A STUDY ON

STRESS MANAGEMENT AMONG BANK EMPLOYEES

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR

MASTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT &

MANAGEMENT

2015 – 2016

ROLL NO: 13-H-012

NAME OF THE INSTITUTE:

JAMNALAL BAJAJ INSTITUTEOF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

Preface

The study of human resource management is one of the major criteria in the corporate

sector. Human resource is the heart of the organization. By this research project we will

be able to know to reduce the stress level of the employees working in the Bank. By this

way the productivity of the employee increases.

Now a day the corporate sector is booming in a high speed that the people have to work

for prolonged hours to maintain the standard of living and achieve their basic needs. So is

the condition in the hospitals, colleges, BPO’s and lots of other places. In spite of having

the modern technologies and facilities, people are feeling themselves to be work loaded

and stressed. Stress arises because of many reasons which are discussed in the following

project. The project report also contain techniques how to reduce the stress and overcome

such problems.

To identify the level of stress among the people who work I have tried to survey the

people working in Banks. Stress arises because of overload of work, responsibilities etc.

starting the topic of stress; let’s first understand what stress is.

Place: Mumbai

Date : 30th Octomber 2015

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SR.NO TILLE PAGE NO

1 Acknowledgement 42 Synopsis 53 Company Profile 7

3(3.1) History of Banks 7 3(3.2) Growth of Banks 8 3(3.3) Meaning of Banks Chambers 8 3(3.4) Types of Banks 9

4 Bank of Maharashtra 104(4.1) Product and Services 14 4(4.2) Growth of Banks 16 4(4.3) Competitor for the Banks 164(4.4) SWOT Analysis 174(4.5) Milestones 20

5 Dena Bank 235(5.1) Product and Services 255(5.2) Growth of Banks 275(5.3) Competitor for the Banks 27

6 Objective of the Study 287 Hypothesis of the Study 298 Literature Review 30

8(8.1) Introduction & Definition of Stress 318(8.2) What is Stress 368(8.3) Coping with Stress at Workplace 40

9 Stress Management 439(9.1) Workplace Stress 469(9.2) Causes of Workplace Stress 479(9.3) How to reduce Stress 50

10 Research Methodology 5710(10.1) Research Objective 5710(10.2) Sampling 5910(10.3) Data Analysis and Interpretation 6210(10.4) Chi-square Test 6810(10.5) Employees opinion to reduce stress 6910(10.6) Limitation of Survey 70

2

10(10.7) Advantages of Written Questionnaires 70

10(10.8) Disadvantages of Written Questionnaires 71

11 Findings 7312 Conclusion 7613 Recommendations 7714 Bibliography 8115 Annexure 82

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The satisfaction that accomplishes the successful completion of any work is when we say

thank you to the people who made it possible, whose constant encouragement and

guidance has been a source of inspiration throughout the course of the my project.

I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to the management of the Bank of

Maharashtra and Dena Bank for giving me an opportunity to complete my project I also

express my deep senses of gratitude to my project guide, his valuable guidance during the

project. I also express my sincere thanks to AGM of Bank of Maharashtra and Dena

Bank. I am also in debt to my family members and friends for their valuable help and

cooperation throughout the project.

SYNOPSIS

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The research project entitled “Stress Management among Bank employees” is an attempt

to understand the stress of the employees they face while working in the organization due

to several reasons.

The scope of the study encompasses –

To know the stress of the employee

Identify situations that causes stress

Be more knowledgeable on techniques to alleviate stress

The data was collected from the two Government Banks namely Bank of Maharashtra

and Dena Bank. This research study was carried out by conducting a survey on managers

of the two banks. This study involved primary data for collecting information. The

primary data was collected with the help of a survey – questionnaire administered on 35

Bank Employees of same designation, which were selected through simple random

sampling technique

Findings:

A survey of 35 respondents was done on the basis of questionnaire which was pertaining

to stress. The response collected during the data analysis has been represented with the

help of pie charts this includes:

1. Around 86% of the respondents are overload with work and responsibility out of

100%.

2. It was found that out of 100 percent, 90% are stressed because don’t achieve their

targets.

3. It was observed that 82% of the respondent has solution for the problem of their

stress.

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It was concluded that more than 85 %of the people are stress in the banks. Employees

at bank are too much stressed with their jobs with heavy workload, so the employees

can have some refreshing events to add up in their workplace like entertainment trips,

intervals once in a while during lumps of work. As they are loaded with work the

employees are not able to achieve their targets which are the main causes of stress.

