10120140501009

International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL 0976 – MANAGEMENT (IJM)
OF 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
Volume 5, Issue 1, January (2014), © IAEME

ISSN 0976-6502 (Print)
ISSN 0976-6510 (Online)
Volume 5, Issue 1, January (2014), pp. 71-79
© IAEME: www.iaeme.com/ijm.asp
Journal Impact Factor (2013): 6.9071 (Calculated by GISI)
www.jifactor.com

IJM
©IAEME

STRESS MANAGEMENT MODALITIES IN IT SECTOR
Dr. Ipseeta Satpathy, D.Litt.
Professor, School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Dr. B. Chandra Mohan Patnaik
Associate Professor, School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
Ms. Bonita Mitra
Research Scholar, School of Management, KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha

ABSTRACT
Stress is an intangible part of a human being. This cannot be seen or touched however it can
be felt. An individual with stress cannot give his best to the organization and at the same time to the
family life also will be disturbed. Nobody wants to undergo through stress, however the present
corporate scenario work pressure and personal life obligation contributes a lot in this regard. In the
present paper we tried to understand the perception of the employees working in information
technology sector in relation to stress. For this purpose 12 variables were considered after making the
intensive review of literature, pilot study and taking the expert opinions of the HR experts. Likert
scale method was used for the analysis of data and for collecting data, 200 questionnaires was
distributed and finally 109 responses were received. The data analysis was made in the basis of age
group of 25-40 years and age group having more than 40 years.
Key words- Stress, IT Sector, Perception & Employees.
AN OVERVIEW
Stress is a hot-button issue for a daily life. It is a key challenge for the organizations because
organizations with stressed employees are more likely to be unsuccessful in the market. Probably, the
employees belonging from IT sector are witnessing maximum stress. Stress is a complex fact in an
individual’s life with no easy answer. Generally, it is a condition of pressure or tension on an
individual that affects individual’s health and performance at workplace. Many organizations are
facing day-to-day challenges to handle stress in a proper way. It is no-wonder that in today’s fast
paced society dealing with stress and adopting an effective stress management approach is a
challenge for each and every organization. Individuals reflect a different behavior when they are
71

International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),

stressed. The level of stress experienced by individuals differs from person to person, not because of
their age or gender but it results out of variety of situations they come across. Stress among the
employees is a great matter of concern both for the organizations as well as the working employees.
It is influenced mainly by occupational position and the culture of the organization. Stress becomes
more complicated and shows a more unfavorable result if left unhandled. The reasons that results
stress are known as Stressors. Mostly, every human being reacts differently to the stressors. In
present organizations, it has become a strong predictor of job satisfaction. It can be viewed from two
directions:
From Individual point of view- It can cause various physical and psychological imbalances
leading to various diseases.
From Organizational point of view-It can lead to ineffectiveness of organization, poor
productivity, increase in employee turnover and absenteeism.
However, stress is not always bad or shows negative results. Some stress is also good and
helpful in improving the performance of an individual. Hence, certain level of stress is always
necessary to motivate us to and perform at a higher level. For example: When you are stressed for a
given project you give your best efforts and dedication to finish the project within the stipulated time
frame and perform best. But at times, stress beyond certain level may show opposite reactions or
poor results. For example: When you are stressed because of the poor health of your kid you may not
perform your best at the workplace as a result of which you show low productivity. Thus, stress can
broadly be divided into two main types:
Eustress: Stress that motivates a person to perform better and show positive results.
Distress: Stress that hinders the performance and show negative results.
Whether a situation is stressful or not is always determined by the individual experiencing the
situation. No two people perceive a given situation in the same way because persons differ with their
coping skills. Situations are viewed differently by different persons. Hence, handling stress
effectively is a skill that we should learn so that it will not harm our health as well as our
performance. In the crude meaning, stress management can be defined as being aware of the
stressors we are facing and their sources and learning how to respond these stressors in a positive
way. People believe that they have inadequate skills to deal with the higher degree of stress which
they are facing. Thus, eventually every individual needs a proper stress management program to stay
fit.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
To understand the various contributing factors of stress for the employees working in IT
sector.
To suggest remedial measures for control the stress.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The study is limited to the employees working in IT sector in Odisha
The period of study is limited to 2 months, i.e November 2013 to December 2013.
The sample size is limited to 109 respondents; it may not be the universal view.

