literature review and reading many articles on stress, it has been
apparent that there is a lack of literature that discusses stress due to the location of workplaces. A lot
of the literature about the workplace focuses on what is happening inside rather than the
employees experience of the workplace as a whole. Therefore there is a need for further research to
do this. This will be done throughout this dissertation as the workplace location and the experience
of the workplace will be looked at holistically to gain a view of where the least stressful place to base
an office is. In todays society this is extremely relevant as organisations are continuously opening
new offices and trying to reduce stress among employees. As Haralambos et al (2002) said,
organisations are continuously trying to reduce stress in the workplace and therefore this
dissertation will give them a new idea of how to do so.
2.8- Conclusion
According to Cardwell and Flanagan (2005, pg. 101) stress in the workplace will become the
epidemic of the 21st
century and therefore needs to be effectively managed.
Hewstone (2005, pg. 419) says that stress can be summed up as a negative emotional experience
resulting from a mismatch between the individuals appraisal that the stressor is stressful and their
ability to cope. As outlined in above sections, there are many types of stress and many things in
everyday life that act as stressors. There is not one particular way to deal with stress, but by using a
combination of many types, it can be managed effectively.
This literature review has discussed many aspects of stress in order to gain a holistic view of the topic
and gain more knowledge on it. Throughout the review, many authors have contradicted each other
and therefore each term and concept within the topic of stress, may not be able to be clearly
defined. However, the review has presented the researcher with wider background knowledge on
the topic which will allow a deeper discussion of findings after the study has been completed.
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In conclusion, this literature has discussed and analysed existing literature surrounding the topic of
stress. This has given background knowledge of the topic and therefore will help in answering the
question Are people that work in London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns?
The literature has built a strong foundation for the dissertation and will help when discussing the
findings. The next chapter will outline the methodology that will be used in the study that will be
conducted.
2.9 - Conceptual framework
The following conceptual framework shows where the research question for this dissertation
sits within the current literature. It will concentrate on what causes stress and how this differs in
small towns compared to London city. This will be done by analysing each stressor and comparing it
in the two different location types. The framework also shows how this dissertation will fill a gap in
the literature. There is currently no research that has looked at what this dissertation aims to do and
therefore new information will be found. The top part of the framework shows the existing literature
and summarises what it has found. The bottom half of the framework goes on to show what this
dissertation will do.
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Work
Culture
Daily
Hassles
Working
Conditions
Location
Workplace
How do these differ
depending on location
and culture?
Depression
Anxiety
Aggression
Frustration
Stress
Lower Work
Productivity
Absenteeism
Are people that work in
London more stressed
than people that work in
smaller towns?
Stress
Management
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Chapter 3Methodology
3.1Introduction
The previous chapter discussed the existing research on the topic of stress, including what
stress is, the causes of it and the management of it. Now that the current research has been
analysed, this chapter will go on to discuss the research approach that was used during this
dissertation. The approach and design will be analysed to decide what the best method of data
collection will be to answer the question Are people that work in London more stressed than
people that work in smaller towns?This chapter will cover the method of data collection and
analysis, as well as the validity and reliability of the study being conducted.
3.2Research Approach
Research approaches fall into two categories: inductive and deductive. An inductive
approach can be described as using evidence to form conclusions, whereas a deductive approach is
when a hypothesis is created and then tested with research (Krishnaswamy et al, 2009). Each of
these approaches has advantages and it can be said that any research effort uses both inductive and
deductive thinking (Krishnaswamy et al, 2009, pg. 13)
To keep the study unbiased and reliable, an inductive approach was used. This was so that findings
were not swayed by a leading research question as the researcher had not previously decided what
the outcome should be. An inductive approach can be said to be when theory is the outcome of
research (Bryman and Bell, 2007, pg.14). By using an inductive approach, this dissertation was able
to analyse whether there is a link between work location and levels of stress.
Data can be split into two main categories: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data works by
measurement and analysis of relationships between resulting numbers and is said to be the method
of natural sciences (Sapsford and Jupp, 2006, pg. 2). Qualitative research involves words as opposed
to numbers and explores individuals feelings and thoughts through the asking of open questions
(Creswell, 2009).