3. Industry profile

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Bank It is generally said that the word “BANK” has been originated in Italy. In the

middle of 12th century there was a great financial crisis in Italy due to war. To meet the

war expenses, the government of that period a forced subscribed loan on citizens of the

country at the interest of 5% per annum.Such loans was known as “compare”, “Minto”.

In Germany the word “Monte” was named as “Bank”. It is also said that the word “Bank”

has been derived from the word “Banco” which means a Banch. The Jews money lenders

in Italy used to transact their business sitting on banches at different market places.

3(3.1) History of Bank

The word ‘Bank’ is used in the sense of a commercial bank. It is of Germanic origin

though some person trace it origin to French word ‘Banqui’ and the Italian word ‘Banca’.

It referred to a bench for keeping lending and exchanging of money lenders and money

chargers. There was no such word as banking before 1640. All though the practice of safe

keeping and saving flourished in the temple of Babylon as earlier as 2000 B.C. Chanakya

in his Arthashastra written in about 300 B.C. mentioned about the existence of Merchant

of Bankers who received deposits advanced loans and hundise.

The 1st bank in India was the ‘Bank of Hindustan’ started in 1770 by Alexander and co.,

an English agency house in Kolkata which failed in 1782 with the closer of the agency

house. But the 1st bank in the modern sense was established in the Bengal presidency as

the Bank of Bengal in 1806.

3(3.2) Growth of Bank

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Merchant bankers issued ‘Hundis’ to remit funds in India such Merchant bankers were

known as Seth’ The next stage in the growth of banking was the Goldsmith he started

charging something for taking care of the money and bullion. The next stage in the

growth of banking is the money lenders, the goldsmith found that on an average the

withdrawal of coins were much less than the deposits with him. So he started advancing

the coins on loan by charging interest as a safeguard he kept some money in the reserve

thus the goldsmith –money lenders became a banker who started performing the 2

functions of modern banking that of accepting deposit and advancing loan

3(3.3) Meaning of Bank Chamber’s

20th century dictionary defines a bank has an institution for the keeping lending and

exchanging of money. Economists have also defined a bank highlighting its various

functions. According to Crowther “The bankers business is to take the debts of other

people to offer his own in exchange and there by create money”. Thus a bank is an

institution which accepts deposits from the public and in term advances loans by creating

credit. It is different from other financial institution in that they can’t create credit though

they may be accepting deposit and making advances.

3(3.4) Types of Banks

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Commercial Banks.

Exchange Banks.

Industrial Banks.

Agricultural Banks.

Co-operative Banks.

Central Banks.

Private sector Banks.

4. Company profile

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BANK OF MAHARASHTRA

The bank was founded by a group of visionaries led by the late V. G. Kale and the late D.

K. Sathe and registered as a banking company on 16 September 1935 at Pune.

The bank was registered on 16 September 1935 with an authorized capital of 1 million,

and began business on 8 February 1936. Bank's financial assistance to small units has

given birth too many of today's industrial houses. After nationalization in 1969, the bank

expanded rapidly.

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Shri Narendra Singh, who had assumed the office of Chairman and Managing Director

from 1 February 2012, left his office on 30 September 2013 on attaining superannuation.

Shri Sushil Muhnot is the new Chairman and Managing Director.

The bank attained autonomous status in 1998. As a result, the bank has limited

interference of Government bureaucracy in its decision making process and internal

affairs.

Vision To be a vibrant, forward looking, techno-savvy, customer centric bank serving diverse

sections of the society, enhancing shareholders’ and employees’ value while moving

towards global presence.

Mission

To ensure quick and efficient response to customer expectations.

To innovate products and services to cater to diverse sections of society.

To adopt latest technology on a continuous basis.

To build proactive, professional and involved workforce.

To enhance the shareholders’ wealth through best practices and corporate

governance.

To enter international arena through branch network.

To be a vibrant, forward looking, techno-savvy, customer centric bank serving

diverse sections of the society, enhancing shareholders' and employees' value

while moving towards global presence.

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4(4.1) Product and Services

Deposits:

Loans: Some of the most common loan products are:

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Other services pertain to:

Apart from the ATM, the Bank of Maharashtra has other multiple delivery channels such

as Internet banking and SMS banking. The bank also has business ties with Visa Inc. to

provide credit card and debit card services.

