Journal of Exclusive Management Science October 2016 - Vol 5 Issue 10 ISSN 2277-5684

Job stress and Burnout in Career Satisfaction with relevance to the Information Technology
sector
*Ms. Coral Barboza
Research Scholar, Tumkur University
Abstract
Burnout occurs when professionals use different techniques and strategies to accomplish a task which
often proves to be ineffective in work-related stress. The statements such as work overload, no growth,
lack of development and no appreciation for hard work, others taking credit for the work one has done
under-challenged and worn-out subtypes, respectively, comprise a brief typological summary of
burnout. The aim of the present study was examine the impact of job stress and burnout on75 white-collar
employees in an IT sector in Mangalore. Research studies focused on the impact of stress only on
psychological strains such as burnout and job and life satisfaction, the current study also examined a
behavioural strain and job satisfaction. The employees completed questionnaires which focused on job
stress, burnout and its relation to job satisfaction. The findings show that the perceived job stress and
burnout as predicted, replicating findings that work productivity diminishes as the level of job stress
increases. Job satisfaction is got only when the perks, benefits and better facilities are associated with
the rewards.
Keywords: Job Stress, Burnout, Job satisfaction, Employee strain, Organisational factors.
Introduction
The words stress and burnout have been defined in a variety of ways (ODriscoll and Brough, 2003).
Stress has been defined as the result of a relationship with the environment that the person appraises
as significant for his or her well-being, and in which demands tax or exceed available coping resources.
The ever-increasing demand for client-centred services in a highly cutthroat business setting has
resulted in a significant increase in the number IT companies globally. With rising globalization causing
an increase in competition, work pressures are higher than ever (Nixon, 1992). Employees are faced
with a number of pressures from within the organization in which they work. The majority of people in
developed and developing countries now live in cities and are formally or informally linked to
workplaces where most of their productive lives are spent. Studies have shown the importance of work
stressors both in the generation and prevention of stressors, but there is still a lack of stress coping
policies and interventions that effectively improve workers mental health and prevent stressors. The
effects of stress in the IT sector have a negative impact not only on the employees but also on the
economic costs of the organization. Selye the father of stress research developed the theory that
stress is a major cause of disease because chronic stress causes long term chemical changes. He
observed that body would respond to any external biological source of stress with a predictable
biological pattern in an attempt to restore the bodys internal homeostasis. The initial hormonal
reaction is your fight or flight stress response. The process of the bodys struggle to maintain balance
termed the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). General, because the symptoms are non-specific.
Adaptation, because the reactions help one to face the changed situation. Syndrome, since they tend to
occur as a cluster which can be differentiated from other symptomatic clusters.
Job Burnout
According to Lee and Ashforth (1996), burnout has been the most widely studied correlate of job stress.
Defined as a psychological strain resulting from continuous exposure to chronic daily stressors,
burnout is an experience of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion accompanied by deterioration of
performance and negative attitudes towards ones self and others (Etzion, 1986; Freudenberger, 1980;
Pines et al., 1981). Maslach (1982) conceptualized burnout as a three-dimensional experience that
includes emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Shirom
(1989) in his extensive review of the burnout phenomenon concludes that exhaustion is the most
important dimension underlying burnout. Role stress has been shown to increase emotional exhaustion
(Lee and Ashforth, 1993). Changes in what an individual wants and what he/she should do or, in other
words, significant disharmonies between job nature and job owner's nature lead into burnout (Maslach
& Leiter, 2005). As a metaphor, burnout points the quench of candle or a fire; if the fire does not receive
adequate resources, it will be quenched after a while (Schaufiel et al., 2009). The exhaustion
component represents the basic individual stress dimension of burnout. It refers to feelings of being

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Journal of Exclusive Management Science October 2016 - Vol 5 Issue 10 ISSN 2277-5684