To ensure that the research being conducted was scientific, quantitative data was used throughout
the data collection as it can then be clearly analysed in the form of tables and graphs. This was
helpful when trying to draw conclusions from the data and presented trends and correlations in clear
format.
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3.3Research Design
In terms of data collection methods, a questionnaire was used for this research. A
questionnaire was chosen because it is a widely used method of gathering scientific information
(Mcburney and White, 2009, pg. 245). This therefore means that it was an appropriate form of data
collection for this dissertation as it allowed the results to be easily analysed in a scientific format.
There are many benefits of using a questionnaire to collect data. One of the main positives is that
data can be collected quickly, at little cost. Due to time restraints for this research and a limited
budget, this was essential. A questionnaire can be distributed to a wide sample relatively quickly
meaning that the sample can be larger than if using a different method. According to Mitchell and
Jolley (2012, pg. 286) questionnaires allow a research to collect a lot of information about a
samples attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported behaviours. Therefore, this was the chosen method
for this research as it suits its needs well.
However, there are also many disadvantages to using questionnaires and these may mean that the
research has limitations. A major downfall of questionnaires is that participants self-evaluate and this
can often be inaccurate. According to Mitchell and Jolley (2012, pg. 286) this can therefore mean that
the questionnaire may have poor construct validity. They go on to state that due to limited
questionnaire distribution, the sample may be biased and this can lead to poor external validity
(pg. 286). These are obviously major limitations in the research and may affect the overall validity,
however, a questionnaire still seems as though it is the right method to use for this dissertation.
In conclusion, even though there are limitations to this research method, there will be limitations to
all methods and therefore questionnaires were still used as the source of data collection.
3.4Data Collection
The data for this dissertation was collected in two different ways: random sampling and
snowballing. This allowed the researcher to collect a broader sample meaning that it is less biased.
There were two different samples so that the stress levels can be compared. Fifty questionnaires
were collected in London and fifty were collected from a smaller town, meaning that there is a total
sample size of 100.
The random sample was collected in two different areas (London and a smaller town) and data from
15 participants was collected from each. This type of sampling means that the selection of people or
events is literally at random (Denscombe, 2007, pg. 13). The smaller amount of participants was
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due to the limited amount of time, as well as people being reluctant to stop in the street to answer
questionnaires. For the London sample, data was collected by the researcher by approaching people
in Canary Wharf shopping centre. This was done at lunchtime when people tend to have more time
to stop and talk. The smaller town sample was collected in Essex by using the same approach in
Wickford high-street. By ensuring that the same number of questionnaires were collected from each
area, the reliability of the research will remain high.
The second method of sampling was snowballing. This is when the sample emerges through a
process of reference from one person to the next (Denscombe, 2007, pg.17). This method was
chosen because it is an effective technique for building up a reasonable-sized sample, especially
when used as part of a small scale research project (Denscombe, 2007, pg.18). Therefore, it seemed
an appropriate method for this dissertation as it is an efficient, cost effective and relatively hassle
free.
This method was used to collect data from 35 participants in each area, therefore making the totals
up to 50 from each location. This method was used to collect more of the sample due to its quick and
easy nature. The questionnaires were emailed to contacts of the researcher in both locations and
each participant was asked to forward it to 3 others until the desired amount of data had been
collected.
Due to the time restraints and limited budget, the sample size was relatively small. If the research
was done on a larger budget in the future, ideally there would be a larger sample. This would help to
rule out any bias results and help the external validity to remain high.
3.5Data Analysis
Once the questionnaires had been distributed and the data had been collected it was
important to analyse it to find patterns and trends.
The chosen software for this research was Microsoft Excel as it allowed the researcher to create
tables and graphs so that the data could easily be interpreted. By using Likert scales in the
questionnaire, results could easily be entered in to this software by using a code book.
The code book transformed each questionnaire in to a series of numbers so that it could be
compared to others. By using quantitative data, this was easily done and therefore the data could be
easily analysed to find a link between location and stress.
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It was important to ensure that each set of answers stayed with the number of the questionnaire
that they had come from so that if a participant wished to withdraw their data, this could easily be
done.