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4(4.2) Growth of the Bank

On the back of robust growth in treasury income, Bank of Maharashtra net profit saw a

three-fold rise this quarter to Rs 261.56 crore compared with Rs 87.89 crore in the

corresponding quarter of the last financial year. The total income of the bank increased

30 per cent, driven mainly by an almost 10-fold increase in treasury income at Rs 270.24

crore (Rs 28.38 crore). Its net interest income stood at Rs 585.71 crore (Rs 503.27 crore),

up 16 per cent. An increase of 41.97 per cent in core deposits has also aided the bank,

which has reduced its dependence on high-cost deposits by about 42 per cent. “We will

focus more on growth of low-cost deposits, core deposits, reducing dependence on high-

cost deposits and substituting them with core deposits,” The bank’s cost of deposits was

6.62 per cent (6.92 per cent). The focus will also be on “better liability management

through overall reduction in cost of deposits.

4(4.3) Competitors for the Bank

SBI

PNB

Union Bank

Indian Bank

Oriental Bank

Central Bank

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4(4.4) SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis consists of evaluating a company internal strength and weakness and

its external opportunities and threats. The strategy must produce a good fit between a

firm’s internal capability and external situation. A scan of internal and external

environment is an important part of the strategic planning process. Environmental factors

internal to the firms can be classified as strength (S) and weakness (W), and factors

external to the firm can be classified as opportunity (O) and Threat (T). Such analysis of

internal and external factors is referred to as SWOT analysis. The SWOT analysis has

been useful tool for the industry. The process of utilizing the SWOT approach requires an

internal survey of opportunities and threats. The following are the strengths, weakness,

opportunity, and threats of Bank of Maharashtra

STRENGTHS

• The bank is a pioneer in introducing several initiatives such as agricultural financing

and door-to-door banking, which are now recognized as benchmarks by the industry.

• The bank has won 25 awards for its excellence in providing banking services. It also

offers a wide range of products to serve various needs of its customers.

The bank is the first public sector bank to provide BPO services and is also ISO certified.

• The bank is well aware of its social responsibility and has been actively involved in the

development of the society since its inception.

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• Strong rural presence is key strength of Bank of Maharashtra as it has strong presence

in the rural India. Rural India is having big growth potential as the urban areas are

becoming saturated and is facing stiff competition.

• Bank of Maharashtra is a government owned bank.

WEAKNESSES

• Increasing Net performing assets.

• Poor qualification of many employees.

• It has just started implementing its core banking solutions across many of its branches.

• In urban areas its growth is less.

• Bureaucratic culture still prevailing in the ban

OPPORTUNITIES

• It has created a good customer base and it is time that it leverages on this strength to

cross sell and up sell its various products to them.

• The Bank should enhance its technological capabilities to differentiate products and

services from those of its competitors and continue to implement its Core Banking

Solutions plan.

• The Bank should also expand its presence in international liberalization. Liberalization

of banking sector in 2009 will force the government to de regulate the sector.

• Indian bank will have the opportunity to go abroad.

• The investors are scared of private sector banks, so opportunities are more to the public

sector.

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THREATS

• Increasing competition posed by global and private sector banks

• Better performance by private sector banks as well as some of its public sector

counterparts

• Commencement of MNC bank posting.

• Government regulation

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4(4.5) Milestones in the journey for nation building:

Commitment stated in the prospectus issued on 21-10-1935:

“Steadily to spread its business operations all over Maharashtra and as opportunity

allows, outside that area offering varied services to the general public while trying to be

useful to trade , commerce and industry consistently with high standards of safety and

efficiency”

1936 Commenced operations on 08-02-1936 in Pune.1938 Second branch of the bank was opened in 1938 at Fort, Bombay.1940 Third branch came up at Deccan Gymkhana, Pune.1944 Status as Scheduled Bank obtained.1946 Deposits crossed Rs One crore marks.

  Formed fully owned subsidiary, The Maharashtra Executor & Trustee Company.

  First branch outside Maharashtra opened in Hubli (Mysore State, Now Karnataka).

1949 Expansion to AP: Hyderabad branch opened1963 Expansion to Goa:  Panjim  Branch opened1966 Expansion to Madhya Pradesh: Indore branch opened.

  Entered in Gujarat: Baroda branch opened.1969 Nationalized along with 13 other Banks.

