people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being.

Transcription

1 An Empirical study on Job Stress and its impact on health workers in Private Hospitals at Tiruchirappalli, South India Dr.C.Muthu Velayutham MBA., M.Phil, Ph.D Associate Professor Management Studies Anna University, Coimbatore Co- Author Name (Corresponding author): D.Chandru MBA., M.Phil Associate Professor Management Studies Sudharshan Engineering College, Pudukottai Abstract Stress may be referred to as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. In this study the researcher s wants to know the various factors that cause stress to health workers in private hospitals at Tiruchirappalli. Primary data was collected by the researcher with the help of structured questionnaire administered to the health workers in two leading private hospitals at Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu. 128 employees from those organizations constitute the sample size. Simple Random Sampling using lottery method was adopted to select the respondents. 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. To test the reliability of the data collected, the researcher used cronbach s Alpha test and the value is which shows that the data has satisfactory reliability and validity. Using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) some of the relevant tests were carried out like factor analysis and reliability test. Based on the test result some of the major finding will be derived that will be significant and relevant to identify the factors that causes stress among health workers and means to overcome it. Keywords: Stress, Health workers, performance, work load COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 367

2 INTRODUCTION Job life is one of the important parts of our daily lives which cause a great deal of stress. Due to the competitive nature of the job environment most of the people in the world are spending their time for job related work purposes resulting ignore the stressor those are influencing their work and life. Usually people are more worried about their outcome of their work that can even affect the way they treat other people and how they communicate with their peers and customers. Stress may be referred to as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being. The word stress means different things to different people. Some people define stress as events or situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure, or negative emotions such as anxiety and anger. Others view stress as the response to these situations. This response includes physiological changes such as increased heart rate and muscle tension as well as emotional and behavioral changes. However, most psychologists regard stress as a process involving a person s interpretation and response to a threatening event. Women constituting nearly half (46%) of today's work force, researchers are starting to identify occupational stress and health risks that are unique to women. Prolonged exposure to a stressful working condition may lead to illness or disease. Stress can cause acute psychological, behavioral, or physical reactions that can eventually lead to illness, such as depression and coronary heart disease. Occupation stress can come from working conditions themselves, such as overload, poor interpersonal relations and physical working conditions, as well as from job-related factors like discrimination, lack of opportunity for advancement, and boredom. Both men and women face many of these stressors, but working women also face unique difficulties that can cause additional stress. Sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and the pressures of combining work and family put particular stress on working women. This research noted that in 1997, women still earned only 79% of what men earned, and that even after taking into account education, experience, and other career factors, men and women still differed significantly in salary and managerial levels. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 368

3 LITERATURE REVIEW Stress is the excitement, feeling of anxiety, and/or physical tension that occurs when the demands placed on an individual are thought to exceed his ability to cope. This most common view of stress is often called distress or negative stress. The physical or Psychological demands from the environment that cause this condition are called Stressors. (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2004).Occupational stress, in particular, is the inability to cope with the pressure in a job (Ross, 2005) because of a poor fit between someone s abilities and work requirement and conditions (Holmlund-Rytkonen and Strandvik, 2005). A stressor, on the other hand, is considered to be a condition or situation that elicits a negative response such as anger, frustration, anxiety or tension (Rajeswari & Anantharaman, 2003). Pressure ultimately causes the stress that leads to different types of strain and finally hampers the performance of the employees. Stress, not just affects the efficiency of the employees, but also causes ailment and other physical or emotional problems as well (Singh, 2003). A study in UK indicated that the majority of the workers were unhappy with the current culture where they were required to work extended hours and cope with large workloads while simultaneously meeting production targets and deadlines (Townley, 2000).Several studies have highlighted the deleterious consequences of high workloads or work overload. According to Wilkes et al. (1998) work overloads and time constraints were significant contributors to work stress among BPO. According to Atkinson stress occurs when one is faced with events or encounters that they perceive as an endangerment to their physical or psychological well being (as sited in McGowan, 2001). Additionally stress levels will increase when controllability and predictability in a situation decrease. There is an inverse relationship between stress and job satisfaction, as stress goes up, job satisfaction falls. As a result this increased stress could commonly results in decreased job satisfaction and decreased quality of life. This could potentially contribute to nurses leaving the profession and as an end consequence, account for the current nursing shortage. The cause of stress for nurses has found to be related to the nature of the profession. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 369

4 Included in these stressors are an intense work environment with extended work hours, weekends, night and holidays. According to Ruggiero (2003) stress could be related to variables of shift work, which is both physically and mentally taxing. This study also found varying degrees of depression in nurses ranging from mild to severe. Finally this study revealed that nurses were indifferent and disconnected to the job by feeling either satisfied or unsatisfied with the work. Results such as these expose how large a problem stress is for the profession of nursing. A factor of the intense emotional support that is needed for the patient and family is yet another burden of stress placed on nurse. In addition, exposures to pain, suffering and traumatic life events that the nurse experience on a daily basis can contribute to stress (Cohen-Katz, Capuano, Baker, & Shapiro, 2005). These concerns can lead to emotional exhaustion for nurses. The lack of organizational support and involvement, which are outside of the control of nurses, can greatly affect job satisfaction (McGowan, 2001). There is also a lack of control and power in an environment predominantly controlled by physicians. These stressors can contribute to psychological exhaustion and increased stress. Research Question To know the various factors that causes stress to health workers in private hospitals at Tiruchirappalli Hypothesis There is a relationship among the factors that influences the job stress among health workers COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 370