3.6Validity
The data collection method may affect the overall validity of this research. By using a
questionnaire to collect data, the external validity and the construct validity may be poor.
Due to a limited sample size, this research may have poor external validity as it will be hard to
generalise the results to the entire population. This therefore means that the results that are gained
from this research may not be used to predict the stress levels of the whole population.
The study may also have poor construct validity as participants are self-evaluating their stress levels.
This means that people may exaggerate or play down their levels of stress and the results may be
swayed by this. Therefore, it cannot be guaranteed that the questionnaire is measuring what it is
supposed to be in a scientific manor. This is a major flaw in the design of this research and in future,
a more reliable and scientific source of data collection should be used. This would allow researchers
to analyse peoples stress levels rather than letting them do it themselves.
The questionnaire used consisted of fifteen questions to evaluate participants stress levels. The first
three questions focused on the demographics of the sample so that it could clearly be decided if it
was representative of the population. The questionnaire then went on to ask about stress levels in
different situations. Tick boxes and Likert scale questions were used so that the data could easily be
analysed. It was ensured that the questionnaire also explained how to withdraw the data if a
participant wished to do so.
3.7Reliability
The reliability of research is extremely important so that it can be generalised to the whole
population and not just those in the sample.
Due to the time restraints and low budget of this research, the sample size is smaller than it ideally
would be. This means that it would be harder to generalise the results to an entire population as the
data has been collected from a small group, therefore meaning that the results can be easily swayed
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by just a few people. To make this research more reliable, a much larger sample should have been
used.
The small sample that was used has been collected from a variety of places to ensure that it is more
reliable. By using two different sources of data collection, the sample will be from a wider population
distribution and therefore can be generalised more easily.
The demographics of the sample are listed in the table below. It was ensured that data from 50
participants was collected from each location. In future, to make the sample more reliable, the same
number of each gender and age group could be used.
Age 18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 55+
No.
Participants
24 22 18 21 15
Gender Male Female
No.
Participants
46 54
Location London Smaller Town
No.
Participants
50 50
3.8Ethical Considerations
It is extremely important to remain ethical when collecting research and therefore, this
dissertation will aim to minimise stress in participants and stick to ethical regulations at all times.
A major ethical consideration is anonymity and the protection of data. To ensure that participants
remain anonymous, each questionnaire was numbered and therefore there was no need for the
participants name to be on them. Once the data had been collected, it has been kept on a memory
stick which is held by the researcher and not shared with others.
In terms of informed consent, each questionnaire had a brief at the top explaining the research
project. The candidates were informed that they have the right to withdraw their results at any time,
and can do so by emailing the research and stating their questionnaire number. This meant that the
research meets ethical regulations.
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Each participant had a short debrief at the end of the questionnaire explaining the purpose of the
research and thanking them for their time.
It was ensured that all participants are over the age of 18 before participating in the research.
3.9Conclusion
This chapter has evaluated and analysed different methods of data collection to explain why
the chosen method was chosen. It has clearly outlined exactly what was done in this research so that
it could easily be replicated if someone desired to. Validity and reliability of the research has been
discussed and flaws in these have been outlined. The research approach and design have been
outlined so that the reader can draw a clear interpretation as to how the research was completed.
This chapter discussed the methodology used to answer the question Are people that work in
London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns?The next chapter will go on to
discuss the findings from this research.
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Chapter 4Findings
4.1Introduction
The previous chapter discussed the methodology of this research, stating the format of the
questionnaire used and the demographics of the sample collected. Therefore this chapter will go on
to discuss the findings from the research collected in order to answer the question Are people that
work in London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns?It will use graphs, tables
and measures of averages to determine whether there is a correlation between work location and
stress.
The two samples for this research each had 50 participants and therefore the findings will use the
number of participants as opposed to percentages. This will present the data in a clear manner and
allow the graphs to be read easily.
4.2Stress Levels of Participants
Participants were asked to self-evaluate how stressed they were at the time of completing
the survey. Surprisingly this was relatively low for both groups in the sample. Graph 1.0 shows the
current stress levels of participants.