72


RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In support to the objective of the research there is a primary research through questionnaire
administration method in the field through stratified random sampling method covering the
employees working in IT sector. Total 200 questionnaires were served, out of which 109 responded,
which consists of 58 female respondents and 51 male respondents. The response rate was 54.5%. For
the computation of data Likert scale method was used.
Respondents’ perception with regard to stress management in IT sector
To measure the perception level of the participant of IT sector related to stress, the various
variables were identified. job satisfaction is directly related to stress and work culture of the
organization, direct relationship between stress and job performance, married women face more
stress as compared to men, organizations having stressed workers are less likely to be successful in
competitive market, role overload, role conflict and role stagnation are the contributing factors for
stress, emotional intelligence plays an important role in lowering occupational stress, stress varies
due to attitude, demography and work performance, stress is not due to age but occupational
position, organization politics and bureaucracy are important factors for stress, impact of stress level
may lead to burnout, relaxing training interventions helps in reducing stress. In this regard we have
assigned as +3,+2,+1,0 and -1 for the responses of the respondents “ Completely agree”, “ Agree”, “
Neutral, “ Disagree” and “ Completely disagree” respectively. Final scores for each feature are
calculated by multiplying the number of response by the weights of the corresponding response.
Calculation of respondents’ perception: Ideal and Least scores
Ideal scores are calculated by multiplying the number of respondents in each category with
(+3) and product with total number of attributes. Least scores are calculated by multiplying the
number of respondents in each category with (-1) and the product with number of attributes in the
questionnaires.
Category

Equation

Ideal score

Equation

Least score

Male ( age group 25-40)

28X12X3

1008

28X12X-1

-336

Male (age group above 40)

23X12X3

828

23X12X-1

-276

Female (age group 25-40)

26X12X3

936

26X12X-1

-312

Female (age group above 40)

32X12X3

1152

32X12X-1

-384

73


ANALYSIS OF DATA
Aggregate Score
Age group 25-40

Variables

Age group above
40

Male

Female

Male

Female

Job satisfaction is directly related to stress and
work culture of the organization.

63

67

58

83

Direct relationship between stress and job
performance,

64

70

59

83

Married women face more stress as compared to
men

75

73

67

88

Organizations having stressed workers are less
likely to be successful in competitive market

59

58

61

74

Role overload, role conflict and role stagnation
are the contributing factors for stress.

60

61

56

89

Emotional intelligence plays an important role in
lowering occupational stress,

61

60

54

83

Stress varies due to attitude, demography and
work performance

71

64

55

65

Stress is not due to age but occupational position

73

67

64

71

Organization politics and
important factors for stress.

77

60

62

79

Stress leads to drinking habits, smoking habits.

73

57

55

78

Impact of stress level may lead to burnout

66

63

55

71

Relaxing training interventions helps in reducing
stress

71

69

57

86

Total Scores

813

769

703

950

Ideal Scores

1008

936

828

1152

Least Scores

-336

-312

-276

-384

28

26

23

32

bureaucracy

are

No of respondents
Source: Annexure A, B,C & D

74


1400
1200
1000
800
600

Total Scores

400

Ideal Scores

200

Least Scores

0
-200
-400

Male

Female

Male

Age group 25-40

-600

Female

Age group above 40
Aggregate Score

INTERPRETATION
In the present case the ideal score of the participants of male and female for the age group of
25-40 and more than 40 years are 1008,936,828,1152 and the total score for the same are
813,769,703 and 950. In no case the total scores are near to least score. The percentage of total score
to ideal score for the respondents are 81.65%, 82.16%,84.90% and 82.46%. This shows that the
perceptions for the stress level supporting variables are more than 81%. Hence, this shows that there
is existence of stress level more in IT sector employees.
REMEDIES FOR CONTROLLING THE STRESS
Absolute elimination of stress is neither pleasing nor feasible. Hence, we can prevent stress to
affect unfavorably on the health and work of the individuals. Stress prevention can be done by three
ways:
Primary Methods of Prevention- It includes reducing the effect of factors causing stress,
methods like work or job design, workers participation in management and flexi work time
can reduce stress
Secondary Methods of Prevention- It includes changing the response and reaction to
stressful situation. This can be done by doing regular exercises, giving proper education and
adequate training to workers.
Tertiary Methods of Prevention- When primary or secondary prevention methods are
ignored or their implementation is neglected then tertiary methods should be adopted for
coping with stress. It involves various interventions programmes and promoting health
provisions.
75