overextended and depleted of ones emotional and physical resources (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter
2001).
Burnout basically is a three dimensional syndrome of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization of
others and perception of reduced Personal Accomplishment. The concept of burnout has received
considerable attention from both systematic researchers as well as the news media. The use of the term
burnout began to appear with some regularity in the 1970s in the United States, but the importance of
burnout as a social problem was identified by both practitioners and social commentators long before it
became a focus of systematic study of researchers. The term burnout was derived at first as nonscholarly pop psychology and this non-academic origin was more of the liability than an advantage,
but given the subsequent development of theoretical models and numerous empirical studies, there
emerged a conceptualization of job burnout as a psychological syndrome in response to chronic
interpersonal stressors on the job.
More recently Miller and Smith (2007) have described five stages of burnout. According to them the
potential for burnout increases dramatically depending on, who you are, where you work and what your
job is. Burnout proceeds by stages that blend and merge into one another so smoothly and
imperceptibly that the victim seldom realizes what happened even after its over. These stages include:
1. The honeymoon stage: During the honeymoon phase one is delighted and highly satisfied with the
job, co-workers and the organization.
2. The Awakening stage: During this stage, the honeymoon stage wanes away and the awakening stage
starts with the realization that ones initial expectations were unrealistic. One is unable to satisfy all the
needs; where the co- workers and the organization are less than perfect; and rewards and recognition
are scarce. As a result disillusionment and disappointment grows. Although one works harder but
working harder does not change the system and one becomes increasingly tired, bored and frustrated.
At this point one starts loosing self-confidence.
3. Brownout: As brownout begins, the early enthusiasm and energy give way to chronic fatigue and
irritability. Ones eating and sleeping patterns change and may indulge in escapist behaviours such as
absenteeism, drinking, drugs, partying or shopping. One becomes indecisive and least productive. If not
corrected brownout slides into later stages such as depersonalization and lack of personal
accomplishment.
4. Full Scale Burnout: During this stage unless one wakes up and interrupts the process or someone
intervenes, brownout drifts remorselessly into full- scale burnout. Despair is the dominant feature of
this final stage. This may take several months, but in most cases it involves three to four years.
5. The Phoenix Phenomenon: One can arise like a Phoenix, but it takes time. First of all one needs to
rest and relax and readjust aspirations and goals for themselves.
Stress Vs Burnout
Burnout is chronic and has specific behavioural indicators. Stress is not chronic, but it can be. Stress
does not necessarily produce increased emotional exhaustion, increased depersonalization, and
decreased personal accomplishment as burnout produces Glazer & Gyurak (2008). Burnout may be the
result of unrelenting stress, but it is not the same as too much of stress. In Burnout a person feels
empty, lack of motivation, ideals and depression and feels that no one cares for him/her. When stress is
characterized by over engagement, burnout is characterized by disengagement. Emotions shown during
stress are over reactive, but during burnout emotions are blunted. Selye, H., (1956) Prior research has
shown that the primary damage in stress is physical and in burnout is emotional. People experiencing
burnout often do not perceive any hope of positive change in their situations. Stress leads to anxiety
disorders; whereas burnout leads to paranoia, detachment and depression. It takes several months to
recognize the symptoms of burnout. The knockout punch comes from a combination of exhaustion and
cynicism resulting in a sense of inadequacy that saps a persons strength and spirit. If stress continues
to operate at full scale for an extended period of time, there is an increased risk of burnout.
Importance of the study
The Information Technology sector has brought about a total revolution in the working of the Indian
economy, in all areas of business and non-business spheres, products and services creating multiple
benefits such as employment opportunities, generating wealth and significant foreign exchange,
increasing the standard of living of the employees and driving positive mass social changes. Software

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Journal of Exclusive Management Science October 2016 - Vol 5 Issue 10 ISSN 2277-5684

industry in India is today one of the top agenda of Indias progress. It is an instrument and a model for
the modernization of the Indian economy. This study will help select the IT organizations by depicting
various practices for building proper organizational culture so as to have less job stress/burnout
employees. It will enable the respondents to look into their stress/burnout symptoms and behavioural
practices of all concerned parties in the organization from another perspective. It will be relevant to the
academic sector as it will add to the body of knowledge which will be helpful for future research.
Objectives of the Study
Keeping in view the general nature of the job profile of employees in the IT sector the present study was
undertaken with these objectives in mind- To study the relationship between Job stress and burnout in
the IT sector.
Methodology:
The scope of the study encompasses the employees who belong to different IT sectors in the city of
Mangalore where the sample size of respondents were limited to 75. The sample was based on the
availability of the respondents. Since the study was focused on white collared employees, the sampling
method used is non-probability sampling method. The non-probability sampling method used in this
study was convenience sampling-that a group of individuals who are available for the study. The
primary data were collected from the IT employees with the help of a structured questionnaire. The
secondary data related to stress, burnout and the working conditions of the Information technology
sector were collected from books, journals, web portal, websites and from the employees working in IT
field at Mangalore city. The survey instrument used for the study was questionnaire. A structured
questionnaire was used in order to elicit adequate responses from the respondents. The questionnaire
employed consists of 20 questions which speaks about factors like reasons for work stress,
organizational stress factors, personal stress factors, health stress, environmental stress, psychological
stress, emotional stress, impact of work stress on employees, and on family. The data collected is
analyzed and presented using simple statistical tools. Percentages of responses for each question are
analyzed and presented. The scope of the study takes into consideration:
Analysing the various stressors that hinder the employee performance.
Maintaining cordial relationships between superiors and subordinates; individuals and groups in the
organization.
Providing maximum possible opportunities for personal development of each employee.

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Journal of Exclusive Management Science October 2016 - Vol 5 Issue 10 ISSN 2277-5684

Findings of the Study

Table 1: Demographic characteristics of the selected respondents in the IT sector
Category of the
respondents

Gender
Age

Marital status

Income
(per
annum in Rs.)