Graph 1.0 Stress Levels at Time of Survey
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Amounto
fparticipants
Stress Levels
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When using a T-test to see if there was a significant difference between the two samples, the result
was 0.05. This means that the hypothesis that neither sample is more stressed than the other is
proven to be true.
4.3Journey to Work
There was quite a significant difference between how stressed participants felt when
travelling to work depending on whether they worked in London or a smaller town. Graph 2.0 shows
the stress levels of participants during their journey to work. It is clear that people that worked in
London found their commute to work more stressful.
Graph 2.0 Journey to Work
Table 2.1 shows that the averages for each set of data were significantly different. The stress levels of
people working in London were much higher in averages than those that worked in smaller towns.
The standard deviation for people that worked in London was lower showing that the results had less
variation. This meant that the participants answers were generally closer to the mean.
0
2
46
8
10
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14
16
18
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Num
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Stress Levels
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Table 2.1
Mean Median Mode Standard
Deviation
Coefficient of
Variation
London 6.16 7 7 1.98 32.19
Smaller Town 3.82 3 2 2.62 59.29
The T-test for this set of data showed that there was a difference between the two samples. The
result was 3.1 showing that the two sets of data were notably different. This shows that people that
work in London find their journey to work more stressful that people that work in smaller towns.
The data was then tested to see if there was a correlation between how stressful participants found
their journey to work and how stressed they were overall. The correlation was 0.55 showing that
stressful journeys to work do increase stress levels.
Graph 2.2 shows that people that work in London spend more time travelling to their office location.
This links to graph 2.0 which showed that people that work in London find their journey more
stressful.
Graph 2.2 Commute Time
Table 2.3 shows that the standard deviation is quite low for the participants responses to this
question. This shows that the averages are a good measure of the answers that participants gave.
0
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Table 2.3
Mean Median Mode Standard
Deviation
Coefficient of
Variation
London 3.1 3 4 0.97 31.42
Smaller Town 1.9 2 2 0.76 40.14
There was a correlation of 0.45 when testing whether the amount of time commuting affected
participants overall stress levels. Although this correlation is quite low, it still shows that journey time
may be one of the factors that cause people that work in London to be more stressed than people
that work in smaller towns.
4.4Lunch Hour
A possible cause of stress for participants is whether or not lunch hours are being taken. This
will vary from office to office depending on work place culture. Graph 3.0 shows on average how
often participants on take a lunch hour. It is clear that people that work in London were less likely to
take a lunch hour every day. Many of the participants from both locations said that they did not take
lunch hours every day. Graph 3.1 tries to establish the cause of them not taking regular lunch breaks.
Graph 3.0 Lunch Hours
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Every Day 3 x a week 1 x a week 1 x a
month
Never
Amountof
Participants
How often participants take a lunch hour
London
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Graph 3.1 Cause of Not Taking Lunch Hours
When trying to link questions to find why people may be more stressed in different locations if was
found that there was only a correlation of 0.18 between how often participants take lunch hours and
how stressful they find the location and culture of their office. This is a relatively low correlation and
it was expected to be much higher.
The result of the T-test for this question was 6.1 showing that there is a significant difference
between the two sample groups. This means that people that work in smaller towns were more likely
to take lunch hours every day than people that work in London.
4.5Office Location
Office location can be extremely important to workers as they can either love it or hate it.
Graph 4.0 shows how much participants like their office location on a scale of 1-10. It is clear that on
average, people that work in London prefer their office location to those that work in smaller towns.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Collegues Don't Don't Have Time Other
Amountofparticpants
If participants do not take lunch hours every day, why is this?
London
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Graph 4.0 Office Location
When completing a T-test to see if the two sample groups differed in responses for this question, the
result was 0.19. This shows that there was only a slight difference between the two groups.
The correlation between how much participants like their office location and their overall stress level
was -0.06 showing that there was not a significant link between these two factors. This implies that
whether you like your office location or not does not affect your stress level.
4.6Work Colleagues
It can be important for people to have well established relationships with their work
colleagues and often being able to talk to colleagues and class them as friends can reduce stress
levels. Graph 5.0 shows if participants would class their work colleagues as friends and if they feel
they can talk to them. The graph shows that people that work in smaller towns are more likely to
class their work colleagues as friends.