Stress management is a continuous process that should be monitored frequently. Reducing
the negative effects and consequences of stress is more important than mere identifying the reasons
of stress. Stressors can work wonderfully and prove to be good opportunities if managed well. Stress
works as a stimulus to motivate and stimulate employees to perform their best. At times, stress may
be overwhelming resulting in harmful consequences. Thus, to have a productive workplace and
healthy living, organizations must adopt some effective stress management approaches that would
reduce stress.
CONCLUDING NOTE
A person with stress cannot discharge his work life balance properly. The human life and
stress go side by side. Nobody is free from stress. Everyone is experiencing this aspect some way
other. A low profile employee or a high profile employee, both will have stress but the nature may be
different. It is not that only people with higher position will have only stress. The entire stress
management to some extent depends upon our own attitude towards our life. If our attitude is
positive and its outcome will be also positive. In this direction both the employers and employees
should try to reach the breakeven. It is also found that in case of IT sector the burnout issues are
more. There is a need for creating positive work environment for the betterment of employees and
ultimately this will help to reduce the stress level.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Madeline Weiss, MIS March 1983, Work Stress and Social Support, Effects of Work Stress
and Social Support on Information Systems Managers.
A P Singh* and Sadhana Singh, Effects of Stress and Work Culture on Job Satisfaction ,Vol.
VIII, No. 2, 2009,The Icfai University Journal of Organizational Behavior.
Mrs. J. Juliet Gladies, Dr. Vijila Kennedy, Impact of Organizational Climate on Job Stress
for women employees in Information Technology sector in India, Volume 2, Issue 6
(June, 2011),Asia Pacific Journal of Research in Business Management.
Mohla Charu, Effect of Occupational Stress on QWL: Amongst the Associates of IT
Industry, Vol. 6 (5) May (2013), Advances in Management.
Afsheen Khalid, Role of Supportive Leadership as a Moderator between Job Stress and Job
Performance, Vol. 4, No. 9, pp. 487-495, Sep 2012, Information Management and Business
Review.
P. Kavitha, Role of stress among women employees forming majority workforce at IT sector
in Chennai and Coimbatore, Tier-I & Tier-II centers, Sona Global Management Review,
Volume 6, Issues 3, May 2012.
Urska Treven, Sonja Treven and Simona Sarotar Zizek, Effective approaches to managing
stress of employees, Volume 4, Issue 10 (2011), pp. 46-57, Review of Management
Innovation & Creativity.
Dr. C.Vijaya Banu, N.Santhosh and Venkatakrishnan.Y.B, “A Study on Stress Management
with Special Reference to a Private Sector Unit”, International Journal of Management (IJM),
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2010, pp. 1 - 16, ISSN Print: 0976-6502, ISSN Online: 0976-6510.
K. S. Sathyanarayana and Dr. K. Maran, “Job Stress of Employees”, International Journal of
Management (IJM), Volume 2, Issue 2, 2011, pp. 93 - 102, ISSN Print: 0976-6502,
ISSN Online: 0976-6510.

76


Annexure –A (Male age group 25-40)- 28 respondents
Perception of the respondents
Completely Agree Neutral Disagree Completely Score
Attributes
agree
disagree
+3
+2
+1
0
-1
18
4
2
3
1
63
19
3
3
1
2
64
performance,
men

23

2

2

1

0

75

19

2

1

3

3

59

Role overload, role conflict and role stagnation are
the contributing factors for stress.

17

4

2

4

1

60


16

5

3

0

0

61

Stress varies due to attitude, demography and work
performance

21

3

2

2

0

71


23

2

0

3

0

73


24

2

1

1

0

77


21

4

2

1

0

73


20

3

2

1

2

66

stress

21

4

1

1

1

71

bureaucracy

are

Source: Compiled from field survey
Annexure –B (Male age group above 40)- 23 respondents
Attributes
agree
disagree
+3
+2
+1
0
-1
18
2
1
1
1
58
17
3
2
1
0
59
performance,
men

21

2

0

0

0

67

19

1

2

1

0

61


18

1

1

2

1

56

77


16

2

3

1

1

54

performance

17

2

1

2

1

55


20

1

2

0

0

64

19

2

1

1

0

62


16

3

2

1

1

55


17

2

1

2

1

55

stress

18

1

2

1

1

57


bureaucracy

are

Annexure –C (Female age group 25-40)- 26 respondents
Attributes
agree
disagree
+3
+2
+1
0
-1
21
2
1
1
1
67
22
1
2
1
0
70
performance,
men

22

3

1

0

0

73

18

2

2

2

2

58


17

3

4

2

0

61


19

1

3

1

2

60

performance

20

2

1

2

1

64


21

2

1

1

1

67

18

3

2

1

2

60


17

3

2

2

2

57


19

2

2

3

0

63

stress

21

2

2

1

0

69


bureaucracy

are


78

Annexure –D (Female age group above 40)-32 respondents
Attributes
agree
disagree
+3
+2
+1
0
-1
26
2
2
1
1
83
25
3
2
2
0
83
performance,
men

26

4

2

0

0

88

23

2

2

4

1

74


27

3

2

0

0

89


25

4

1

1

1

83

performance

19

3

4

4

2

65


21

4

2

3

2

71

22

6

2

1

1

79


23

4

2

2

1

78


21

4

2

3

2

71

stress

27

2

1

2

0

86


bureaucracy

are


79

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