stress mangement and performance

8/6/2019 Stress Mangement and Performance

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Impact of Stress on Performance and Management

Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirementfor the award of the degree of PGDM

Submitted By:

KANCHAN SHARMA

PGDM Semester II

Under the Guidance of:

Ms. Shipra Singh

Faculty, DSPSR

Delhi School of Professional Studies and Research

(Approved by AICTE, Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India, New Delhi, India)

Enroll. No. 073/DSPSR/PGDM-FT/10

MARCH,2011



LIST OF CONTENTS

S.NO. TOPIC PAGE

NO.

1. Acknowledgement I

2. Declaration II

3. Introduction

4. Objective 1

5. Introduction 2-4

6. Literature Review 5

7. Research Methodology 6

8. Data analysis 7-22

9. Findings 23

10. Conclusion 24

11. Recommendations 25

12. Limitations 26

13. References 27

13. Questionnaire 28-32



Acknowledgement

This writing of this dissertation has been one of the most significant academic challenges I

have ever had to face. This is to acknowledge all those people who have helped me in

preparing this project. I would like to thank that institute for providing me the opportunity toconduct the study. Without the support, patience and guidance of my faculty Ms. Shipra

Singh and my other faculties and friends this study would not have been completed. It is to

them that I owe my deepest gratitude.

KANCHAN SHARMA

i



Declaration

This is to certify that Report entitled “Impact of Stress on Performance and Management”

which is submitted by me in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of

PGDM to Delhi School of Professional Studies and Research, Delhi comprises only my

original work and has not been submitted in part or full for any other degree or diploma

of any university. If any material has been taken from an external source of information

then it has been properly cited in text and duly acknowledged under references.

KANCHAN SHARMA



ii

Certificate

This is to certify that the minor research project titled “Impact of Stress on Performance

and Management” is an academic work done by “KANCHAN SHARMA” submitted in the

partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of “Post graduate Diploma in

Management” from “Delhi school of Professional Studies and Research” under my

guidance & direction. To the best of my knowledge and belief the data & information

presented by him in the project has not been submitted elsewhere.

Name of the Faculty Guide

Ms. Shipra Singh



iii

OBJECTIVE

Organizations have continued to grapple with the questions concerning the stress in the work place and the appropriate organizational response.

A great many people experience unacceptable level of stress. It can stem from events in their

personal lives or at work. The aim of this study is to find out the causes of occupational stress

within the organization and the implication on performance, job satisfaction and intention to

leave and absenteeism. The research methodology is based on primary and secondary data

both and follows the exploratory and descriptive research. The data has been collected by

questionnaires and some secondary data from the literature available.



1

INTRODUCTION

Creating a high performance organization is a popular theme in the training

and development field. To survive in these competitive times, companies can'tafford anything less. Creating a high performance organization requires

understanding what factors influence performance. One of the most significant

factors is stress. Today, many organizations and employees are experiencing

the effects of stress on work performance. The effects of stress can be either

positive or negative. What is perceived as positive stress by one person may

be perceived as negative stress by another, since everyone perceives situations

differently.

According to Barden (2001), negative stress is becoming a major illness in the

work environment, and it can debilitate employees and be costly to employers.

Managers need to identify those suffering from negative stress and implement

programs as a defense against stress. These programs may reduce the impact

stress has on employees' work performance.

Research shows that stress interferes with human intellectual, emotional, and

interpersonal functioning. In fact, nearly every popular training and

organizational development initiative is directly compromised by the

intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal consequences of stress.

The four of the primary factors are:

• The person’s perception of the situation

• The person’s past experience

• The presence or absence of social support• Individual differences with regard to stress reaction

Initiatives like The Learning Organization, Process Re-engineering, Diversity

Training, Collaborative Team Work, and The High Performance Organization

are all impacted by the way people are affected by stress.

“ANY CORPORATION OR INDIVIDUAL WILL BENEFIT FROM

LEARNING ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON PRODUCTIVITY

AND WAYS TO MANAGE STRESS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVIT AND

GENERALLY IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE.”



2

Reasons of Stress: An individual faces stress mainly because of four reasons:

1. Personal factors , which includes Emotional conflicts (Lack of

freedom to express, Lack of attention and Lack of confidence),

Responsibilities, Lack of support, Time management, and Communication

problems, Attitude.

2. Social factors , which includes Rigid social norms and customs,

Managing the social relations, Acceptance by others, lack of positive attitude

by colleagues, lack of support from others, and lack of Positive environment.

3. Organizational factors , which include workload, role conflicts,

uncertainty, relation at work, career prospects, organizational climate, lack of cooperation, promotion, training, counseling and appraisal.

4. Professional factors , which include lack of Communication abilities,

lack of confidence, lack of positive attitude / interaction, interface of private

life with professional life, spirit of teamwork.