0
2
4
6
8
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Amountofparticipants
How much participants like their office location
London
Smaller Town
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Graph 5.0 Work Colleagues
4.7Overall Stress
Finally, the participants were asked how stressful they found their office location and culture
overall. Graph 6.0 shows that people that work in London find their workplace much more stressful
than people that work in smaller towns.
Graph 6.0 Overall Stress from Location and Culture of Office
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Yes No
Amountofparticipants
Do participants see their work colleagues as friends
London
Smaller Town
0
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Table 6.1 shows the averages for both samples, and it is clear that there is a significant difference.
The averages are much higher for people that work in London, suggesting that they are more
stressed.
Table 6.1
Mean Median Mode Standard
Deviation
Coefficient of
Variation
London 6.3 7 7 1.81 28.73
Smaller Town 4.4 4 3 1.80 41.38
When completing a T-test on this data set, the result was 5.3 meaning that there clearly is a
significant difference between the two sets of data. This shows that participants stress levels varied
depending on office location. The result was much higher than 0.05 meaning that the null hypothesis
that the data sets are different will be accepted.
This question was used when finding correlations in the data and it was found that many of the other
factors impacted participants overall stress level.
4.8Summary
Overall, the results show that people that work in London tend to have higher stress levels
than people that work in smaller towns. It also shows that they are less likely to take a lunch hour
every day, less likely to be friends with their work colleagues and find it more stressful commuting to
work. These factors all contribute towards the stress levels of participants and may be why people
that work in London are significantly more stressed than those that work in smaller towns.
4.9Conclusion
This chapter has presented the findings of the research by using graphs and tables. It has
clearly shown the results of the questionnaires and has given averages so that more effective
conclusions can be drawn to answer the question Are people that work in London more stressed
than people that work in smaller towns? The next chapter will discuss the findings and relate them
to previous research that has been completed. It will evaluate the research and attempt to answer
the research question.
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Chapter 5Discussion
5.1Introduction
The previous chapter discussed the findings of this research; it used graphs and tables to
present the data in a clear format and tried to find a correlation between where participants worked
and how high their stress levels were. Therefore this chapter will go on to discuss and make sense of
the findings to try and answer the question Are people that work in London more stressed than
people that work in smaller towns?It will evaluate the findings by linking them to existing
literature and analyse the link between work location and stress.
5.2Overview of Findings
The research completed presented a number of key findings relating to the research
question. Firstly, it highlighted that people that work in London find their journey to work much
more stressful than people that work in smaller towns. This may be due to it taking longer on
average for them to commute to work. Secondly, it was found that people that work in London are
much less likely to take a lunch hour every day, with many participants saying that they never take
one. Thirdly, it found that people that work in smaller towns are more likely to have a more personal
relationship with their work colleagues and tend to class them as friends. Finally, it found that people
that work in London find the location and culture of their work place much more stressful than
people that work in smaller towns.
This chapter will go on to discuss the findings further to try and form an answer to the research
question.
5.3Stress Levels
At the beginning of the questionnaire, participants were asked to state how stressed they
felt at the present time. Surprisingly the results showed no difference between the two sample
groups, suggesting that neither were more stressed. This therefore meant that current stress levels
did not affect the results of the overall survey as the control groups started at the same level. The T-
test result for this data was 0.05, meaning that the hypothesis that the data was different was
rejected.
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This question measured how stressed participants were on a certain day, therefore daily hassles
would have played a major role in this. According to Haralambos et al (2002) daily hassles are sources
of stress and can therefore change on a day to day basis. This means that if the questionnaire had
been completed on a different day, participants may have responded to this question differently.
5.4Journey to Work
One of the key findings of this research was that there was a significant difference between
how stressed participants felt when travelling to work, depending on whether they worked in London
or smaller towns. When completing a T-test on this data, the result was 3.1, showing that the two
sets of data were extremely different.
It was also found that participants that spent longer commuting to their office were more stressed
overall. This suggests that your journey to work really does contribute towards daily stress levels.