  Entry in Delhi by opening Karolbagh branch on 19-12-69.1974 Deposit base crossed Rs. 100 Crore mark.

1976 Marathwada Grameena Bank, first RRB established on 26-08-1976.

1978 New Head Office building inaugurated by Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri. Morarji Desai

  Deposits crossed the figure of Rs.500 Crores

1979

“Mahabank Agricultural Research and Rural Development Foundation”, registered as a public trust, was established for undertaking research and extension work and to provide more extensive services to farmers.

1985500th branch in Maharashtra state was opened at the hands of the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi at Nariman Point, Mumbai.

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  First Advanced Ledger Posting Machine (ALPM) was installed at the branch.

  Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations launched at the hands of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Governor Reserve Bank of India.

1986 Thane Grameena Bank sponsored.

1987The 1000th branch of the Bank was inaugurated at Indira vasahat, Bibwewadi, Pune at the auspicious hands of Dr.Shankar Dayal Sharma, the Honourable Vice President of India.

1991 "Mahabank Farmer Credit Card” was launched.  Entered in to Domestic Credit Card Business.  Main Frame Computer installed.  Became member of the SWIFT.

1995 Diamond Jubilee Celebrations - Dr C Rangarajan the RBI Governor was the Chief Guest.

  Deposits crossed Rs 5000 crore mark.

1996 Moved into “A” category from the earlier “C” category. Autonomy obtained.

2000 Deposits crossed Rs 10000 crore marks.2004 Public Issue of Shares – 24% owned by Public.

  Listed in BSE and NSE.2005 Bancassurance and Mutual Fund distribution business started.2006 Crossed total business level of Rs.50, 000 Crore.

  Branch CBS Project started.2009 Entered in to 75th year of dedicated service to the Nation.

  Adopted 75 underdeveloped villages for integrated overall development.

2010 100% CBS of branches achieved Total Business crossed Rs One lakh crore.

  Opened 76 branches in the Platinum Year taking the total to 1506.

 Platinum Jubilee Year concluding ceremony at the hands of the then Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

 New initiatives like Mahachetana, opening of E-lounges in Pune, Mumbai and Delhi, Micro Asset Recovery cells were implemented.

2011 First SHG Branch opened in Pune.

  Bank sponsored Maharashtra Gramin Bank achieved 100% CBS in record 77 days.

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77th anniversary of Foundation day celebrations at the hands of Honble Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee dedicating 5 specialized branches to SHGs and opening of 5 Mid-Corporate branches on the occasion.

 First ever visit of Union Finance Minister to Bank’s Central Office - Honble Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee visits Lokmangal, the Bank’s Headquarters in Pune on 7-11-2011.

2012Hon’ble Union Finance Minister Shri P Chidambaram inaugurates the Bank’s 1624th branch at Rajgambiram on 25.08.2012.

  Sept 2012: Bank’s total business crossed Rs.1, 50,000 cr and reached the level of Rs. 1, 51,320 crore.

  Bank of Maharashtra awarded “Best Banker – Customer Friendliness” for 2012 by The Sunday Standard.

 Received the Dun & Bradstreet – Polaris Financial Technology Banking Award 2012 as Best Public Sector Bank under the category “Asset Quality”.

 BoM hosted Bancon 2012 in Pune on 24th-25th November 2012. Hon’ble Union Finance Minister Shri P. Chidambaram inaugurated the Conference.

2013 Launch of Rupay card launch by Sonia Gandhi in Delhi  50 Branches opened on 15th August 2013  Total Business Crossed Rs. 2.00 Lakh Crore

2014 162 new branches; largest number to be opened in a single year, opened taking the branch network to 1890 

  1129 ATMs installed taking the total number to 1827

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5. DENA BANK

Dena Bank was founded on 26th May, 1938 by the family of Devkaran Nanjee under the

name Devkaran Nanjee Banking Company Ltd .It became a Public Ltd. Company in

December 1939 and later the name was changed to Dena Bank Ltd.

In July 1969 Dena Bank Ltd. along with 13 other major banks was nationalized and is

now a Public Sector Bank constituted under the Banking Companies (Acquisition &

Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970. Under the provisions of the Banking Regulations

Act 1949, in addition to the business of banking, the Bank can undertake other business

as specified in Section 6 of the Banking Regulations Act, 1949.

