A STUDY ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AMONG WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR, COIMBATORE CITY, TAMILNADU.

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1 A STUDY ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AMONG WOMEN EMPLOYEES IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SECTOR, COIMBATORE CITY, TAMILNADU. Ms. T. S. JANANI Part time Research Scholar, Research and Development Centre, Department of Management studies, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. ABSTRACT Stress refers to a physical dysfunction that is primarily caused by some form of emotional or mental, it could be a mild depression, work-related pressure and even extreme personality traits that can produce extreme stress. However, these problems are thought to run in families and workplaces. If a person in a family, working women suffers from stress issues, it may also be at a risk of making disaster in their family, work and their own self. The key aim of the study to assess the level of stress and its impact among women employees and to find out their consequences of stress while working in Information Technology Sector. The Universe of the study comprises women employees of IT companies in Coimbatore City. The study is descriptive in nature. The primary data collected through a structured questionnaire among a total of 1026 women employees for examining their stress by using disproportionate random sampling technique. The statistical tools like Correlation Analysis, Regression Analysis and Henry Garrett Ranking Technique were employed. The study reveals that that when stress level increases their impact level also increases. But, it is clear that employees productivity does not affected by their stress level, in IT sector. As well, Married women are highly affected by psychological and physical consequences of stress like anxiety, depression, low self esteem, ulcer and uterus problems than their unmarried counterparts. It is suggested that married women need to follow some coping strategies like medications, positive attitude, time management, good sleep, healthy food conceptions etc., and unmarried women can easily overcome their stress by means of following basic relaxing techniques and by avoiding stressors. KEYWORD Women stress, Level of stress, Impact of stress, Consequences of stress, Stress solutions.

2 INTRODUCTION Stress is a physical dysfunction that is primarily caused by some form of emotional or mental demands - it could be a mild depression, work-related pressure and even extreme personality traits that can produce extreme stress and anxiety. Stress is the latest killer. Not all stress is bad. Positive stress motivates, and avoids danger and negative stress results in depression and psychological disorders. Some people are capable of handling stress better than others. Nowadays women not only have domestic work at home, they have career outside. They are continuing to juggle traditional responsibilities after hours. Sociologists describe women are struggling to achieve the "male standard" at work, while trying to maintain the perfect wife and mother standards at home, leads to stress and depression. Stress is not simply an emotional response, but a physiological one. It may lead to headache, backache, insomnia, weight gain and weight loss, stomach cramping and bloating and the loss of sexual desire. It also increases the risk for, accidents, stroke, cancer or even suicides. It is very essential that women should realize that they are in stress which needs to be attended. The study was undertaken in Coimbatore (kovai), India. Coimbatore city is the second largest software producer in Tamilnadu, next only to Chennai. The software development is set to take an upswing with the launch of TIDEL park and other planned IT parks around the city with Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Robert Bosch, GmbH, KGISL and CSS Corp Pvt.Ltd to name a few. Coimbatore is also emerging as an IT and BPO city. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The various body changes, ends with stress that responses prepares the individual for any exigency, giving her extra resources to fight that emergency or to take flight from it. When such a situation prevails in the IT sector, a woman software professional has to face all these situations and in addition she often has to take care of her kith and kin, elders and other responsibilities in the family. Maintaining the balance between work and life becomes a tough task. At this juncture, the researcher has probed the following questions: To what extent the women IT employees are experiencing the role stress in different dimension in Coimbatore district? To what extent the stress consequences between married and unmarried women IT employees in the study area? SCOPE OF THE STUDY To revolutionize the "NO WIN" situation to "WIN WIN" situation. Namex International Journal of Management Research 53 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

3 To formulate the practice for overcoming the Physiological or Psychological problems due to increased pressure in both work and family that leads with less time for rest or sleep. To create awareness to working women about the problem of stress and anxiety and to make them analyze and understand their own self to overcome their physical and mental difficulties. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To evaluate the level of role stress and its impact among the women employees working in IT sector in Coimbatore City, Tamil Nadu. To find out the consequences of stress among married and unmarried working women in IT sector. HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY The following are the hypothesis of the study: H1: The level of roll stress and its impact highly affects the productivity of women working in Information technology sector. H2: The Consequences of stress results very high for the working women in the Information technology sector. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study was conducted in Coimbatore, which is considered as second largest city in Tamilnadu and fastest growing, Tier II City in India. The Universe of the study comprises women employees in IT companies in Coimbatore City. The research design used in this study is descriptive research design. Based on the objectives and hypothesis tested, the required data, gathered from both primary and secondary sources. The primary data collected through a structured questionnaire. The Secondary data collected from relevant articles in published journals and websites. Only NASSCOM registered IT companies considered for this research. According to Census 2011, total of women are working at Coimbatore city. The Hindu news article, says about 40 percent women employees working in Information Technology sector that is around women employees. In this research, 1026 women employees (660 from North Coimbatore and 366 from South Coimbatore) were considered for examining their stress by using disproportionate random sampling technique. In tune with the objectives of the study, the statistical tools like Descriptive analysis, Henry Garrett Ranking Technique, Correlation Analysis and Regression Analysis were employed in this research. Namex International Journal of Management Research 54 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

