EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report is the result of Descriptive study of Stress management of Employees in IT industry.
Workplace Stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor
match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. In general, the
combination of high demands in a job and a low amount of control over the situation can lead to
stress.

The main objective of the study is to know the level of stress among different departments of an
industry and their causes and symptoms and the measures taken to manipulate stress so as to increase
the effectiveness of the workplace. The research provided an interesting insight into awareness about
managing stress in the IT industry, reports of how employees are managing stress in the workplace
and other criteria’s related to management of stress.

The Indian IT market has been increasing tremendously during last few years with the reforms of
Economy, reforms of Industrial policy, reforms of Public sector and IT sector. This study helps me
to understand how the companies manage stress at different departments and measures took by
various companies and HR departments to reduce stress at the workplace.
INTRODUCTION
Stress is a part of day-to-day living of every individual. The college students may experience stress
in meeting the academic demands, people on the job, business men may suffer stress to reach office
in time and to complete the projects on time and even the house hole ladies may experience stress in
managing the home affairs and to look for the maid servant. The reasons for the stress differ from
person to person. The stress people experience should not be necessarily treated as harmful. An
optimum amount of stress can always act as an energizer or motivator and propel people to apply the
efforts and complete the work. But a high level of stress can be serious threat to the personality trails
of the individual and can cause physiological and social problems.

What is Stress?
Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing
environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative
feelings.

How can I eliminate stress from my life?

As we have seen, positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life, and we all thrive under a
certain amount of stress. Deadlines, competitions, confrontations, and even our frustrations and
sorrows add depth and enrichment to our lives. Our goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to
manage it and how to use it to help us. Insufficient stress acts as a depressant and may leave us feeling
bored or dejected; on the other hand, excessive stress may leave us feeling "tied up in knots." What
we need to do is find the optimal level of stress, which will individually motivate but not overwhelm
each of us.
How can I tell what is optimal stress for me?

There is no single level of stress that is optimal for all people. We are all individual creatures with
unique requirements. As such, what is distressing to one may be a joy to another. And even when we
agree that a particular event is distressing, we are likely to differ in our physiological and
psychological responses to it.

How can I tell manage stress better?

Identifying unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on our lives is not sufficient for reducing
its harmful effects. Just as there are many sources of stress, there are many possibilities for its
management. However, all require work toward change: changing the source of stress and/or
changing your reaction to it. How do you proceed?

The Nine Stress Management Tips:

1.Know what stresses you most. Not your co-worker, friend, husband, or wife. YOU!! Get your
feelings out. Write them out and describe each situation. Share all bad feelings with a friend or in a
journal. Before you can conquer your stresses you must know what is stressing you.

2.Say no. Focus on you own goals, not your spouse's or parents'. You must know yourself, your dreams, and
your passions. If asked to chair another group or take on another responsibility, look at your mission statement
or goals for the day. If it is does not fit it there say thank you but I just cannot. Saying no is one of the hardest
things in life, but will help make you a success in your chosen field.

3.Learn to relax. Work hard but know when to take time off to be with the family, go to the beach, or read
a book. Work all day if you must but when you get home play, watch cartoons, or tell your child a story. This
allows stress tension to go away and helps you calm the heart's pace and digest food normally, and protect
your immune system. Learn to meditate and take deep breaths to calm down.

4. Eat healthy. Eat less junk food and more fruit and vegetables for an amazing overall lowering of stress
levels. We can actually lower the amount of the bad stress hormone, Cortisol, by taking vitamins. Take those
vitamin pills daily.

5. Keep laughing. Keep a sense of humor. Studies show a good attitude helps lower cancer rates,
makes surgery more effective, and keeps a relationship together through hard times.

6. Ask yourself WHY. Why are you doing this? Write down your wants, needs, goals, hopes, and
dreams. Does what you are doing now help you get fulfill any of these things? What is your
motivation? The more you understand why you doing what you are doing the less stress you will
have. If you cannot come up with a good reason, then stop doing it.

7. Stay active. Exercise is a great way to relive tension and gives you a great break from exams. A
healthy body makes a happy body. Even a three-minute jog is helpful at taking your mind off your
pressures. You'll come back with an acute focus and renewed energy.

8. Follow your bliss. Try to know which subjects and type of people you enjoy. Structure your life
around activities that you love. Joseph Campbell, a wise philosopher, advises you to follow your
bliss. The more you do in life that goes with your own flow, the more passion you'll have for what
you do.

9. Organize and Prioritize. Do the worst and hardest tasks first. Keep a to-do list and calendar with
you at all times. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

We generally believe that the stress is caused by the external events and the dynamics of the
environment. But we need to emphasis the fact that the Stress is caused by our reaction to the external
environment. The manner in which we perceive and understand the changes or the particular event
creates same event can bring happiness and cause stress in two different people depending upon how
they react to it. When students are asked to prepare a presentation, some may take it to the other
students may be perturbed by it for the fear of his weakness. So, Stress is our reaction to external
events and it can be positive or negative depending upon how we react, it is the general wear and tear
of the body machine that takes place due to extra demands put on it.

Stress is the biggest killer in the Western world and the cause of huge losses of production in industry.

But the techniques to combat stress and

Increase wellbeing in your daily life are within your reach –if you know how to go about them.

REPLACING NEGATIVE WITH POSITIVE EMOTIONS

The Successful Stress Management course gives you guidance on the changes necessary to overcome
and reject negative emotions, and to replace them with positive ones that give you true quality of life.
Your course will enable you to consider the causes and effects of the stress in today’s world, and help
you plan strategies for managing and controlling stress to develop a healthy sense of self-esteem.
This is a much-needed course in today’s world of increasing anxieties, and is invaluable whether you
want to benefits yourself or make a career out of giving guidance to others.