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The logo of Dena Bank depicts Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, according to

Hindu mythology It was the desire of the founding fathers of the Bank that the Bank

should be a symbol of prosperity for all its clients, and the logo represents this promise.

The contemporary 'D' in the logo reflects the dynamism, dedication and the drive towards

customer satisfaction.

Vision

DENA BANK will emerge as the most preferred Bank of customer choice in its area of

operations, by its reputation and performance

Mission

Customers - premier financial services of great value, 

Staff - positive work environment and opportunity for growth and achievement,

Shareholders - superior financial returns,

Community - economic growth

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5(5.1) Product and Services

Deposits

Loans

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O ther services

Apart from the ATM, the Dena Bank has other multiple delivery channels such as

Internet banking and SMS banking. The bank also has business ties with Visa Inc. to

provide credit card and debit card services.

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5(5.2) Growth of the Bank

On the back of robust growth in treasury income, Dena Bank net profit saw a three-fold

rise this quarter to Rs 561.56 crore compared with Rs 97.89 crore in the corresponding

quarter of the last financial year. The total income of the bank increased 30 per cent,

driven mainly by an almost 10-fold increase in treasury income at Rs 270.24 crore (Rs

28.38 crore). Its net interest income stood at Rs 585.71 crore (Rs 503.27 crore), up 16 per

cent. An increase of 41.97 per cent in core deposits has also aided the bank, which has

reduced its dependence on high-cost deposits by about 42 per cent. “We will focus more

on growth of low-cost deposits, core deposits, reducing dependence on high-cost deposits

and substituting them with core deposits,” The bank’s cost of deposits was 6.62 per cent

(6.92 per cent). The focus will also be on “better liability management through overall

reduction in cost of deposits.

5(5.3) COMPETITORS FOR THE BANK

SBI

Syndicate Bank

Cooperative Bank

Union Bank

Indian Bank

Oriental Bank

Central Bank

Bank of Maharashtra

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6. Objective of the study

To know the stress of the employee

Identify situations that causes stress

Be more knowledgeable on techniques to alleviate stress

Identify emotional, physical and mental stress.

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7. Hypothesis of the study

H0: If employees are overload with workload & responsibilities then they are stressed.

H1: If employees don’t achieve their targets then they tend to get stressed.

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8. Literature Review

Introduction to Stress

A lot of research has been conducted into stress over the last hundred years. Some of the

theories behind it are now settled and accepted; others are still being researched and

debated. During this time, there seems to have been something approaching open warfare

between competing theories and definitions: Views have been passionately held and

aggressively defended.

What complicates this is that intuitively we all feel that we know what stress is, as it is

something we have all experienced. A definition should therefore be obvious…except

that it is not.

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8(8.1) Definition:

Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956 was that

“stress is not necessarily something bad – it all depends on how you take it. The stress of

exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or

infection is detrimental.” Selye believed that the biochemical effects of stress would be

experienced irrespective of whether the situation was positive or negative.

Since then, a great deal of further research has been conducted, and ideas have moved on.

Stress is now viewed as a "bad thing", with a range of harmful biochemical and long-term

effects. These effects have rarely been observed in positive situations.

The most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S

Lazarus) is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives

that “demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to

mobilize.” In short, it's what we feel when we think we've lost control of events.

This is the main definition used by this section of Mind Tools, although we also

recognize that there is an intertwined instinctive stress response to unexpected events.

The stress response inside us is therefore part instinct and part to do with the way we

think.

The types of stress are as follows

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Mechanica l

Stress (physics), the average amount of force exerted per unit area.

Yield stress, the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically.

Compressive stress, the stress applied to materials resulting in their compaction.

Biological

Stress (biological), physiological or psychological stress; some types include:

o Chronic stress, persistent stress which can lead to illness and mental

disorder

o Eustress, positive stress that can lead to improved long-term functioning

o Workplace stress, stress caused by employment

Music

Accent (music).

Stress (band), an early '80s melodic rock band from San Diego.

Stress (punk band), an early '80s punk rock band from Athens.

Stress (Neo-Psychedelic band), from the late 1980's.

Stress, a song by the French band Justice on their debut album

Other

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Stress (game), card game

Stress (linguistics), phonological use of prominence in language

Stress (physics), the average amount of force exerted per unit area.

