STRESS MANAGEMENT-A CASE STUDY ON SELECTED PRIVATE BANKS OF LUDHIANA.

STRESS MANAGEMENT-A CASE STUDY ON SELECTED PRIVATE BANKS OF LUDHIANA. KAVITA GUJRAL Asst. Professor, PCTE Group Of Institutes, Ludhiana Punjab 141001 ABSTRACT The present paper focuses on stress management in selected private sector banks in Ludhiana. A survey was done amongst employees of these banks to study the stress level among private sector bank employees & its consequences on their personal & professional life.. It was found that majority of employee suffer from high level of mental & physical stress due to job security & work overload. The major source of information was primary data collected through Questionnaire and websites INTRODUCTION CONCEPT OF STRESS Stress refers to the strain from the conflict between our external environment and us, leading to emotional and physical pressure. In our fast paced world, it is impossible to live without stress, whether you are a student or a working adult. There is both positive and negative stress, depending on each individual s unique perception of the tension between the two forces. Not all stress is bad. For example, positive stress, also known as eustress, can help an individual to function at optimal effectiveness and efficiency. Hence, it is evident that some form of positive stress can add more color and vibrancy to our lives. The presence of a deadline, for example, can push us to make the most of our time and produce greater efficiency. It is important to keep this in mind, as stress management refers to using stress to our advantage, and not on eradicating the presence of stress in our lives. On the other hand, negative stress can result in mental and physical strain. The individual will experience symptoms such as tensions, headaches, irritability and in extreme cases, heart palpitations. Hence, whilst some stress may be seen as a motivating force, it is important to manage stress levels so that it does not have an adverse impact on your health and relationships. WHAT CAUSES STRESS? There are many different causes of stress, and that which causes stress is also known as a stressor. Common lifestyle stressors include performance, threat, and bereavement stressors, to name a few. Performance stressors are triggered when an individual is placed in a situation where he feels a need to excel. This could be during performance appraisals, lunch with the boss, or giving a speech. Threat stressors are usually when the current situation poses a dangerous threat, such as an economic downturn, or from an accident. Lastly, bereavement stressors occur when there is a sense of loss such as the death of a loved one, or a prized possession. COPING WITH STRESS AT WORK PLACE With the rapid advancement of technology, the stresses faced at work have also increased. Many people dread going to work, hence the term Monday Blues. What is the reason for this? There is partly the fear from being retrenched in bad times, leading to greater job insecurity on the part of those who remain. Undoubtedly, occupational stress is one of the most commonly cited stressors faced by people all over the world. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Ahuja (2012) found that working environment is significantly related to workers morale and also working environment is significantly correlated with perceived workers productivity. Dr.Pandy (2011) concluded that environmental factors are conducive to work and he also found that 26

factors that affect attitude of employees to work are- interpersonal relationships, shift, emotional factors, job assignment, overtime duty, extended work. Finemann (2008) concluded that the use of humour can be constructively used to reduce the work related stress within the operative environment. However further research is required in order to get a better understanding on the concept of humour. Ghosh (2000) concluded that the costs of occupational stress in terms of sickness absence, ill health related retirement, litigation and lost productivity are increasing putting strain on economies across the world. Srivastava (1999) examined stress management interventions, employing meta-analysis procedures. The results also revealed that relaxation interventions were the most frequent type of intervention OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To identify the causes of stress among Bank employees. To study the effect of health and interpersonal relations of bank employees. To study the effectiveness of stress management programs in different banks of Ludhiana RESEARCH METHODOLOGY RESEARCH DESIGN Descriptive research design is adopted for this project. Descriptive research includes surveys and fact finding enquiries of different kinds. SAMPLE SIZE The study sample constitutes 100 private bank employees in Ludhiana city. SAMPLING AREA The study is conducted for employees of HDFC, ICICI, Axis and Yes bank of Ludhiana city. SAMPLING DESIGN Convenience sampling design is used in this project. COLLECTION OF DATA Primary data is that which consist of original information for a specific purpose. Primary data is collected through questionnaires. Secondary data consist of information which has already been collected by someone else for some other purpose. Secondary data is collected through journal,websites and books. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT Questionnaire is the data collection instrument used in the study. All the questions in the questionnaire are organized in such a way that all the relevant information is covered that is needed for the study. STATISTICAL TOOLS The statistical tools used for analyzing the data collected are percentage method and bar diagrams. ANALYSIS OF DATA The data is collected through survey and books, reports, newspapers and internet etc., the survey conducted among the employees of private banks. The data collected is tabulated and analyzed in such a way to make interpretations DATA ANALYSIS AND Level of experience of employees 27 Cumula tive Freque ncy Percen t 0-3 years 12 12.0 12.0 12.0 3-6 years 40 40.0 40.0 52.0