The physical or psychological demands from the environment that

cause stress are called stressors. Stressors can take various forms, but all

stressors have one thing in common: They create stress or the potential for

stress when an individual perceives them as representing a demand that may

exceed that person’s ability to respond.

Classification of Stress: Stress can be experienced in these three key

ways: Physically, Psychologically & emotionally.

Physically through lowering of immune system functioning and the

experience of physical symptoms, psychologically & emotionally through

negative behavior, poor relationships at work or in your personal life, as well

as poor lifestyle choices.

The National Institute of Occupant Safety and Health (America)

identified the following categories of stressors as representing the primarysources of stress for employees: (1) excessive overload and pace, (2) rigid or

otherwise undesirable work schedules, (3) role stressors (conflicts and

ambiguity), (4) concerns about career security, (5) poor interrelationship at

work, and (6) unpleasant job conditions.

The cost of stress can therefore be seen to operate at four separate but

interconnected levels. These are:



3

a) The Personal or Psychological: This includes the possible

determinant effects on health, mental and emotional functioning, confidence

and general well-being.

b) The Social and Interpersonal : The Interpersonal relationships,teamwork, contribution to the community and earning power are amongst the

social factors that can be damaged.

c) The Organizational : Stress tends to be very costly to organizations in

terms of reduced productivity and efficiency, low morale, high sickness and

staff turnover rates and so on.

d) The Professional : Standards of practice and quality of service can be

adversely affected by stress. In long run it is not only staff that suffers as a

result of stress but also service user.

The effects of work stress occur in three main areas: physiological,

emotional, and behavioral. Some results of excessive stress in above three

areas are as follows:

Physiological effects of stress include increased blood

pressure, increased heart rate, sweating, hot and cold spells, heavy breathing,

muscular tension, and increased gastrointestinal disorders.

Emotional effects of stress include anger, anxiety,

depression, lowered self-esteem, poorer intellectual functioning (including an

inability to concentrate and make decisions), nervousness, irritability,

resentment of supervision, and job dissatisfaction.

Behavioral effects of stress include decreased

performance, absenteeism, higher accident rates, higher turnover rates, higher

alcohol and other drug abuses, impulsive behavior, and difficulties in

communication.

Stress and coronary heart disease are strongly linked. Other serious health

problems are commonly associated with stress include backaches, headaches,

stomach and intestinal problems, upper respiratory and various mental problems. Recent Medical researchers have discovered possible links between

stress and cancer. Stress-related illness places a considerable burden on people

and organizations.

4



LITERATURE REVIEW

Lucy Barnes Foster (2002), a professional speaker on stress-management,

surveyed mid-level managers and found stress to be a major determinant in

worker productivity. According to the study, the primary areas affected by

stress are employee morale, absenteeism, and decision making abilities. By

recognizing that a problem exists and by addressing the issue, managers can

reduce stressful activities and increase worker performance in the business

organization

Leslie Schorr (2001), a stress-management consultant, stated that stress causes

problems in theworkplace which negatively affect employee health and

organizational productivity. Stress can lead to problems such as job

dissatisfaction, alcoholism, absenteeism, physical ailments, and poor job

performance. If managers know how to prevent and cope with stress,

productivity can be increased. Many companies instituted stress-management programs that led to a decline in absenteeism, a decrease in sickness and

accident costs, and/or an increase in job performance. Schorr reported that a

stress inventory, available from a stress-management program, can assist

executives and managers in assessing employee stress. Once these sources

have been assessed, the program can provide the necessary skills for coping

with the problems, and participants can learn that there are alternative ways of

reacting to stress.

(Rose, 2003) In every organization and at every level of management and workers an

elevated average level of stress is to be found which mostly has an effect on employee’s job

satisfaction. According to (Rose ,2003) employees have tendency towards high level of stressregarding time, working for longer hours which reduces employees urge for performing

better. Management support helps in reducing or increases stress in employees, (Stamper &

Johlke, 2003) apparent organizational assistance, management support work as a cushion

which acts positively in decreasing work related stress in employees. (Beehr, Jex, Stacy &

Murray, 2000) found the relationship between occupational stressors and the performance of

employees of an organization as well as it can affect the employees psychologically. (Jamal,

1984) studied a association between job stress and job performance between managers and

blue-collar employees. Stress on job can be stated as the outcome of an individual due to the

working environment from which he feels unsecured. Different relationships are projected

between job stress and performance: U-shaped and curvilinear, positive linear, negative linear

and no relationship between the stress and performance. A random sample of 305 blue-collar

and 325 managerial workers in Canadian firm are surveyed through structured questionnaire.

Variables used for this study were job stress, job performance, and organizational

commitment. A negative linear relationship between job stress and job performance was

found.

5



RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The report is based on primary and secondary data and it follows the exploratory research

studies. A nonprobability, convenience sampling technique was used to collect primary data.