There was a clear correlation between journey time and overall stress level which indicates that
people that work in London may be more stressed than people that work in smaller towns as they
tended to commute further.
These findings are supported by Cartwright and Cooper (1996, pg. 16) who stated that travel itself
can be a source of stress. They go on to discuss how traffic jams and delayed trains can affect an
individuals stress levels (pg.16). This supports the findings of this study, by supporting that office
location can affect employees stress levels, especially when they have to commute long distances to
get to work.
Cardwell and Flanagan (2005) also support this finding. They state that people are more stressed
after spending time in noisy or crowded environments. This can be applied to participants that used
public transport to travel to work. This may cause additional stress to the working day, particularly if
people have used crowded transport methods such as the tube. This indicates that people that work
in London may be more stressed than people that work in smaller towns as the city is a lot more
populated.
5.5Lunch Hours
Participants were also asked how often they take a lunch hour and why this was. It was
found that participants that worked in London were much less likely to take a lunch hour every day,
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with 30% saying that they never take a lunch hour at all. Participants that worked in smaller towns
were much more likely to take a lunch hour every day, with 62% saying that they did. When
completing a T-test for these results, there was an extremely significant difference between the two
sample groups with a result of 6.1.
Participants were then asked why they did not take a lunch hour every day if they did not. The
majority of participants responded by saying that they dont have the time, with a few saying that it
was because colleagues dont. This links to the culture of the office as some employees may feel that
taking a lunch hour is not appropriate if others arent.
This finding is supported by Jaramillo et al (2011) who state that workplace stress is often caused by
employees feeling they have to meet unrealistic targets. This indicates that participants may have
been skipping lunch hours so that they had more time to complete their workload. Soylu (2007) also
supports this by saying that organisation are putting more pressure on employees to complete a
larger work load. However, by employees not taking lunch breaks on a regular basis, they may
become more stressed.
5.6Office Location
How much people like their office location can change their outlook for the whole day. If
someone particularly likes the location of their office then they will not mind travelling to it.
Surprisingly the results of this research showed that there was not a significant difference between
how much people liked their office location when they worked in London or smaller towns.
This result was unexpected as many participants that work in London had said that their commute to
work was extremely stressful. Therefore it was expected that they would dislike their office location.
However, many said that they loved their office location due to it being in the middle of the city and
that it was convenient when going out after work.
People that worked in smaller towns were just as likely to say that they loved their office location
due to the fact that it was close to home. The T-test that was completed showed very little difference
between the two sample groups when responding to this question.
This opposes the ideas suggested by Cartwright and Cooper (1996) who say that a long commute to
work means people are less likely to like their office location as they will arrive already stressed.
However, Arnold and Randall et all (2010, pg. 465) state that our physical surrounding can affect our
moods and overall mental state. This supports that people that work in London like their office
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5.9Summary of Findings
In summary, the results have shown that office location can affect employee stress levels.
There are many factors that contribute towards this and it is not just the physical environment that
can cause stress. The culture of offices in London appears to be very different to the culture of offices
in smaller towns. In London people tend to take less lunch hours and maintain a more professional
relationship with colleagues. They also seem to find their journey to work more stressful and it tends
to take them longer to commute. All of these factors contribute towards the conclusion that people
that work in London tend to be more stressed than people that work in smaller towns.
However, the research also found that people that work in London tend to like their office location
because it is so central. Therefore, is there really a perfect place to base an office?
5.10 - Conclusion
This chapter has discussed the findings of the research and compared them to existing
literature. It has analysed the results from the data collected to attempt to answer the question Are
people that work in London more stressed than people that work in smaller towns? The next
chapter will draw firm conclusions from the research and link the findings to the research question. It
will discuss the aims of the research and state whether these have been completed or not. Finally, it
will attempt to answer the research question by considering all parts of the research to draw
conclusions from.
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Chapter 6Conclusion
6.1Introduction
The previous chapter discussed the findings of the research and linked them to existing
literature to try and draw conclusions. This chapter will draw together the whole research project
and create a firm conclusion to the question Are people that work in London more stressed than
people that work in smaller towns? It will also discuss the limitations of this research and give
recommendations for future research.