6-9 years 36 36.0 36.0 88.0 Above 9 12 12.0 12.0 100.0 years Table 4.1 showing the frequency of working experience The working experience in banking industry varied from 1 year to more than 9 years in the service. Most of employees have 3 6 years of experience with private banks, while 36 percent have experience between 6 10 years. 12 percent employees have 0 3 years experience and least group of employees have above 9 years working experience in private banking industry. Cumul ative Freque ncy Percen t Percen t Challengi ng 39 39.0 39.0 39.0 Interesting 28 28.0 28.0 67.0 Routine 24 24.0 24.0 91.0 Boring 9 9.0 9.0 100.0 Table 4.2 showing the employees opinion about job It is observed from the survey that maximum number of employees feel their job as challenging, 28 percent of them feel it interesting, 24 percent of the employee feel it routine, least number of employees feel it boring. Satisfaction level of employees. Factor Highly Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Mean satisfied dissatisfied Nature of work 42 38 20 0 0 4.22 Job security 24 22 12 24 18 3.10 Quantum of work 19 22 32 17 10 3.23 Appreciation for good work 24 26 30 10 10 3.44 Personnel policies 19 18 24 23 16 3.01 Superior guidance 4 7 42 29 18 2.50 Relations with superiors and co 10 37 23 14 16 3.11 workers Autonomy in execution of work 3 5 22 48 22 2.19 Working hours 22 36 16 19 7 3.47 Pay Scale 56 32 10 2 0 4.42 Work place atmosphere 6 4 56 16 18 2.64 28

Table 4.3 showing the satisfaction level with factor. Interpretation From the above table according to Weighted Average Method we can interpret that pay scale is the main leading factor which influence the satisfaction level of employees with highest mean score of 4.42 followed by nature of work, working hours and appreciation of good work. Second highest preference marked by respondents is nature of work with 4.22 mean score, next satisfying factor is working hours in banking sector and least factor highlighted by respondents is autonomy in execution of work. 4.4 Level of Stress in employees Frequency Mean Score Very 22 22.0 22.0 22.0 high High 38 38.0 38.0 60.0 3.48 Moderat 19 19.0 19.0 79.0 e Low 8 8.0 8.0 87.0 Very 13 13.0 13.0 100.0 Low Table 4.4 showing the Level of Stress It is found from the survey that maximum number of the employees face high level of stress in private banks due to various factors like role overload, job insecurity etc. Some of the employees feel very high level of stress. 19 percent feel moderate level of stress, 13 percent feel very low level of stress and very few employees face low level of stress. 4.5 Type of stress in employees Frequency Physical 26 26.0 26.0 26.0 Mental 28 28.0 28.0 54.0 Both 46 46.0 46.0 100.0 Table 4.5 showing the kind of stress It is found from the survey that most of employees suffer both types of stress (physical & mental), while 28 percent of them suffer from mental stress and the remaining of them suffer from the physical stress. 4.6 Factor causing stress Frequency 29

Role overload 24 24.0 24.0 24.0 Interpersonal 12 12.0 12.0 36.0 relations Job insecurity 31 31.0 31.0 67.0 Organisational climate 7 7.0 7.0 74.0 Lack of 8 8.0 8.0 82.0 autonomy Scale of pay 7 7.0 7.0 89.0 Working hours 11 11.0 11.0 100.0 Table 4.6 showing the factor causes more stress It is observed from the survey that for most of the employees rated Job security which cause more stress on them; the second place goes to the role under load and then comes the working hours. 12 percent employees feel stress due to interpersonal relations and least group of employees feel stress due to the organizational climate and scale of pay. HEALTH RELATED ISSUES DUE TO STRESS Frequency Yes 88 88.0 88.0 88.0 No 12 12.0 12.0 100.0 Table 4.7 showing the health related issues due to stress It is observed from the table and chart that most of employees suffer from health problems due to stress that they feel in their job. Whereas only 12 percent of employees do not have any health problems due to stress. 4.8 Showing the kind of health related issues due to stress Kind of health issues Frequency missing value (no 12 12.0 12.0 12.0 health problems) Headache 9 9.0 9.0 21.0 High blood pressure 32 32.0 32.0 53.0 Digestive problem 14 14.0 14.0 67.0 Hypertension 10 10.0 10.0 77.0 Nervousness 8 8.0 8.0 85.0 Sleeplessness 8 8.0 8.0 93.0 Inability to 5 5.0 5.0 98.0 concentrate Irritability 2 2.0 2.0 100.0 30