The questionnaire was developed to get the level of stress on employees and their

performance. The work is stated with the data and information which were available atinformational websites and various journals, etc. Because of the fragile research findings in

the area of stress management, every effort was made to choose the best methodology

available.

Collection and sources of data:-

a) PRIMARY DATA

b) SECONDARY DATA

Research design

Research design is the blueprint to study any problem. It is a plan for collection analysis and

interpretation of data in manner that is relevant to research purpose with economy in

procedure

Following are the research design that I used in conducting this research report:-

a) EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN

b) DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

Sample design

The amount of research work is limited by shortage of time and resources. Due to this

limitation it is not possible to gather complete information. So, the technique of sampling is

applied. The sample are so selected that they are representative of the entire population.



6

Analysis

1) I am given enough time to do what is expected of me on my job.

36

13

47

4 0

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: The percentage of neutral response is the highest; this means that these employees

give average time which is expected by their organization. On the hand only 4% employees were

disagreed to this parameter.



7

2) I get upset thinking that I am not able to prosper (or) make progress in my Job or carrier.

Dig.2

43

19

23

9

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISGREE

Interpretation: Many employees have thought that they are not able to prosper their jobs and

are not able to get their career aligned according to their expectations. Because of this they

get stress and which impacts their performance.

8



3) I very Often feel that I am being neglected when I am in the Team.

Dig.3

25

15

32

16

12

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREEE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: It has been found that 25% employees were agreed that they are neglected

when they work in teams and groups. This leads to led down their morale down whereas

many employees were neutral because they don't care about their part in team working.

9



4) I often hesitate to start something new because I feel that I will not be successful and get

scolding from boss.

Interpretation: According to the results the agreegate is in agree that they feel fear to

anything new as they can get the punishment. But on the other hand 10% epmloyees were

disagree to this as they want to explore new things to do their jobs and work.

10



5) I don’t have the information I need for my work.

Dig. 5

12

7

38

27

16

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Some employees gave the response that they have all the information required to do

job but majority disagreed on this question.

11



6) I feel that I been work loaded with too any jobs.

Dig. 6

29

1726

20

8

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Majority of the employees that they are overburdened with the work given by

organizations and because of tis the level of stress increases and leads to many of the physical and

mental problems.

12



7) I feel I am absolutely useless why my boss scold me for minor mistake.

Dig. 7

22

16

19

33

10

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Employees feel that they are underestimated by their bosses as they scold

them for their minor mistakes.

13



8) I find it extremely difficult to take decision.

Dig. 8

27

32

31

82

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: As the instructions are not fully provided they feel difficulties in taking

decisions which decreases their morale.

14



9) I get very nervous when I didn’t meet Organizational requirements in job.

Dig. 9

22

16

31

22

9

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Most of the people were neutral in giving their responses whereas the

percentage of agreed and disagreed employees were same.

15



10) I will get stress by mostly external person.

Dig. 10

24

14

29

20

13

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Majority of the people were agreed to the point that they get nervous while

facing the outside people and lack confidence. Whereas only 13 % employees were strongly

disagreed as there confidence level is high and positive.

16



11) Do you have frequent headache while doing the job.

Dig. 11

33

1916

20

12

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Majority was found that they come across with the headache frequently as

they were overburdened with the works.

17



12) I smoke Less than Half a packet of cigarette every day.

Dig. 12

23

17

29

21

10

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Many of the employees are got the habit of smoking because of the increase

in the stress level as well as their colleagues.

18



13) I have at least one friend with me so that I can share all the personal details to him.

Dig. 13

35

21

19

13

12

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: As employees don’t get enough time to spend with their friends they are not

able to share their feelings and emotions with them. On the other hand 12% people were of

thought that they are having many friends and are able to spend their time and feelings with

them.

19



14) I do fun at least once a week.

Dig. 14

24

14

12

36

14

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Research found that many of the employees were disagreed that they have fun once

in a week as they don’t get the off on weekends because of the over burden of works.

20



15) I am proud to tell people where I work.

Dig.15

38

24

18

12

8

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: Many employees feel that they speak good words of mouth about their organization

as they don’t want to be neglected in society if they will say that their organization is not providing

them with opportunities for their carrer.

21



16) I feel myself to be part of the organization.

Dig.16

31

27

13

19

10

AGREE

STRONGLY AGREE

NEUTRAL

DISAGREE

STRONGLY DISAGREE

Interpretation: 31% employees were agreed that they feel themselves as the part of the

organization as they are given the authorities to take decisions.

22



Findings

Research has found that most of the employees are under stress and over-burdened. They are

not getting time to spend for leisure activities. Organizations are putting them under stress by

not giving them power to take decisions and also not providing them with the requiredinformation which is to be needed to perform their jobs. Employees want organizations to

provide them the authority to take decisions so that there will be increase in the motivation

and confidence level. As many of the organizations has created the fear of job security

among their employees, they are not able to do any changes in their work style and even

didn’t try to do any innovations to enhance their knowledge.