We can define stress as “body’s non-specific response to any demand made on it”. Stress is
not by definition synonymous with nervous tension or

anxiety. On one side stress provides the means to express talents and energies and pursue happiness
on the other side it can also cause exhaustion and illness, either physical or psychological.

Definition of stress
 According to the father of stress of research, Hans Selye, “stress is the spice of life; the absence
of stress in death.
 Stress is defined as an adaptive response to an external situation that results in physical,
psychological and behavioral deviations for organizational participants.
 Stress is understood as an individual reaction to a disturbing factor in the environment.
 Ivancevich and matteson define stress simply as “ the interaction of the individual with the
environment.

Remember that our main definition of stress is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when
a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to
 mobilize. With this in mind, we can now look at how you can manage all of the stresses that your
career will bring From our definition, you can see that there are three major approaches that we can
use to manage stress;

 Action-oriented: In which we seek to confront the problem causing the stress, often changing the
environment or the situation;
 Emotionally-oriented: In which we do not have the power to change the situation, but we can manage
stress by changing our interpretation of the situation and the way we feel about it; and
 Acceptance-oriented: Where something has happened over which we have no power and no
emotional control, and where our focus is on surviving the stress.

Action-oriented approaches – best where you have some control

To be able to take an action-oriented approach, we must have some power in the situation. If
we do, then action-oriented approaches are some of the most satisfying and rewarding ways of
managing stress. These are techniques that we can use to manage and overcome stressful situations.
Changing them to our advantage.
The early selections on the title bar above focus on action-oriented coping. These selections
introduce skills that help you to manage your job actively, work well with your boss and co-workers,
and change your surroundings to eliminate environmental stress.

Emotionally-oriented approaches-subtle but effective

If you do not have the power o change a situation, then you may be able to improve things by
changing he way you look at it, and feel about it, by using an emotionally oriented approach. These
are often less attractive than action-oriented approaches in that the stresses can recur time and again;
however, they are useful and effective in their place. The section on Reducing Stress With Rational
Thinking explains powerful techniques for getting another perspective on difficult situations.

Acceptance-oriented approaches-when there’s no valid alternative…

Sometimes, we have so little power in a situation that it is all we can do to survive it. This is the case,
for example, when loved-ones die. In these situations, often the first stage of coping with the stress
is to accept one’s lack of power. The section on Building Defenses Against Stress looks at building
the buffers against stress that helps you through these difficult periods. Arguably, the section on
Useful Relaxation Techniques also fails in to this category.
These different approaches to stress management address our definition of stress indifferent ways:
the action-oriented techniques help us to manage the

demands upon us and increase the resources we can mobilize; the emotionally oriented techniques
help us to adjustor perceptions of the situation; and the acceptance-oriented techniques help us
survive the situations that we genuinely cannot change.
took the relationship between stress and industry very seriously.

Stress: What it is not

 Stress is not simply anxiety or nervous tension
 Stress need not necessarily be damaging
 Stress is not always due to over stimulation
 Stress cannot be avoided

Levels of Stress
Eustress: Eustress denotes the presence of optimum level of stress in an individual, which contributes
positively to his performance. This may lead employees to new and better ways of doing their jobs.
In certain jobs such as sales, creativity a mild level of stress contributes positively to productivity.
Distress: Distress denotes the presence of high level of stress in an individual, which affects job
performance adversely and creates many types of physical, psychological and behavioral problems.
Symptoms of Stress
As stated earlier Stress is caused by or reaction to the external events and bring about changes in our
response and our general behavior. The presence of Stress can be estimated by the analysis of certain
symptoms an individual shows. These symptoms can be divided into three different categories.
They are Feelings, Behavior and Physiology. When the individual experience Stress, one or more of
the following symptoms can be exhibited.

Feelings
 The individual becomes anxious become anxious about the outcomes and is scared. The
person feels that he has got something to loose or something wrong will take place.
  In an anxious state the person does not want to be corrected or interrupted. He looks out for
other areas where he can forget about the stress-causing event for a while . The person
becomes irritable and moody.
 During high level of Stress the individual develops a negative frame of mind and suffers from
low self-esteem. The person loose faith in his capabilities and is afraid of the failures. The
individual does not have a focused approach and is not able to concentrate and is involved in
his own plans and thoughts.
 Physiological and Behavioral Changes
 Speech problems
 Impulsive Behavior
 Crying for no apparent reason
 Laughing in a high pitch and nervous tone of voice.
 Grinding of teeth
 Increasing smoking and use of drugs and alcohol.
 Being accident-prone
 Perspiration/ sweaty hands
 Increased hear beat
 Trembling
 Nervous ticks
 Tiring easily
 Urinating frequently
 Sleeping problems
 Diarrhea / indigestion /vomiting /nausea
 Butterflies in stomach
 Headaches
 Premenstrual tension
 Pain in the neck and or lower back

Causes of Stress
Both positive and negative events in one’s life can be stressful. However major life changes are the
greatest contributors of stress for most people.
1. If people have to travel a lot and have to move from place to place, it can cause stress.
 2. Individual can also be under stress if they are about to enter some new environment. They
may be going to new colony. To a new college or they may be joining a new organization.
3. Some events, which are generally once I a lifetime can also cause stress. The social
institutions of marriage or divorcé can cause stress. Pregnancy can also generate Stress.
They are:
 Time pressure
 Competition
 Financial problems
 Noise
 Disappointments