Total no of years
of service

Employment
spouse

of

Demographic variable

Frequency

Percentage

N=75
Male

49

65

Female

26

35

Young (<35 years)

16

21

Middle (35-50 yrs)

36

48

Old(> 50years)

23

31

Unmarried

11

15

Married

28

37

Widow

10

13

<3,00,000

09

12

3,00,000-5,00,000

21

28

5,00,000-10,00,000

32

43

>10,00,000

13

17

< 2 years

19

25

2-5 years

31

41

>5 years

25

33

Un employed

11

15

Semi professional

19

25

Professional

45

60

The demographic characteristics of respondents presented in table 1 indicated that, majority of the
respondents were male (65%). Further it was evident that majority of the respondents (48%) are middle
aged i.e, between the ages of 35-50 years. Marital status depict that maximum percentage of the
respondents (37%) are married. Table 1 also deals with the information regarding income of the
respondent, current job period and employment of the spouse. The employees tenure in an organization
also has influence on employee job performance. It is also observed that experienced employees are also
vulnerable to stress.
Stressors affecting work performance in IT Sector
Following are the statements used to evaluate the responses from the respondents. The respondents
had to choose from four options that were given- Never, Often, Rarely and Always. The analysis shows
the number of respondents who face stress always.

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Journal of Exclusive Management Science October 2016 - Vol 5 Issue 10 ISSN 2277-5684

Table 2: Stressors affecting work performance in IT Sector

Sl.
No

Statements

Always

Percentage

I enjoy my work in my workplace

21

28

I feel tired and drained of my physical/emotional energy at

the end of the day due to my work

42

56

I feel stressed about being underpaid or undervalued in my

work

29

39

I take unplanned leaves due to stress

23

31

My job affects my personal/family life

28

37

I feel there has been a change in my appetite since I have

started working, of late

33

44

I have enough time to complete my work in a very

productive manner

09

12

I feel that the work I do does not match my ability/skills

23

31

I feel that
performance

work

42

56

10

I get frustrated/angry when I cannot complete my work

within the specified deadlines

35

47

11

I frequently think of changing my job

39

52

12

I feel that I am never given the recognition for the work I do

at my workplace

27

36

13

I am under continuous pressure to complete my work

52

69

14

I get the required kind of support I need from my

superiors/subordinates/peers

18

24

15

I feel that I am achieving less than mycapabilities

45

60

16

I get easily irritated by small problems, or by the behaviour

of my co-workers/team

32

43

17

My workplace environment is conducive for my work

12

16

18

I have the required security/feel safe at my workplace

16

21

19

I experience mood swings, difficulty making decisions,

concentration and memory is impaired

57

76

20

I find I have a greater dependency on alcohol, caffeine,

nicotine or drugs

47

63

organisational

politics

affects

my

From the above findings it can be observed that only 28% of the respondents enjoy their workplace,
56% feel tired and drained of their physical/emotional energy at the end of the day due to work, 39%
feel stressed about being underpaid or undervalued, 31% take unplanned leaves due to stress, 37% of
respondents feel their job affects personal/family life, 44% of respondents feel of late there has been a
change in appetite since they have started working, 12% have enough time to complete their work in a
very productive manner, 31% feel that the work they do does not match their abilities/skills, 56% feel
that organisational politics affects their work performance, 47% get frustrated/angry when they cannot
complete work within their specified deadlines, 52% frequently think of changing their job, 36% feel
they are never given the recognition for the work they do, 69% feel they are under continuous pressure
to complete work, 24% respondents get the required kind of support they need from
superiors/subordinates/peers 24% feel they are achieving less than their actual capabilities, 43% get

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Journal of Exclusive Management Science October 2016 - Vol 5 Issue 10 ISSN 2277-5684

easily irritated by small problems, or by the behaviour of their co-workers/team, 16% feel that their
workplace environment is conducive for their work, only 21% feel they have the required security/feel
safe at their workplace, 76% experience mood swings, difficulty in making decisions, concentration and
memory is impaired and 63% respondents find they have a greater dependency on alcohol, caffeine,
nicotine or drugs.
Thus, from the above analysis, it can be concluded that most of the respondents are prone to high level
of stress showing many traits of unhealthy behaviour and some respondents are at the risk of burnout
under some factors. Adequate social support measures need to be taken to combat stress related
problems to retain talent and ensure steady organisational growth.
Conclusion:
The present study concludes that, in the age of highly dynamic and competitive world, every person is
exposed to all kinds of, different levels of stressors that affect him/her in all walks of life. This
research was intended to study the work stress among the employees working in IT sectors in
employees in the Mangalore city. Results of the study does not tend towards one direction, meaning
that for some variables among employees in the company are more affected whereas for other
variables is more affected employees in the other company, but overall IT sector is found to be more
stressful. From this research the most stressing factor is the nature of their job where 76% of the
respondents experience mood swings, difficulty making decisions, concentration and memory is
impaired due to their work followed by various other factors mentioned above. The environment and
organizational factors are less significant compared to personal health and psychological among the
employee stress in the IT sector. Thus, it is concluded from the study that the stress level is same for
the employees of IT companies but only one or two factors can cause differences in result.
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