4 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 1. LEVEL OF STRESS 1.1. Degree Of Relationship Between Independent Variables And Level Of Stress Among The IT Women Employees - Correlation Analysis: An attempt was been made to find out what extent various dimensions of role stress among the selected women employees working in IT sector in Coimbatore city. Here, the level of stress towards job were considered as a dependent variable and the factors like age, monthly income level, family size, experience, distance travelled to work, working hours were considered as independent variables. The goal is to see if a change in the independents variables will result in a change in the stress level of the women employees. This information helps to understand the level of stress of the women employees towards their profession. The result of the correlation analysis between the independent and dependent variables is discussed in the following table. Table.No.1.1: Correlation Analysis of Selected Independent Variables and Level of Stress S. No. Independent Variables r' value p value 1. Age ** 2. Monthly income level * 3. Family Size * 4. Experience * 5. Distance travelled to work ** 6. Working hours * Note : * - Significant at 1% level; ** - Significant at 5% level It is understood from the above table that, how the selected independent variables affects the level of stress. It is observed that among the six selected independent factors, three factors viz., monthly income level, experience and distance travelled to work are having negative association and remaining three factors like age, family size and working hours are having positive correlation with the level of stress. It reveals that whenever the women employees' age, family size and working hours increases their level of stress towards profession also positively increases significantly. On the other hand, the women employees' monthly income level, experience and distance travelled to work increased their stress level decreases significantly. Namex International Journal of Management Research 55 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

5 1.2. Strength of the Selected Independent Factors of Women Employees and Their Stress Level Multiple Regression Analysis In the following analysis, the strength of the relationship between the selected independent variables among the women employees and their level of stress were studied and the regression results are discussed in the following table. Table.No.1.2: Multiple Regression Analysis - Factor's Contributing with Women Employees stress Level S. No. Variables Regression Coefficients t Value Constant Age ** 2. Monthly Income Level ** 3. Family Size * 4. Experience * 5. Distance Travelled to Work * 6. Working Hours ** R Value R 2 Value F Value ** Note : * - Significant at 1% level, ** - Significant at 5% level; NS - Not Significant The resulted equation is formulated as follows: Level of Stress among the women employees = (Age) (Monthly Income level) (Family Size) (Experience) (Distance travelled to work) (Working hours). The multiple linear regression co-efficient is found to be statistically fit as R 2 is for women employees' stress level. It shows that the independent variables contribute about 90.6 percent of the variation in the women employees' stress level and this is statistically significant at 1% and 5% level of significance. It is found from the analysis that all the selected independent variables are having positive association. The resulted equation shows that women employees' stress level is predicted by the unit increase of age, unit increase of monthly income level, unit increases of family size, unit increase of experience, unit increase of distance travelled to work and unit increase of working hours. Namex International Journal of Management Research 56 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

6 1.3. Relationship between Impact Of Stress And Its Stress Level LEVEL OF STRESS Level of stress was measured based on selected 1026 women employees' opinion about the stress towards 9 factors with 38 statements which was presented in questionnaire. The responses were scored with Likert's five point scaling technique computed based on 5 for very frequently, 4 for frequently, 3 for sometimes, 2 for occasionally and 1 for never. The level of stress of women employees working in IT companies was classified as low, medium and high level of stress based on mean and standard deviation. The three categories of stress have been calculated as follows: Low Stress : Mean - SD ( = 2.794) Medium Stress : Between & High Stress : Mean + SD ( = 3.346) S. No Category Range Table.No.1.3.1: Level of Stress No. of Respondents Percentage Mean Score 1. Low Medium Between & High TOTAL Low level stress: It is observed from the difference of mean (3.070) and standard deviation (0.276). The difference is and so, less than mean score scored respondents towards stress is considered as low level of stress employees. Hence, 324 respondents comes under low level of stress. Medium level stress: It is found that mean scores between and In this range, 373 respondents felt medium level of stress. High level stress: It is found that the addition of mean (3.070) and standard deviation (0.276). The addition is and above mean score scored respondents considered as high stress employees. In this range, 329 respondents felled. Among the 3 categories of the women employees, majority of the women employees have medium level of stress with mean score of 4.01 points followed by high level with mean score of 3.46 points and low level with mean score of 3.29 points. It is found that, majority of the women employees are having medium level of stress working in IT industry. SD Namex International Journal of Management Research 57 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