UNDERSTADING STRESS
Three potential sources of stress:
 Environmental Factors
 Organizational Factors
 Individual Factors

Environmental Factors:
Economic uncertainty is created when there is a change in the business cycle. That is when
people become anxious about their security. This uncertainty not only affects the stress level of the
organization but also to design of the organization. By the coming up to the new innovations in the
field of technology
like computers, robotics, automation etc. It has become a threat to many people, which causes stress.
This type of uncertainty is called Technology Uncertainty.
Organizational Factors:
There is no storage of factors within the organization that can cause stress.
These are categorized into:
 Task Demands
 Role Demands
 Interpersonal demands
 Organizational Demands
 Organizational Leadership
 Organization’s Life Stage

Task Demands: Task demands are factors related to a person’s job. They include the design of the
individual’s job (autonomy, task variety, degree of automation). Working conditions, and the
physical work layout. Working in an overcrowded room or in a visible location where interruptions
are constant can increase anxiety and stress
Interpersonal Demands: Interpersonal demands are pressures created by other employees. Lack of
social support from colleagues and poor interpersonal relationships can cause considerable stress,
especially among employees with a high social need.
Organizational Structure: Organizational Structure defines the level of differentiation in the
organization, the degree of rules and regulations, and where decisions are made.
 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

➢ The objective of this project is to understand the concept of job stress and its impact
on employees.
➢ To identify the factors influencing the job stress of employees in the working
environment and correlation between stressors.
➢ To identify if there is any significance difference between stress variable with
reference to gender category.
➢ To identify measures to reduce stress, in order to increase the skills of the employees.
 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

An increasing number of IT professionals have been finding it difficult to handle emotional stress,
according to experts. An occupational hazard, the stress related to work needs to be addressed without
delay, they emphasize. Regular occupational problems such as wrist problems due to constant
handling of the mouse, slip disc and sight problem are common now, but handling stress that arises
owing to fear of losing job or to cope with the increasing competition, affects the employee’s
performance, eventually taking a major toll on his health, doctors explain.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Stress at workplace:

Many companies have long belief that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the work place
and it does. But research now reveals that stress on the job causes stress at home. In other words,
they feed off each other. The review concluded that the evidence regarding the role of family at
workplace was consistent. Limitations of the research were highlighted and implications for practice
were discussed.

Wallace, J.Criag, G Mary, Stephen J: “Examining the Stress Forms”- Personal Management,
Vol. 29 No. 4 winter 2009

Stress among Marketing Employees:

The job of marketing executives become more stressful because of Changing technology,
Globalization, Deregulation, Privatization, Customer empowerment, Customization, Cut –throat
competition, Industry convergence, Retail transformation, Disintermediation. The World Health
Organization says stress is a worldwide epidemic. A United Nations report labelled job stress as “the
twentieth-century disease.” The American Institute of Stress in 2001 that stress cost organizations
$300 billion in healthcare, workers compensation, absenteeism, and turnover. This study discusses
the Sources of stress, its Effect and Resolution Strategies.

Dr. Raju M. Rathod Assistant Professor, Sardar Patel University, A Study on Stress:
Sources, Effect and Resolution Strategies With Reference to Marketing Employees.

Health and Well-Being:

Health and Well-Being in the workplace have become common topics in the mainstream media, in
practitioner- oriented magazines and journals and, increasingly, in scholarly research journals. In this
article, it first review the literature that serves to define health and well-being and then discuss the
primary factors associated with health and well-being, the consequences of low level of health and
common methods for improving health and well-being in the workplace. Finally, it highlights
important future directions for future theory, research and practice regarding health and well-being.

Karen Danna Ricky W. Griffin Texas A&M University Journal of Management, Vol.25, No.3 2009

The role of gender in workplace stress:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of gender in occupational stress. Further aim was to
review literature relating to stressors relevant to working women. These stressors included, multiple
roles, lack of career progress, discrimination etc. A range of research designs were included and no
restrictions were made on the basis of the occupations of the participants. Much of the research
indicated that women reported higher level of stress compared to men. The current study concluded
that the evidence regarding the role of gender in workplace stress and stressors was inconsistent.

Kristina Gyllensten Doctorate student, Dept. of Psychology, City University, Stephen Palmer
Honorary Professor of Psychology, City University, London.

Job Stress among University Staffs:

This article investigates the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. The determinants of
job stress that have been examined under this study include, management role, relationship with
others, workload pressure, homework interface, role ambiguity, and performance pressure. The
sample consists of a public university academician from Klang Valley area in Malaysia. The results
show there is a significant relationship between four of the constructs tested. The results also show
that there is significant negative relationship between job stress and job satisfaction.

NilufarAhsanResearch Fellow, David Yong Gun Fie Faculty of Management, Multimedia

University, Syed Shah Alam, Faculty of Business Management, University Technology
MARA“A Study of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction among University Staff in Malaysia”.

Workplace stress in nursing

The aim of this study is to identify nurses’ perceptions of workplace stress, consider the potential
effectiveness of initiatives to reduce distress, and identify directions for future research. Stress
perception is highly subjective, and so the complexity of nursingpractice may result in variation
between nurses in their identification of sources of stress, especially when the workplace and roles
of nurses are changing. Workload, leadership/management style, professional conflict and emotional
cost of caring have been the main sources of distress for nurses for many years, but there is
disagreement as to the magnitude of their impact. Lack of reward and shift working may also now
be displacing some of the other issues in order of ranking.

Andrew McVicarBSc PhD Reader, School of Health Care Practice, Anglia Polytechnic University,
Chelmsford, Essex, UK
Gladies J. J. & Kennedy V.(2011)- The significant correlation between Organizational Climate and
Job Stress among the women working in IT companies of
India. According to him, learning how to manage stress is a very crucial issue that should be
developed in IT companies so that they can reduce or eliminate the causes of stress and poor working
environment.