5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Primary data was collected by the researcher with the help of structured questionnaire administered to the health workers in two leading private hospitals at Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu. 128 employees from those organizations constitute the sample size. Simple Random Sampling using lottery method was adopted to select the respondents. 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. To test the reliability of the data collected, the researcher used cronbach s Alpha test and the value is which shows that the data has satisfactory reliability and validity. Using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) some of the relevant tests were carried out like factor analysis and reliability test. RELIABILITY STATISTICS An examination had been made from the reliability of the data to check whether random error causing inconsistency and in turn lower reliability is at a manageable level or not by running reliability test. From the table no 1 it is clear that values of coefficient alpha obtained was.835 this shows data has satisfactory internal consistency reliability. Insert Table 1 here Factor analysis KMO AND BARTLETT S TEST The individual statement of a study on the factors that influence the stress of health workers in private hospital was examined using factor analysis based on 30 individual statements and the reliability of the samples collected was tested for internal consistency of the grouping of the items. Insert Table 2 here KMO measures of sampling adequate is an index to examine the appropriateness of factor analysis high values between.5 and 1.0 indicate factor analysis is appropriate values below 0.5 imply that factor analysis may not be appropriate. From the table it is seen that Kaiser-Meyer- Olkin measure of sampling adequacy index.648 and hence the factor analysis is appropriate for COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 371

6 the given data set. Bartlett s test of sphericity is used to examine the hypothesis that the variables are uncorrelated.it is based on chi-square transformation of the determinant of correlation matrix. A large value of the test statistic will favor the rejection of the null hypothesis. In turn this would indicate that factor analysis is appropriate. Bartlett s test of Sphericity chi-square statistics is , that shows the 30 statements are correlated and hence as inferred in KMO, factor analysis is appropriate for the given data set. Insert Table 3 here Inference 8 components are extracted interpretation of factors is facilitated by identifying the statements that have large loadings in the same factor. The factor can be interpreted in terms of the statement that leads high on it. The factors that influence the stress of health workers comprises of 30 individual statements. Out of 30 factors, 8 individual factors influences the stress more, the factors are, 1. Over workload (workload) 2. I get depressed when I get hurted (depression) 3. Work under considerable tension (tension) 4. My boss scold me for minor mistake (boss) 5. Abusive verbal or written comments are used at me (Abusive comment) 6. Less Salary 7. Unable to prosper in job career ( no proper career ladder) 8. Night Shifts Conclusion Stress can be a reaction to a short-lived situation, such as being stuck in traffic. Stress becomes dangerous when it interferes with your ability to live a normal life over an extended period. You may feel tired, unable to concentrate or irritable. Stress can also damage your COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 372

7 physical health. In this study it is found out that work load, depression, superiors, salary, shift timings and no properly defined career ladder are some of the factors that causes stress among the health workers in private hospitals. So, active stress management should be planned and implemented to reduce the level of stress in employees. When your job is stressful, it can feel like it's taking over your life. Try to maintain perspective. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 373

8 References Ball, Ron. "Workplace Stress Sucks $300 Billion Annually From Corporate Profits." Customer Interaction Solutions 23, no. 5 (November 2004): 62. Cooper, Cary L., and Roy Payne. Stress at Work. John Wiley & Sons, Frost, Peter J., Walter R. Nord, and Linda A. Krefting. HRM Reality: Putting Competence in Context. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Gunch, D. "Employees Exercise to Prevent Injuries." Personnel Journal, July 1993, Jex, Steve M. Stress and Job Performance: Theory, Research and Implications for Managerial Practice. SAGE Publications, Kleiman, L.S. Human Resource Management: A Tool for Competitive Advantage. Cincinnati: South-Western College Publishing, Newell, Sue. Creating the Healthy Organization: Well-Being, Diversity and Ethics at Work. Thomson Learning, Cincinnati, D. John Davis, stress symptoms, symptoms.htm. K.Akshay, Job Stress, Madhup Johri, Introduction to Stress Management. management.htm Steve Myers, Stress Management, R.Lakshminarayanan, Dr. Janet Cahill, COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 374

9 Annexure Table 1: Cronbach s Alpha Cronbach's Alpha N of Items Table 2 KMO and Bartlett's Test Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy..648 Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx.Chi-square Df 435 Sig..000 Table 3 Rotated Component Matrix (a) Factors Unable to prosper in job career Component Being Neglected Work under considerable tension Difficulty in concentrating on work Over workload Emotionally drained from work Not able to think clearly My boss scold me for minor mistake Difficult to take decision I feel nervous when i didn't meet organisation requirements I usually come out ahead This job made my life cumbersome Thought of suicide never crossed in my mind COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 375

10 Rarely explain things and apologize I get depressed when I get hurted My routine work changes due to working in night shifts I have frequent headache during work I forget things easily I feel losing my weight I become restless I am proud to tell where I work I feel myself to be part of the organization I feel to move from this company The company should change in some perspective I get less salary in comparison of my workload I was given derogatory, demeaning or humiliating remarks Offensive or patronizing language is used at me Some one is unnecessarily touching me Abusive verbal or written comments are used at me I get offensive s Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. a Rotation converged in 16 iterations. COPY RIGHT 2012 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 376