7 IMPACT OF STRESS Impact of stress was measured based on women employees' opinion about the stress towards 10 statements which was presented in questionnaire. The responses were scored with Likert's five point scaling technique computed based on 5 for strongly agree, 4 for agree, 3 for neutral, 2 for disagree and 1 for strongly disagree. The impact of stress of women employees working in IT companies was classified as low, medium and high impact of stress based on mean and standard deviation. S. No Category Range Table No.1.3.2: Impact Of Stress No. of Respondents Percentage Mean Score 1. Low Medium Between & High TOTAL It is understood from the above table as follows: Low level impact respondents ( mean score). Medium level impact respondents ( mean score). High Level impact respondents (>3.408 mean score). Among the 3 categories of the women employees, majority of the women employees have medium impact of stress with mean score of 3.98 points followed by high level with mean score of 3.31 points and low level with mean score of 2.95 points. It is found that, majority of the women employees are having medium impact of stress working in IT industry LEVEL OF STRESS AND ITS IMPACT ON PRODUCTIVITY Stress is an important factor for finding the women employees' productivity in IT sector. When their stress is low their productivity will increase and on the other side, when there is recorded as high their productivity will decrease. For examining the relationship between level of stress of the selected women employees and their productivity performance, level of stress have been categorized into three heads viz., low, medium and high, and corresponding means score of the impact of stress among the selected women employees have been taken as impact on productivity. The relationship between level of stress and its impact on productivity is discussed in the following table. Namex International Journal of Management Research 58 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

8 Table No. 1.4: Relationship Between Level Of Stress And Productivity Of The Women Employees S. No Category No. Of Respondents Level of Stress Impact on Productivity (Mean Score) 1. Low Medium High TOTAL From the table, it is noted that the low stress women employees got their productivity mean score as points, medium stress women employees perceived their productivity mean score as points and high stress respondents obtained their productivity mean score as points. From the analysis it is found that medium stress women employees have perceived their productivity at the high level. While seeing the following figure, it is noticed that the three categories of stress level of the women employees in IT sector have perceived their corresponding level of productivity with a good amount of mean score and it is cleared that the different category of employees' productivity does not affected by their stress level. Figure No. 1.4: Relationship between Level of Stress and Productivity of the Women Employees Namex International Journal of Management Research 59 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

9 2. CONSEQUENCES HENRY GARRETT RANKING TECHNIQUE 2.1. PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS (MARRIED) An attempt has been made to know the psychological consequences of stress of the married respondents. For the purpose of this study, seven stresses are considered as anxiety, low self esteem, forgetfulness, depression, angry, apathy / worry and sleeplessness. To identify the most important stress, Henry Garrett ranking technique was employed and the details of the ranking of psychological consequences of stress of the married respondents are shown in the following table. Table No. 2.1: Psychological Consequences of Stress S. No Psychological Consequences Total Score Mean Score Rank 1. Anxiety I 2. Low Esteem II 3. Forgetfulness V 4. Depression VII 5. Angry III 6. Apathy / Worry VI 7. Sleeplessness IV It is found from the above table that most of the married respondents, psychological consequences as anxiety with the Garrett score points. It followed by the second and third ranks assigned to low self esteem and angry with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The fourth and fifth ranks assigned to sleeplessness and forgetfulness with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The sixth and seventh rank assigned to apathy / worry and depression with the Garrett score of and points. It is found from the analysis that majority of the married respondents are having psychological consequences as anxiety and low self esteem PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS (MARRIED) An attempt has been made to know the physical consequences of stress of the married respondents. For the purpose of this study, seven stresses are headache, diabetes hypertension, uterus, ulcers, hair loss and asthma. To identify the most important stress, Henry Garrett ranking technique was employed and the details of the ranking of physical consequences of stress of the married respondents are shown in the following table. Namex International Journal of Management Research 60 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