Sharma S., Sharma J. & Devi A.(2012)- The level of stress within a role varies because of individual
differences in mindset, age, gender, and their performance in job. However, various factors that
influence stress are age where the younger employees are more stressed as compared to other
employees, level of qualification, pay, authorities of control, awards, word of praise, improved
designations and working couples. The study recommended a reinforcement approach that should be
positive in nature so as to reduce the degree of stress at the workplace.

Srivastav A.K. (2010)– The articles focus on the nature of role that causes stress. It says role
performance encountered the problems of stress so they should be tried to reduce or eliminated. The
nature of role stress was found to be heterogeneous which cannot be dealt with one uniform solution
or intervention as a whole. Hence, specific problem related solution or interventions should be
adapted for better organizational performance and effectiveness.

Michailidis M. and Georgiou Y. (2005)- The author focus on the degree of occupational stress that is
influenced by the factors like level of education, various patterns of their relaxation and any other habits like
drinking or smoking . The implications say that consuming alcoholic drinks is the main factor that determines
the degree of occupational stress in an individual.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be understood
as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the various steps that are
generally adopted by researcher in studying his research problem along with the logic behind them.
It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the research methods/techniques but also the
methodology. Researchers also need to understand the assumptions underlying various techniques
and they need to know the criteria by which they can decide that certain techniques and procedures
will be applicable to certain problems and others will not.

We use a particular method of research in the context of our research study and explain why we are
using a particular method or technique and why we are not using other so that research results are
capable of being evaluated either by the researcher himself or by others.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY CAN BE SUB-HEADED BY

 Research
 Research Design
 Sampling Design
 Data Collection
 Tools and Techniques
 Survey area
 Sampling Size

RESEARCH

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. One can also define research as a
scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic: The meaning of research
is "a careful investigation or inquiry specially through search for new facts in any branch of
knowledge" According to Clifford Woody – research comprises defining and redefining problems
formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating , data; making
deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determines
whether they fit the formulating hypothesis.
Objectives of Research

The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through the application of scientific
procedures. The main aim of research is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been
discovered as yet. Though researcher study has to its own specific purpose, we may think of research
objectives as falling into a number of following broad groupings.

1. To gain familiarity with a phenomenon or to achieve new insights into it,

2. To portray accurately the characteristics of a particular individual, situation or a group.
3. To determine the frequency with which something occurs or with it is associated with
something else.
4. To test a hypothesis of a causal relationship between variables.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is purely and simply the frame work of plan for a study that guides. The collection
and analysis of the data. Application and specification are the main characteristic in a research design.
Marketing research designs can be classified on the basis of the fundamental objectives of the
research.

Since our research is descriptive type, so research design is also descriptive.

SAMPLING DESIGN

Sampling is the process of obtaining information about an entire population by examining only a part
of it. Sampling is used for a variety of reasons such as:

 Sampling can save time and money

 Sampling may enable more accurate measurements.
 Sampling remains the only way when populations contains infinitely many members
 Sampling only remains the only choice when a test involves the destruction of the item under
study

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

Data collection methods are generally two types:

 Primary Data
 Secondary Data

Primary Data

The primary data are those which are collected a fresh and for the first time and thus happens to be
original in character. The primary data is collected in the process of questionnaire and interview of
the outlets.

Secondary Data

The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have
been already been passed through the statistical process. In my research the secondary data collected
from the company sales, production and other records. The other data was collected from research
report.

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

The data was collected through questionnaire method and personal interview. Again the research is
descriptive type. The analysis is done through the tabular and graphical representation.

SURVEY AREA

The research is done in the different areas of Delhi using Offline and Online mediums.

SAMPLE SIZE

The total sample size I had cover is 150.

Sample Size (n) = 100

 DATA ANALYSIS
AND
INTERPRETATION
 1. Perception of Employees of Different age groups about Stress

Perception of employees of different Ages

about Stress
80%
20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59
70% 67% 66%
60%
60% 54%
PERCENTAGE

50%
40%
40%
33% 33% 33%
30% 27%

20% 14%
10%
10%
0%
0%
workload Meeting Targets Performance Anxiety

STRESS FACTORS

INTERPREATION: From the above graphical representation it has been found that the age group of
30-39, 40-49 and 50-59 (65%) are having more workload than the employees aged between 20-29.

The employees with age group of 30-39 are having more stress on facing the Meeting targets
than the other age group.

Finally the performance anxiety is more to the 20-29 age group and it is negligible in 50-59
aged employees.

2. Problem areas identified by employees of different ages

 Different Ages Vs Identified Problems
80 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59
70
PERCENTAGE

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

Psychological

Work itself
Intepersonal
Health

Relationship
PROBLEM AREAS

INTERPRETATION: The analysis shows that the employees grouped between 20-29 and 50-59
are facing more health problems (66%) than the other age group 30-39 and 40-49 and this is
because of stress factors like performance anxiety, workload and meeting targets.

It can be inferred that there is a strong correlation between health and psychology because the
later as a direct impact on health. Problems like mental tension, anxiety, depression, loss of
memory and concentration, which arise due to psychological problems. And finally it can be
found that the age group 20-29 and 30-39 are having problem in their work itself (67%) as these
are the up coming employees with new positions.