Stress is a measure of the average amount of force exerted per unit area. It is a

measure of the intensity of the total internal forces acting within a body across

imaginary internal surfaces, as a reaction to external applied forces and body forces.

It was introduced into the theory of elasticity by Cauchy around 1822. Stress is a

concept that is based on the concept of continuum. In general, stress is expressed as

Where

Is the average stress, also called engineering or nominal stress, and

Is the force acting over the area .

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is stress that lasts a long time or occurs frequently. Chronic stress is

potentially damaging.

Symptoms of chronic stress can be:

upset stomach

headache

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backache

insomnia

anxiety

depression

anger

In the most severe cases it can lead to panic attacks or a panic disorder. There are a

variety of methods to control chronic stress, including exercise, healthy diet, stress

management, relaxation techniques, adequate rest, and relaxing hobbies.

Ensuring a healthy diet containing magnesium may help control or eliminate stress, in

those individuals with lower levels of magnesium or those who have a magnesium

deficiency. Chronic stress can also lead to a magnesium deficiency, which can be a factor

in continued chronic stress, and a whole host of other negative medical conditions caused

by a magnesium deficiency.

It has been discovered that there is a huge upsurge in the number of people who suffer

from this condition. A very large number of these new cases suffer from insomnia.

In a review of the scientific literature on the relationship between stress and disease, the

authors found that stress plays a role in triggering or worsening depression and

cardiovascular disease and in speeding the progression of HIV/AIDS.

Compressive stress:

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Compressive stress is the stress applied to materials resulting in their compaction

(decrease of volume). When a material is subjected to compressive stress, then this

material is under compression. Usually, compressive stress applied to bars, columns, etc.

leads to shortening.

Loading a structural element or a specimen will increase the compressive stress until the

reach of compressive strength. According to the properties of the material, failure will

occur as yield for materials with ductile behavior (most metals, some soils and plastics)

or as rupture for brittle behavior (geometries, cast iron, glass, etc.)

In long, slender structural elements -- such as columns or truss bars -- an increase of

compressive force F leads to structural failure due to buckling at lower stress than the

compressive strength.

Compressive stress has stress units (force per unit area), usually with negative values to

indicate the compaction. However in geotechnical engineering, compressive stress is

represented with positive values.

Stress in Biological terms:

Stress is a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or

animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism,

whether actual or imagined. It includes a state of alarm and adrenaline production, short-

term resistance as a coping mechanism, and exhaustion. It refers to the inability of a

human or animal body to respond. Common stress symptoms include irritability,

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muscular tension, inability to concentrate and a variety of physical reactions, such as

headaches and accelerated heart rate.

The term "stress" was first used by the endocrinologist Hans Selye in the 1930s to

identify physiological responses in laboratory animals. He later broadened and

popularized the concept to include the perceptions and responses of humans trying to

adapt to the challenges of everyday life. In Selye's terminology, "stress" refers to the

reaction of the organism, and "stressor" to the perceived threat. Stress in certain

circumstances may be experienced positively. Eustress, for example, can be an adaptive

response prompting the activation of internal resources to meet challenges and achieve

goals.

The term is commonly used by laypersons in a metaphorical rather than literal or

biological sense, as a catch-all for any perceived difficulties in life. It also became a

euphemism, a way of referring to problems and eliciting sympathy without being

explicitly confessional, just "stressed out". It covers a huge range of phenomena from

mild irritation to the kind of severe problems that might result in a real breakdown of

health. In popular usage almost any event or situation between these extremes could be

described as stressful.

8(8.2) What is 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

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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.

Part of managing your stress levels include learning about how stress can affect you

emotionally and physically, as well as how to identify if you are performing at your

optimal stress level (OSL) or if you are experiencing negative stress. This knowledge will

help you to identify when you need to take a break, or perhaps seek professional help. It

is also your first step towards developing techniques to managing your stress levels.

Modern day stresses can take the form of monetary needs, or emotional frictions.

Competition at work and an increased workload can also cause greater levels of stress.

How do you identify if you are suffering from excessive stress? Psychological symptoms

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commonly experienced include insomnia, headaches and an inability to focus. Physical

symptoms take the form of heart palpitations, breathlessness, excessive sweating and

stomachaches.

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.

Thus, there are various stressors, and even more varied methods and techniques of

dealing with stress and turning it to our advantages. In order to do so, we must learn to

tell when we have crossed the line from positive to negative stress.