10 Table No. 2.2: Physical Consequences of Stress S. No Physical Consequences Total Score Mean Score Rank 1. Headache III 2. Diabetes V 3. Hypertension VI 4. Uterus I 5. Ulcers II 6. Hair Loss IV 7. Asthma VII It is found from the above table that most of the married respondents, physical consequences as uterus with the Garrett score points. It followed by the second and third ranks assigned to ulcers and headache with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The fourth and fifth ranks assigned to hair loss and diabetes with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The sixth and seventh rank assigned to hypertension and asthma with the Garrett score of and points. It is found from the analysis that majority of the married respondents are having physical consequences as uterus and ulcers PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES 0F STRESS (UN MARRIED) An attempt has been made to know the psychological consequences of stress of the unmarried respondents. For the purpose of this study, seven stresses are anxiety, low self esteem, forgetfulness, depression, angry, apathy / worry and sleeplessness. To identify the most important stress, Henry Garrett ranking technique was employed and the details of the ranking of psychological consequences of stress of the unmarried respondents are shown in the following table. Table No.2.3: Psychological Consequences of Stress S. No Psychological Consequences Total Score Mean Score Rank 1. Anxiety III 2. Low Esteem VI 3. Forgetfulness IV 4. Depression VII 5. Angry I 6. Apathy / Worry II 7. Sleeplessness V It is examined from the above table that most of the unmarried respondents, psychological consequences as angry with the Garrett score points. It followed by the second and third ranks assigned to apathy / worry and anxiety with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The fourth and fifth ranks assigned to Namex International Journal of Management Research 61 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

11 forgetfulness and sleeplessness with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The sixth and seventh rank assigned to low self esteem and depression with the Garrett score of and points. It is found from the analysis that majority of the unmarried respondents are having psychological consequences as angry and apathy / worry PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS (UN MARRIED) An attempt has been made to know the physical consequences of stress of the unmarried respondents. For the purpose of this study, seven stresses are headache, diabetes, hypertension, uterus, ulcers, hair loss and asthma. To identify the most important stress, Henry Garrett ranking technique was employed and the details of the ranking of physical consequences of stress of the unmarried respondents are shown in the following table. Table No.2.4: Physical Consequences of Stress S. No Physical Consequences Total Score Mean Score Rank 1. Headache I 2. Diabetes VI 3. Hypertension III 4. Uterus V 5. Ulcers IV 6. Hair Loss II 7. Asthma VII It is determined from the above table that most of the unmarried respondents, physical consequences as headache with the Garrett score point. It followed by the second and third ranks assigned to hair loss and hypertension with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The fourth and fifth ranks assigned to ulcers and uterus with the Garrett scores of and points respectively. The sixth and seventh rank assigned to diabetes and asthma with the Garrett score of and points. It is found from the analysis that majority of the unmarried respondents are having physical consequences as headache and hair loss. FINDINGS It found that from the correlation analysis that whenever the women employees' age, family size and working hours increases their level of stress towards profession also positively increases with significantly. On the other hand, the women employees' monthly income level, experience and distance travelled to work increased their stress level decreases significantly. Namex International Journal of Management Research 62 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

12 It stated that from the multiple regression analysis shows that women employees' stress level is predicted by the unit increase of age, unit increase of monthly income level, unit increases of family size, unit increase of experience, unit increase of distance travelled to work and unit increase of working hours. Among the 3 categories of the women employees, majority of the women employees have medium level of stress with mean score of 4.01 points followed by high level with mean score of 3.46 points and low level with mean score of 3.29 points. It is found that, majority of the women employees are having medium level of stress working in IT industry. Among the 3 categories of the women employees, majority of the women employees have medium impact of stress with mean score of 3.98 points followed by high level with mean score of 3.31 points and low level with mean score of 2.95 points. It is found that, majority of the women employees are having medium impact of stress working in IT industry. It is noted that the low stress women employees got their productivity mean score as points, medium stress women employees perceived their productivity mean score as points and high stress respondents obtained their productivity mean score as points. From the analysis it is found that medium stress women employees have perceived their productivity at the high level. While seeing the figure, it is noticed that the three categories of stress level of the women employees in IT sector have perceived their corresponding level of productivity with a good amount of mean score and it is clear that the different category of employees' productivity does not affected by their stress level. It is examined from the analysis that majority of the married respondents are having psychological consequences as anxiety and low self esteem. It is noted from the analysis that majority of the married respondents are having physical consequences as uterus and ulcers. It is divulged from the analysis that majority of the unmarried respondents are having psychological consequences as anger and apathy / worry. It is inferred from the analysis that majority of the unmarried respondents are having physical consequences as headache and hair loss. SUGGESTIONS The following are some tips to balance stress and relaxation techniques for women employees to get relived from their painful stress. Tips To Reduce Stress Keep a positive attitude. Accept that there are events that you cannot control. Namex International Journal of Management Research 63 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