It has been found that the employees though they are facing more stress they are still able to
maintain better interpersonal relationship with their peers, subordinates and superiors this may
be because to reduce the stress and to complete the task with their support.
3. Suggestions by employees of different ages for changes at work place

Ages Vs Changes at work place

80 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59
70
60
PERCENTAGE

50
40
30
20
10
0
Timely targets Distributed work load Periodic Relaxation

CHANGE AT WORK PLACE

INTERPRETATION: From the above data we can analyze that the all the employees of different
age groups wanted a few changes at work place like timely targets (33%). And distributed work
load is more in age group of 40-49 i.e., (56%) and finally 66% of the employees of age group 20-
29 and 50-59 want changes in periodic relaxation as these are people who feel more stress in
handling the work than the others.

4. Measures to reduce stress given by employees of different age groups

 DIFFERENT AGES VS MEASURES TO REDUCE
STRESS
120
20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59

100
PERCENTAGE

80

60

40

20

0
1 2 3 4

1.Counselling 2.Job Rotation 3.Relations 4. Recognition

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that the employees of age group 40-49 and 50-59 require
counseling (66%) as they are undergoing more stress, where as employees the age group 20-29 and 30-
39 do not feel the need for counseling (33%).

It has been found that the age group of 30-39 and 40-49 (47%) feel more stress; they insist that job
rotation can be used as one of the measures to reduce stress.

From the above analysis we can say that the age group 40-49 feels that better interpersonal
relationships (47%) can help reduce the stress level, which in turn will improve relationship between
superior and subordinate.

It has been found that the employees of all the different age group have felt recognition of good
work (67%) can also be one of the measures to reduce stress and this is more in age group of 50-59.

5. Perception of employees about stress according to their designations

 DESIGNATION vS STRESS FACTORS
MANAGERS(3) DY.MANAGERS(5) ASST.MANAGERS(5) OFFICERS (17)
90
PERCENTAGE

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3

STRESS FACTORS

1.Work load 2.Meeting Targets 3. Performance Anxiety

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that 80% of officers face more stress than the other managers
because these face more work load and performance anxiety in meeting the targets. From the above
representation we can say that the Managers facing more stress in meeting their targets (71%) than the
Dy. Managers and Asst. Managers.

6.Problems areas identified by employees with different designations

 DESIGNATION VS IDENTIFIED PROBLEM AREAS
MANAGERS(3) DY.MANAGERS(5) ASST.MANAGERS(5) OFFICERS (17)
100
PERCENTAGE

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4

PROBLEM AREAS

1.Health 2. Psychological 3.Interpersonal Relationship 4.Work Itself

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that the Managers, Asst. Managers and Officers are having
more health problems (65%) because there is a direct impact of stress factors like work load,
performance anxiety and meeting targets on health.

The Psychological problems are more marked among Officers and these are equal in Dy.
Managers and Asst. Managers are equally facing same psychological problems

It has been found that managers and officers 35% face fewer problems in interpersonal
relationships than the others.

And finally we can analyze that the Dy. Managers, Asst. Managers and officers are feeling
more stress due to work itself i.e., 90% of problems are due to work itself according to officers and
it 67% of it in Dy. Managers and Asst. Managers. And it is very little in Managers.

7. Suggestions by employees with different designation for changes at work place

 DESIGNATION VS CHANGES AT WORK PLACE
managers dy.managers asst . managers officers

80
PERCENTAGE

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3

CHANGES AT WORK PLACE

1.Timely Targets 2.Distributed Work load 3.Periodic Relaxation

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that over all 60% Officers undergo more stress, hence they
are desirous of changes at work place like timely targets, distributed workload and periodic relaxation
where as 57% Managers prefer more distributed work load and more periodic relaxation &0%. And
the Asst. Managers and Dy. Managers want changes in Periodic relaxation more and less in timely
targets and distributed workload.

8. Measures to reduce stress given by employees with different designation

 HR DEPT. IN IT INDUSTRIES

OPINION OF THE
EMPLOYEES
10%

PREPLANNED
90%

1.Counselling 2.Job Rotation 3.Relations 4. Recognition

INTERPRETATION: it has been found that 70% of those in Officers category feel the need for
counselling, job rotation and recognitions they undergo major stress. On the other hand, Dy.
Managers and Asst. Managers 80% feel that recognition of food work is a good measure of reducing
the stress levels. When the good work is being recognized it provides them motivation,
encouragement’s there by contributing to the high morale and indirectly reducing the stress level.

9. Perception of employees about stress at work place (Graduates & Post-Graduates)

 EDUCATION VS STRESS FACTORS
70 GRADUATES(17) POST GRADUATES(14)
PECENTAGE

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3

STRESS FACTORS

1.Work load 2.Meeting Targets 3. Performance Anxiety

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that 60% of Graduates face more work load than post
graduates 50%, where as 27% of Graduates face problems in meeting targets while it is more in post
Graduates 60%, although there work load is comparatively lower than the graduates.

It has been found that post graduates 675 face more performance anxiety than graduates 33%,
this can be considered as a positive stress of the employees for the organization.
10. Problem areas identified by employees at work place (Graduates & Post-Graduates)

EDUCATION VS IDENTIFIED PROBLEM AREAS

GRADUATES POST GRADUATES
70
PERCENTAGE

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 2 3 4

PROBLEM AREAS

1.Health 2. Psychological 3.Interpersonal Relationship 4.Work Itself

INTEPRETATION: From the above we can analyze that postgraduates 33%, this can be attributed
to more meeting targets and performance anxiety among postgraduates.

It has been found that 65% of the postgraduates face more psychological problems tan the
graduates 35% because of the health disorders among post graduates is high and 66% of the graduates
face problems in work itself as compared to 20% of the post graduates.