6.2 - The Purpose of the Research
In todays environment stress is the top cause of work place absence (Anonymous, 2011) and
therefore it is extremely important to reduce this in any way possible. According to Arnold and
Randall et al (2010) employee well being has become a priority for organisations. Therefore, this
research aimed to investigate whether location had an effect on employee stress levels.
By finding whether there is a link between office location and stress levels, and exploring the factors
that cause this, it may give employers new ways to try and reduce stress. The physical location of an
office may not be able to be changed, but the culture that comes with this location can be.
Therefore, by exploring this issue, it will allow employers to take steps to reduce these factors
meaning that they will reduce stress levels.
6.3 - Addressing the Research Question
In order to answer the research question Are people that work in London more stressed
than people that work in smaller towns?, quantitative research was conducted in the form of a
questionnaire. Two sample groups were formed, each containing 50 participants and the
questionnaires were distributed using random and snowball sampling methods. The questionnaires
were kept anonymous and each participant was asked for informed consent so that no ethical
guidelines were breached.
The participants were asked to self evaluate their stress levels when looking at different aspects of
their working day. The data was then collected and kept in a secure location whilst it was being
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analysed. The researcher was then able to draw conclusions from the data to attempt to answer the
research question.
6.4 - Key Findings
The main key finding of this research was that there was a significant difference between the
stress levels of participants, depending on whether they worked in London or a smaller town. It was
also found that many factors influenced stress levels and that it was not just the physical
environment that changed with location. The results showed that the cultures in the two
environments were extremely different.
It was found that people that worked in London found their commute to work more stressful, were
less likely to take lunch hours and were less likely to become friends with their work colleagues. All of
these factors influenced the overall stress level that these participants felt. Each factor showed a
correlation to the stress level and therefore it was proven that it was not just where the office was,
but what culture came with this too.
However, it was also found that people that worked in London liked their office location. Therefore,
this suggests that it is the culture within the office that needs to be tackled and not the physical
location.
6.5 - Limitations and Recommendations
The main limitation of this research was the small sample size used; therefore meaning that
it has poor external validity. Due to limited time and budget, only 100 participants were used. This
may mean that the results of this research cannot be generalised to the entire population. In future,
if this research was repeated, a much larger sample size should be used so that the results are more
accurate. This would also help to rule out any outliers in the data.
Another limitation of this research was that participants were asked to self evaluate their stress
levels meaning that it has poor construct validity. Participants may have exaggerated their stress
levels or lied about them and this may have swayed the results. This may have meant that the results
that were recorded were not completely accurate. This was a major flaw in the research design and
therefore if this was completed again, a more scientific method should be used. This would allow
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researchers to analyse peoples stress levels through a series of questions or observations, rather
than letting participants do it themselves.
If this study was completed again in the future, it would be a good idea to look at other large cities
and compare these to the results of London. London is an extremely fast paced city, but how does
this compare to other cities around the World such as New York? It would be extremely interesting
to see if these results still applied when testing the stress levels in different countries.
6.6 - Answering the Research Question
This research showed people that work in London are more stressed than people that work
in smaller towns. It has highlighted a number of factors that contribute towards this and therefore
organisations can use these to help tackle stress within the work place.
It found that there was a significant difference between how stressful people found the location and
culture of their office depending on where it was based. This shows that our surroundings can add
additional stress to our working day.
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6. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being not at all and 10 being extremely) how stressed does your journey
make you feel? Please put a cross on the line.
1 10
7.
How long does it usually take you to commute to work?
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Appendix 2Code Book
Below are the numbers used for each question in correspondence to the answers when inputting the
data in to the excel spreadsheet.
Question 1
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 55+
1 2 3 4 5
Question 2
Male Female
1 2
Question 3
London Smaller Town
1 2
Question 4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Question 5
Car Bus Train Tube Walk
1 2 3 4 5
Question 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Question 7
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Question 9
Colleagues dont Dont have time Other
1 2 3
Question 10
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Question 11
Yes No
1 2
Question 12
Yes No
1 2
Question 13
Yes No
1 2
Question 14
Yes No
1 2
Question 15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10