23



Conclusion

Although stress has always been an integral part of our daily life since

prehistoric times, it has never been so emphasized in nowadays when

competitive work becomes the central part of our daily life and our workingefficiency can be heavily influenced by the stress at work. Since employee’s

working efficiency determines the organization’s performance to much extent,

stress management surely becomes the new hot point in HR management field.

Stress could be either beneficial or detrimental, which depends on its intensity

and lasting time. Too much and too little stress are both unfavorable for

enhancing employees’ performance. What the managers should do to avoid

that is maintaining the stress in the most optimistic extent. There are many

methods to manage stress from both the managers’ view and the employee’s

view. The managers should begin the stress management in employee

selection stage by improving the match-up between employee and jobs,improve the performance appraisal and incentive mechanism, and give special

HR training. People should adjust his or her conception towards stress,

enhance time management, and apply variable stress management techniques.

Finally, it’s worthy of being emphasized that stress management is not a once-

for-all project, but a systematic and dynamic process, which should be deeply

rooted in organization culture and management routine

24



Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions in this study, the following

recommendations are made:

1. Employers should offer various stress reduction programs to help

employees manage stress because stress is prevalent in the workplace.

2. Employers should conduct a survey of the programs they already offer to

discover which programs are the most effective for managing their employees'

stress.

3. Employees should share their ideas for managing stress with their

employers in order to help

their employers implement appropriate stress reduction programs.

4. Educators should incorporate into their business curriculum discussions of

stress in the workplace and ways to manage stress.

5 .Additional research should be done. First, other areas negatively affected by

stress should be studied to determine if stress affects other aspects of an

employee's life. In addition, other factors should be examined to learn what

the personal and work-related causes and symptoms of stress are for an

individual.

25



Limitations

The limitation while carrying out research is basically that to draw the

conclusion from the sample data about a larger group. It was very difficult to

analyze the various companies to get the questionnaire filled by each andevery employee of companies. The time was limited to do the research on

larger scale and due to this the sample size was taken small which was

according to the convenience.

26



References

• McHugh, M. and Brennan, S., “Managing Work Stress: A Key Issue

for all Organization Members”, Employee Counseling Today, Vol. 5 No. 1,

1993, pp. 16-21

• Harrold, R., & Wayland, M. (2002, June). New methods to reduce

workplace stress. Industrial Concepts, 19–21.

• European Commission, Improving quality in work: A review of recent

progress , Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European

Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee

of the Regions, COM(2003) 728, Brussels, 2003, available at:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2003/dec/com2003_728_

en.pdf

• Bauer, T.K., High performance workplace practices and job

satisfaction: Evidence from Europe , Discussion Paper No. 1265, Institute for

the Study of Labor (IZA), 2004, available at: http://ftp.iza.org/dp1265.pdf

• Bradley, S., Petrescu, A. and Simmons, R., The impacts of human

resource management practices and pay

• Inequality on workers’ job satisfaction , Working Paper 031,

Department of Economics, Lancaste University Management School, 2004,available at: http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/publications/viewpdf/000276/

• Rose M. (2003). Good Deal, Bad Deal? Job Satisfaction in Occupations. Work

Employment Society, 17; 503.

27

Questionnaire

http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/publications/viewpdf/000276/

http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/publications/viewpdf/000276/



I) Personal Profile.

1. Name:

2. Gender : Male Female

3. Age : below 25 yr 25-40 yrs

40 above

4. Martial Status : Married Unmarried

5. Designation :

II)

1) I am given enough time to do what is expected of me on my job.

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

2) I get upset thinking that I am not able to prosper (or) make progress in my

Job or carrier.

Agree

Strongly Agree Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

3) I very Often feel that I am being neglected when I am in the Team.

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

4) I often hesitate to start something new because I feel that I will not be

successful and get scolding from boss

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree 28

5) I don’t have the information I need for my work.



Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

6) I feel that I been work loaded with too any jobs

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

7) I feel I am absolutely useless why my boss scold me for minor mistake.

Agree Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

8) I find it extremely difficult to take decisions

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree Strongly disagree

9) I get very nervous when I didn’t meet Organizational requirements in job.

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

10) I will get stress by mostly external person

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

29

11) Do you have frequent headache while doing the job. Agree



Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

12) I smoke Less than Half a packet of cigarette every day.

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

13) I have at least one friend with me so that I can share all the personal

details to him.

Agree Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

14) I do fun at least once a week.

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral Disagree

Strongly disagree

15) I am proud to tell people where I work

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

16) I feel myself to be part of the organization

Agree

Strongly Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

30

stress mangement and performance

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