The interpersonal relationships problems are more seen more in postgraduates 30% than
compared to 15% of the graduates.
 11. Suggestions by employees for changes at work place (Graduates & post-Graduates)

EDUCATION VS CHANGES AT WORK PLACE

GRADUATES POST GRADUATES
60
PERCENTAGE

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 2 3

CHANGES AT WORK PLACE

1.Timely Targets 2.Distributed Work load 3.Periodic Relaxation

INTERPRETATION: It has been analyzed that 24% of the graduates feel that there should be timely
targets as compared to 18% of postgraduates and 53% of the graduates feel that workload should be
distributed to reduce the stress whereas in case of postgraduates only 36% feel the need for distributed
workload.

And it has been found that 50% of postgraduates need more periodic relaxation compared to
36% of the graduates as the meeting targets is less compared to postgraduates.
12. Measures suggested by employees to reduce stress (Graduates & Post-Graduates)

EDUCATION VS MEASURES TO REDUCE STRESS

60
GRADUATION POST GRADUATES
PERCENTAGE

50

40

30

20

10

0
1 2 3 4
MEASURES TO REDUCE STRESS

1.Counselling 2.Job Rotation 3.Relations 4. Recognition

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that 30% of the graduates require less counseling when
compared to 43% of the postgraduates. There is not a much significant difference between graduates
35% and postgraduates 36% who give equal importance to job rotation. And the interpersonal
relationships are found more in postgraduates 29% than 29% the graduates 24%

It has been found that 53% of graduates feel the need for recognition of god work where as
36% of the postgraduates feel less the necessity for recognition of good work as means to reduce the
stress.

13. Perception of experienced employees about stress

 PERCEPTION OF EXPERIENCED EMPLOYEES
EX>10 YEARS 5-10 YEARS 1-5YEARS
100
PERCENTAGE

80
60
40
20
0
1 2 3

STRESS FACTORS

1.Work load 2.Meeting Targets 3. Performance Anxiety

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that 88% of employees with more than 10 years of
experience are facing more workload when compared to 71% of 5-10 years and 50% 1-5 years.
But employees with more than 10 years of experience are facing less stress in meeting targets as
that of 5-10 years the difference is very minute.

It has been found that the 33% of those having more than 10 years and 1-5 years of experience
face more performance anxiety.
14. Problem areas identified by experienced employees.

EXPERIENCE VS PROBLEM AREAS

90 >10 YEARS 5-10 YEARS 1-5 YEARS
PERCENTAGE

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3 4

PROBLEM AREAS

1.Health 2. Psychological 3.Interpersonal Relationship 4.Work Itself

INTERPRETATION: It has been found that the employees having more than 10 years of
experience (77%) are facing more health problems. And 33% of employees with experience 1-5
years are facing health problems less compare to employees of more than 10 years experience. It
has been found that 28% of Psychological problems are same among the employees who are
having experience of more than10 years and 5-10 years than those of 1-5 years experienced
employees.

They is not a much significant difference between the employees with more than 10 years
experience 22% and 5-10 years experience 25% who are facing equal problems interpersonal
relationships and there are no interpersonal relationships with 1-5 years experience of employees.

57% of employees with experience 5-10 years are facing problems in work itself and it is less
in 10 years experienced employees 44%, and 50% in 1-5 years experienced employees due to
more workload.

15.Suggestions by experienced employees for Changes at their work place.

 EXPERIENCE VS CHANGES AT WORK PLACE
80 >10YEARS 5-10YEARS 1-5YEARS
PERCENTAGE

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1 2 3

CHANGESAT WORK PLACE

1.Timely Targets 2.Distributed Work load 3.Periodic Relaxation

INTERPRETATION: From the above we can analyze that (33%) employees of 1-5 years
equally feel the need for distributed workload and periodic relaxation and these feel there should
be 50% timely targets.

It has been found that 58% employees of 5-10 years experience desired distributed workload
and they want 43% periodic relaxation as they face more work load.
67% of more than 10 years experienced employees desire to distribute workload and 39%
periodic relaxation and 22% feel to have timely targets.

FINDINGS
1. To identify personal factors responsible for causing stress among the executives and to
know whether there exist any commonality of such causes in sample organizations.

2. To analyze the organizational factors (Crucial HRD elements) leading to stress among the
Executives in the sample companies.

3. To study the work related factors creating stress.

4. To ascertain the stress management techniques of the organization.

5. To suggest successful implementation of coping mechanism among the executives of

multinational companies.

6. It has been found that 80% of the employees among the total employees in the organization
are undergoing stress and these are officers and asst. Managers.

7. It has been found that the employees in the age group of 20-29 are facing more health
problems than the higher age headache. This is because the employees of this age are
undergoing more stress compare to higher age group due to factors like work load, meeting
targets and performance anxiety.

8. It is observed that though the employees in the age group of 30-39 are facing stress than the
employees in the age group 40-49. Still they are able to maintain better inter personal
relationship with their peers, subordinates and superiors.

9. It has been found that most of the organization has the opinion to take into consideration the
employees while implementing the stress management techniques taken by the HR dept.
 SUGGESTIONS

Based on the above findings, the following suggestions are recommended to get rid of major
stress problems.

Social and emotional support should be made available to executives. They should be allowed to
maintain close interpersonal relationship with peers, immediate boss, subordinates and family which
would help them to effectively cope with stress. The multinational companies should play a
charismatic role in envisioning, empowering and energizing their executives towards organizational
stress management programmes.

The present study suggests that executives in multinational companies feel that the climate in the
organization is not conducive to efficiency. The work pressure, the executives’ life style, the
mechanical work schedule, all cause executives under heavy psychological pressure. As a result
they have been forced to change their behaviour pattern and this is manifested in negative mental
health.