Kind of health issues Frequency missing value (no 12 12.0 12.0 12.0 health problems) Headache 9 9.0 9.0 21.0 High blood pressure 32 32.0 32.0 53.0 Digestive problem 14 14.0 14.0 67.0 Hypertension 10 10.0 10.0 77.0 Nervousness 8 8.0 8.0 85.0 Sleeplessness 8 8.0 8.0 93.0 Frequency Inability to 5 5.0 5.0 98.0 concentrate Irritability 2 2.0 2.0 100.0 Table 4.8 showing the kind of health related issues due to stress It is observed from the survey that most of the employees suffer from high blood pressure due to stress, next large portion of employees suffer from the digestive problems due to stress, then comes the hypertension, headache, nervousness, sleeplessness and only 2 percent of the employees suffer from irritability. In this question is 12 percent of the employee do not suffer from any type of health problems. 4.9 Effect of stress Frequency Less time for 29 29.0 29.0 29.0 family Less social 29 29.0 29.0 58.0 interactions Increased anger 21 21.0 21.0 79.0 Confrontation 21 21.0 21.0 100.0 with spouse Table 4.9 showing the effect of stress It is observed from the survey that most of the employees feel that the major effect of stress results in less time for family and less social interactions. Increased anger and confrontation with spouse are the other two effects of stress on (21%) employees. 4.10 Stress management initiatives Table 4.10 showing stress management initiatives. It is observed that most of the banks use employee counseling as a major technique for stress management among employees the other techniques used by some the banks are health clubs, autonomous work groups and indoor games. 31

Employee 35 35.0 35.0 35.0 counselling Health clubs 27 27.0 27.0 62.0 Autonomous 16 16.0 16.0 78.0 work groups Indoor games 13 13.0 13.0 91.0 Other 9 9.0 9.0 100.0 4.11 Effectiveness of stress management initiatives Frequency Mean Score Highly 14 14.0 14.0 14.0 effective Effective 36 36.0 36.0 50.0 3.33 Neutral 29 29.0 29.0 79.0 Ineffective 11 11.0 11.0 90.0 Highly 10 10.0 10.0 100.0 Ineffective Table 4.11 showing effectiveness of stress management initiatives It is observed that most of the employees feel that the stress management initiatives taken by their bank are effective. Next major portion of employees were neutral towards stress management initiatives. Some of the employees also felt that these initiatives are highly effective whereas least number of employees felt that these initiatives were ineffective and highly ineffective FINDINGS, LIMITATIONS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION Most of the employees have 3-6 years of experience with the private banks. Majority of the employees feel their job as challenging.only a small percentage of employees feel their job as boring. Maximum no of employees feel high level of stress in private banks due to various factors. Large portion of employees suffer from both physical as well as mental stress. The major factor which causes stress among employees is job insecurity and next comes role overload. A large portion of employees suffer from health issues due to stress in their job. High blood pressure and digestive problem are the two major health issues that employees suffer from due to stress in job. 32

Majority of the employees agree that there is conflict among the employees. Majority of them agree with the fact that conflicts are resolved on time. Many employees feel that less social interactions and less time for family are the two major effects of stress. Majority of the banks use counselling as a technique for stress management. A large portion of employees feel that the stress management initiatives taken by their bank are effective whereas very few employees feel that the initiatives are ineffective and highly ineffective. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY Time constraint the time period for conducting the research was short so it was not possible to conduct the survey at large level. The study is limited to selected banks of private sector in Ludhiana. During collection of the data many employees were unwilling to fill the questionnaire due to lack of time. Personal bias of the respondents might have crept in while answering a few questions. The interpretation differs from one respondent to other and the answer given by the respondent may be only approximately. SUGGESTIONS Time management techniques should be introduced so that employees can complete their work within specified period of time. Many tasks can be delegated to subordinates without losing effectiveness so that employees can reduce the overload of work. Giving counseling to the employees when they face problems, because counseling is the discussion of a problem that usually has emotional content with an employee in order to help the employee cope within better. The organization must introduce Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and stress control workshops accordingly to the level of employees, because there is a strong relation between the level of stress and level of employees. Engaging the bored employee in aerobic exercise, because it stimulates the brain and the body. Also the employee must do meditation and yoga in their daily life. Training in relaxation techniques should be provided to the employees. Open channel of communication to deal work related stress. CONCLUSION Stress in the work place has become the black plague of the present century. Much of the stress at private banks is caused not only by salary and time pressure but also by job insecurity and roleoverload, and more importantly, by not providing individuals with the autonomy to do their work as they would like as well as interpersonal relations. Most of the employees were neutral towards the effectiveness of the stress management initiatives taken by their bank. They felt that communication was a major barrier in their organization. Hence, the management must take several initiatives in helping their employees to overcome its disastrous effect. Since stress in private sector banks is mostly due to role overload the organization should support and encourage taking up roles that help them to reduce their workload. If the banks can not reduce stress atleast they can help employees to manage stress using various techniques such as time management, workshops, yoga, meditation etc. This particular research was intended to study the stress level among private sector bank employees. Although certain limitations were met with the study, every effort has 33

been made to make it much comprehensive. A Healthy Employee is a Productive Employee BIBLIOGRAPHY Ahuja K.K- Industrial psychology and organizational behavior, Khanna publishers, New Delhi, 2012 Biswanath Ghosh- A new look organizational behavior, Himalaya Publishing House New Delhi, 2000. Dr.Satish Chandra Pandy, Indian ways of winning Stress, The Journal of Indian Management and Strategy, 2011. Finemann- A Psychological Model of Stress and its application to managerial unemployment, Human relations, 2008. Srivastava.A.K, A study of Roll Stress Mental health relationship a moderator by adopted coping strategies, psychological studies, 1999. 34