Impact of Stress on Performance and Management

Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for 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. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 13. Acknowledgement Declaration Introduction Objective Introduction Literature Review Research Methodology Data analysis Findings Conclusion Recommendations Limitations References Questionnaire 1 2-4 5 6 7-22 23 24 25 26 27 28-32 TOPIC PAGE NO. I II

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 to conduct 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

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

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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.

INTRODUCTION
Creating a high performance organization is a popular theme in the training and development field. To survive in these competitive times, companies can't afford 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 persons perception of the situation The persons 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: 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.
1.

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.
2.

Organizational factors, which include workload, role conflicts, uncertainty, relation at work, career prospects, organizational climate, lack of cooperation, promotion, training, counseling and appraisal.
3.

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.
4.

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 persons 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 primary sources 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. The Social and Interpersonal: The Interpersonal relationships, teamwork, contribution to the community and earning power are amongst the social factors that can be damaged.
b)

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.
c)

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.
d)

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.

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 employees job satisfaction. According to (Rose ,2003) employees have tendency towards high level of stress regarding 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.

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 at informational 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.

Analysis

1)

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

40

36

AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL

47

DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

13

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.

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

D .2 ig
9 AGREE 23 43 STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISGREE 19

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.

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

D .3 ig
12 25 AGREE 16 STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREEE 15 32 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.

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.

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5) I dont have the information I need for my work.

D .5 ig
16 12 7 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL 27 38 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.

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

D .6 ig
8 20 29 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE 26 17 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.

D .7 ig
10 22 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE 33 16 NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE 19

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.

D .8 ig
8 2 27 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE 31 NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE 32

Interpretation: As the instructions are not fully provided they feel difficulties in taking decisions which decreases their morale.

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9) I get very nervous when I didnt meet Organizational requirements in job.

D .9 ig
9 22 AGREE 22 STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL 16 DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE 31

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.

D . 10 ig
13 24 AGREE 20 14 STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

29

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.

D . 11 ig
12 33 20 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE 16 19

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.

D . 12 ig
10 23 AGREE 21 STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL 17 DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

29

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.

D . 13 ig
12

13

35

AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

19 21

Interpretation: As employees dont 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.

D . 14 ig
14

24 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DIS AGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

36 12

14

Interpretation: Research found that many of the employees were disagreed that they have fun once in a week as they dont get the off on weekends because of the over burden of works.

20

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

D .15 ig
8 12 38 AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL 18 DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE 24

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

D .1 ig 6
10 31 19

AGREE STRONGLY AGREE NEUTRAL DISAGREE STRONGLY DISAGREE

13 27

Interpretation: 31% employees were agreed that they feel themselves as the part of the organization as they are given the authorities to take decisions.

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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 required information 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 didnt try to do any innovations to enhance their knowledge.

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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 working efficiency can be heavily influenced by the stress at work. Since employees working efficiency determines the organizations 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 employees 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, its worthy of being emphasized that stress management is not a oncefor-all project, but a systematic and dynamic process, which should be deeply rooted in organization culture and management routine

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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.

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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 and every 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.

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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, 1921.

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.

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Questionnaire

I) Personal Profile. 1. Name: 2. Gender 3. Age : : Male below 25 yr 40 above Female 25-40 yrs

4. Martial Status 5. Designation II) 1)

: Married :

Unmarried

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 dont 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 didnt 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

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