The executives should be involved in decision making, assigning challenging job with freedom at
work in order to enable them to utilize their skills and expertise more meaningfully. Decision
making by consensus may be encouraged to create synergy.

It is suggested to train the executives in the areas of the latest technology and in higher management.

Appreciation and rewards for achievements and recognition of expertise may be given to enhance
the achievement.

It is suggested to enrich the job content by providing more challenging and innovative work by
reducing the routine job content and job rotation.

It is suggested that the best strategy to overcome stress is listening to music, attending of club, social
activities, balanced diet, exercise, going for walk, yoga and meditation which differentiates
significantly between relatively higher to low level of stress experienced by the executives at the
individual level.

An individual requires special skill to perform multi task simultaneously. One way to minimize
stress while multi-tasking is to plan, prioritize and perform.

It is suggested that the organizational level strategies might include redesigning executives’ jobs,
improving the selection, placement and orientation of new executives, providing executives with
more participation and autonomy in decision making, disseminating information, providing needed
education and training, reducing workloads or the work place, modifying work schedules to be
compatible with demands and responsibilities outside of work, conducting time management
programs, clearly defining work roles, providing opportunities for career development and
providing emotional and task support. Exercise and maintaining a nutrition diet are two of the most
agreed, upon stress management techniques. Organizations can help executives by providing
information and access to physical recreation facilities or equipment by either establishing on-site
facilities or provide memberships to local health clubs. One type of organizational stress
management program available is to provide executives with access to an employee assistance
programme, a corporate psychologist, a toll-free hotline, or some other form of counseling
assistance. These programs can deal with a variety of problems that range from learning to cope to
dealing with substance abuse.

At the organizational level, it is suggested to formulate preventive and remedial strategies to keep
executives away from the exposure of all types of stress. In this connection provision should be
made for planned breaks, in between normal working schedule hours to re-energize their executives
and to get rid off monotonous routine work.

It is suggested that programs should be implemented in stages. If all aspects of a program are
implemented at one time and parts of the program fail, executives will lose faith in the program and
in management. This will be another cause of anxiety and stress for the employee. Help executives
keep a positive perspective on life and feel a sense of purpose. It is important for executives to feel
that they are making a valuable contribution to the organization.

Hence stress can be reduced or minimized only if the cause is correctly identified and if executives
adopt the stress management techniques regularly.

It is always better to remember that:

Exercise + Proper diet + Rest = Health.

High achievers always develop the right attitude and life style needed for success.
 CONCLUSION
Mechanical organizational life of the executives aggravates stress and subsequently ends at
psychological and physiological problems. The executives suffer from the notorious effects of
stress viz. eye problem, headaches, irritability, hypertension, ulcer, heart disease, etc.

It is concluded that the management policies, employee potential, organizational development

prevailing in the select multinational companies create huge dimension of stress among the
executives. The prevailing scenario of the performance appraisal system is the main cause in
creating stress among the executives.

The vigorous training programmes, interpersonal relationship and executive development

programmes and their methodology followed by multinational companies are highly conspicuous
in causing stress among the executives in the organization.

Research clearly concluded that organizational set up is the pre dominant factor causing stress
among the executives. Stress is emerged out through physical, psychological and emotional
responses of the executives. In particular the executive in multinational companies are able to realize
that the psychological changes, reduction in the mental capabilities and lack of individual
efficiencies are negative symptoms of the stress caused by the organizational environment.

The coping mechanism existing among the executives and stress management techniques
implemented by the organizations are essential to prevent stress among the executives.

Regress practice of yoga and conducive interpersonal relationship and building confidence among
the executives in multinational companies are found highly significant among the executives in
preventing stress in multinational companies.

Besides the organizational factors, the personal factors and individual perspective are also vital
among the executives in causing stress in the working environment. In particular gender,
responsibilities, influence of age, work life balance, are significant in creating stress among the
executives of multinational companies.
SOCIAL RELEVANCE:

1) This study is able to measure stress among the executives of multinational companies. This
leads to ensure the society a stress free atmosphere among the families and also to possess
good health to build a strong future generation.

2) The HRD practices in the organizations develop leadership comradeship and sportive spirit
among the executives.

3) The psychological build up, make them more impeccable in the behavior towards all types
of people in the society. The learning process, career development and skill development
assures the internal potentiality of executives which in turn builds confidence among
executives to lead a wealthy and healthy life in the prevailing society.

SCOPE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH :

A comparative study of stress management in public and Private Sector Company can be
made.

A further study can be carried out on the relationship between stress management and
organizational development.

The impact of stress management techniques over human resource development practices
could be made in future.

LIMITATIONS

The responses given may be biased and depend upon the age, experience and the Industry
and its workload.

Data collected cannot be asserted to be free from errors as the sample size is small.

In spite of taking all the necessary precautions and measures, there is a chance in
occurrence of minor errors due to the lack of experience on the part of Researcher.
 RECOMMENDATIONS

What can organizations do to support all levels of management and ensure healthy and effective
leadership? The following may apply:

Work Analysis

Review workload, workflow processes, and manager-direct report ratios to ensure that
managerial staff is able to maintain work-life balance.

Validated Selection Systems

Implement selection systems that yield the highest quality candidates for supervisory, managerial
and executive positions. Competency-based assessment centers are the most valid method of
assessment and selection for these positions.

Development Centers

Conduct development centers with current managers and executives based on leadership
competencies that are associated with high performance. The results could feed into self- directed
action plans that target opportunities for development. Some executives, for example, are prone to
the 'success trap' and over-rely on strengths and past successes.