13 Be assertive instead of aggressive. Assert your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive. Massage, try self massage twice a week. Learn and practice relaxation techniques; try meditation, yoga, or tai-chi. Exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit. Eat healthy, wellbalanced meals. Learn to manage your time more effectively. Set limits appropriately and say no to requests that would create excessive stress. Make time for hobbies and interests. Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events. Don't rely on alcohol, drugs, or food to reduce stress. Ease up on caffeine, too. Seek out social support. Spend enough time with those you love. Seek treatment with a psychologist or other mental health professional trained in stress management. Relaxation Techniques Take a Deep Breath Take a deep breath. Hold it for three seconds. Then let it out slowly. As you exhale, let your jaw relax, your shoulders relax and think "calm" as you let the tension flow through your body and out your finger tips and toes. Deep Breathing Sit comfortably, with your eyes closed and bring your attention to your breathing. Imagine that you have a balloon in your stomach. Every time you breathe in, the balloon inflates. Each time you breathe out, the balloon deflates. Breathing from your abdomen, inhale through your nose slowly to a count of four. Pause and hold your breath to a count of four and then slowly exhale through your mouth to a count of four. Repeat for 3 to 5 minutes, placing a hand on your stomach to feel it rising and falling as you breathe. Tense-Release Alternate tensing and relaxing muscle groups for 5-10 seconds each while seated. Raise your eyebrows and wrinkle your forehead. Hold and release. Clench your jaw and close your eyes as tightly as you can. Hold and release. Lift your shoulders up to your ears. Hold and release. Tense your fists and your arms. Hold and release. Tense your leg and buttocks muscles. Hold and release. Tense your toes and feet. Hold and release. Tighten all of the muscles in your body as tight as you can. Hold and release, feeling all of the tension leaving your body. Namex International Journal of Management Research 64 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

14 Guided Imagery With your eyes closed; take a moment to create, in your mind's eye, an ideal spot for relaxation. You can make it any place real or imagined. Perhaps it is your favorite room, a beautiful meadow, an ocean beach, or a floating cloud. See yourself in comfortable clothes, completely relaxed and take a few deep breaths. Once you have created this place in your mind, you can go back there whenever you want an escape from your busy day or a stressful situation. Mindfulness Meditation Focus your awareness on the present moment with all of your senses. Notice in detail what it looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like and tastes like (if applicable). Give the activity at hand your full attention free from distractions. Breathe slowly while experiencing the activity and do not focus on any particular thought. Physical activity increases overall health and sense of well-being. It also has stressbusting benefits like pumping up your endorphins, improving your mood, providing a break from your stressors and increasing self-esteem. Try to walk or do something active for 20 minutes a day. To gain additional benefits from aerobic and muscle strengthening activities, find a more intense physical activity that you enjoy and do that a few times a week too. CONCLUSION The lifestyle of women has changed from 18th century to 20th century in many ways such as more gainful employment and empowerment. Now a day's our Indian women are highly interested to work for IT sectors. Due to its work culture and privileges they are willing to go for IT's. But even the same culture, shifts and environmental issues, generating unbearable stress in their life. At present after 2000, the number of women working in IT sector is drastically increasing by year to year than other fields. Women likes, more to work in IT and IT's apart from its high stress, pressure, timings and shifts. Because of the increased needs, they fall under the problem of stress. This study helps working women and the society to overcome their career and family problems easily. The aim of the study is to give a solution to stress issues by means of developing a Model to balance work and family pressure. This kind of study has its high need to women working in a developing country like India and it may also help women working all over the country. In this Globalized economy this kind of research plays its vital role by proving an unbeatable one. Namex International Journal of Management Research 65 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016

15 REFERENCES Kothari C.R., Research Methodology - Methods and Technique, Second Edition, New Age International Publishers, New Delhi, 2004, P-179. The Hindu, "Women employment goes up in industries", Published on March 7, 2012, Coimbatore Issue. Web: Namex International Journal of Management Research 66 Volume 6, Issue No. 1, Jan. June 2016