360-Degree Feedback Surveys

Conduct 360-degree feedback surveys. These are a great way for leaders to learn their
opportunities for development from the perspectives of others. Leaders are often reluctant to admit
their limitations and sometimes have difficulty receiving constructive criticism. It if often difficult
for leaders to dismiss the feedback of multiple observers - especially trusted colleagues. Although
360-degree feedback has been branded as 'faddish', emerging research supports its validity.
Emotional Intelligence Training

Ensure that managerial staff are selected or developed for emotional intelligence (EI). EI is the
ability to regulate one's emotions and the emotions of others. Leaders with high EI relate to others
in a consistent manner with mutual satisfaction and helpfulness. They tend to have higher levels
of positive affect and life satisfaction. Managers who are higher on EI are also more productive on
the job. Research on stress awareness and management has shown positive outcomes from
developmental training. When interventions are aimed at developing knowledge of stress liabilities
and coping skills, managers show improvement in psychological symptoms, health habits, stress
responses, and life satisfaction. Developing introspection around stress and emotions, especially,
has been implicated with successful stress management for managers and executives. This allows
them to openly assess capabilities in these areas and provide insights into their organizational
successes and failures.

Executive Coaching
For organizations interested in taking a proactive approach to the capacity building of their leaders,
executive coaching may be helpful. Through a process of assessment and evaluation, coaching
identifies individual strengths, opportunities, and issues. Development plans help define outcomes,
initiate priority setting, and identify supports for the client. Those individuals who have gone
through executive coaching are more successful at targeting and improving necessary work-related
competencies. They leave with stronger abilities to balance work-life, address communication
problems, and deal with issues of self-confidence in times of organizational stress.

Employee Surveys

Encourage supervisors, managers, and executives to complete employee surveys along with the
rest of staff.. This will help organizations to pinpoint the unique stressors and issues confronted by
these groups. Specifically, crosstab the responses of different demographic groups described above
to understand what is driving their health and well- being (e.g., male supervisors and managers
who are 30 years of age or over, working full- time, with five or more years of service).
Research on Executive Health and Performance
Partner with research organizations to conduct more studies on the causes and outcomes of
executive stress. There is currently a dearth of work in this area. What does exist tends to be
psychoanalytic in nature and of limited practical value for modern organizations. One
promising avenue comes from the greater use of employee surveys with executives.
Companies such as Warren Shepell are seeking to partner with organizations to survey the
triggers that exist within the senior ranks and correlate these with important health and
performance outcomes. What is especially helpful in this regard is the inclusion of mental
health content on employee surveys. This is a direction that employee surveys are currently
taking and one that is embraced by Warren Shepell. In closing, Warren Shepell issues a bold
challenge to organizations to openly accept and address the reality that supervisors,
managers and executives may not be leading optimally due to physical and mental health
limitations. When carefully managed, this reality does not have to undermine the authority
or credibility of leaders. When leaders accept and address their personal problems, they are
aligned with emerging perspectives on humble and modest leadership. From the standpoint
of employee and organizational performance, leaders who lack a strong foundation of
physical and mental health are leading on proverbial 'feet of clay'.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

 Mathews, R.A. Diaz W.M & Cole, The organizational stress and effects; Personnel review
2003.
 Schuler, Randall S, Personnel & HR management 3rd edition 1987.
 Uma Sekaran ; Research Methodology for business, John Wiley and Sons Inc ,Singapore 2003.
 Arora P.M. “Statistics for Management” S Chand and company ltd,Delhi,2003.
 Kothari CR “Research methodology”, Wiswa Prakasham, New Delhi, 2001.

Websites:

 www.humanresources.com
 www.1000ventures.com
 www.citehr.com
 www.innovations.com
 www.indiachannel.com
 ANNEXURE

1. What is the Perception of Employees of Different age groups about Stress?

a) workload
b) meeting target
c) performance anxiety

2. What are Problem areas identified by employees of different ages?

a) health

b) psychological

c) interpersonal relationship

d) work itself

3. What suggestions given by the employees of different ages for changes at work place?

a) timely targets

b) distributed workload

c) periodic relaxation

4. what are the measures given by the employees to reduce stress?

a) counselling

b) job rotation

c) relations

d) recognition
5. what are the perceptions of employees about stress according to their designations?

a) work load

b) meeting targets

c) performance anxiety

6. in which areas the problems are identified by the employees with different designations?

a) health

b) interpersonal relationship

c) work itself

d) psychological

7. what suggestions given by employees with different designations for changes at work
place?

a) timely targets

b) distributed

c) workload

d) periodic relax

8. what measures are given by employees to reduce stress?

a) counselling

b) job rotation

c) relations

d) recognition
9. what are the perceptions of employees about stress of employees about stress at work place
(Graduates & Post graduates)?

a) workload

b) meeting targets

c) performance anxiety

10. what problems are identified by employees at work place (Graduates & Post graduates)?

a) health

b) psychological

c) interpersonal relations

d) work itself

11. what are the suggestions of the employees for changes at work place (Graduates & Post
graduates)?

a) timely targets

b) distributed workload

c) periodic relaxation

12. what suggestions given by employees to reduce stress (Graduates & Post graduates)?

a) counselling

b) job rotation

c) relations

d) recognition

13. what are the perceptions of experience employees about stress?

 a) workload

b) meeting targets

c) performance anxiety

14. what are the problems identified by experienced employees?

a) health

b) psychological

c) interpersonal relationship

d) work itself

15. what are the suggestions given by experienced employees for changes at their work
place?

a) timely targets

b) distributed workload

c) periodic relaxation