Good stress v/s Bad stress:

Stress has often been misunderstood to be negative, with few people acknowledging the

importance and usefulness of positive stress. In our everyday lives, stress is everywhere

and definitely unavoidable; hence our emphasis should be on differentiating between

what is good stress, and what is bad. This will help us to learn to cope with negative

stress, and harness the power of positive stress to help us achieve more.

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There are 4 main categories of stress, namely eustress, distress, hyper stress and hypo

stress. Negative stress can cause many physical and psychological problems, whilst

positive stress can be very helpful for us. Here’s how we differentiate between them.

Eustress:

this is a positive form of stress, which prepares your mind and body for the imminent

challenges that it has perceived. Eustress is a natural physical reaction by your body

which increases blood flow to your muscles, resulting in a higher heart rate. Athletes

before a competition or perhaps a manager before a major presentation would do well

with eustress, allowing them to derive the inspiration and strength that is needed.

Distress

We are familiar with this word, and know that it is a negative form of stress. This occurs

when the mind and body is unable to cope with changes, and usually occurs when there

are deviations from the norm. They can be categorized into acute stress and chronic

stress. Acute stress is intense, but does not last for long. On the other hand, chronic stress

persists over a long period of time.  Trigger events for distress can be a change in job

scope or routine that the person is unable to handle or cope with.

Hyper stress

This is another form of negative stress that occurs when the individual is unable to cope

with the workload. Examples include highly stressful jobs, which require longer working

hours than the individual can handle. If you suspect that you are suffering from hyper

stress, you are likely to have sudden emotional breakdowns over insignificant issues, the

proverbial straws that broke the camel’s back. It is important for you to recognize that

39

your body needs a break, or you may end up with severe and chronic physical and

psychological reactions.

Hypo stress

Lastly, hypo stress occurs when a person has nothing to do with his time and feels

constantly bored and unmotivated. This is due to an insufficient amount of stress; hence

some stress is inevitable and helpful to us. Companies should avoid having workers who

experience hypo stress as this will cause productivity and mindfulness to fall. If the job

scope is boring and repetitive, it would be a good idea to implement some form of job

rotation so that there is always something new to learn.

The types of stress are named as eustress and distress. Distress is the most

commonly-referred to type of stress, having negative implications, whereas eustress is a

positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in person's life. Both can be

equally taxing on the body, and are cumulative in nature, depending on a person's way of

adapting to a change that has caused it.

8(8.3) 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.

40

Stress refers to the pressure and reactions to our environment which results in

psychological and physical reactions. Whilst some stress is good for motivation and

increasing efficiency, too much stress can result in negative impacts such as reduced

effectiveness and efficiency. More and more people are feeling isolated and disrespected

at work, and this has led to greater occupational stress. Many companies have taken to

consulting experts and professionals on ways to increase connectedness and motivation

of their employees.

Some companies organize parties and make their employees feel valued at work. These

are measures to motivate employees and help them to feel secure at their jobs, translating

into greater productivity. However, not all companies have such measures in place, and

some have not gotten it quite right. Hence, it is up to you to make sure that you can cope

with stress at your workplace, and use it to help you work better. Here are 3 simple steps

to help you with coping with stress in the workplace.

Step 1: Raising Awareness

Help yourself to identify when you are facing rising levels of stress, tipping the scales

from positive to negative. This is important, as being able to identify signs of being

stressed can help you to take steps to ensure that your overall quality of life does not

drop. If left unacknowledged, the problem will only snowball, leading to disastrous

consequences to your health and overall wellbeing.

You can identify if you are feeling stressed by checking if you have any physical or

psychological reactions, such as excessive sweating or heart palpitations, or the onset of

41

headaches, irritability or the need to escape. If you experience any of these reactions,

identify if you are feeling any overwhelming negative emotions, and if you are constantly

worried.

Step 2: Identify the Cause

You need to be able to analyze the situation and identify what is causing the rise in stress.

These stressors can be external and internal. External stressors refer to things beyond

your control, such as the environment or your colleagues at work. Internal stressors refer

to your own thinking and attitude. Often, we only start reacting to stress when a

combination of stressors working together exceeds our ability to cope.

Keep a diary or a list of events that have caused you to feel strong negative emotions, or

that are likely stressors. This will help you to identify the causes of your stress. Whilst it

is not always possible to eradicate them, we can change the way that we cope with it.

Step 3: Coping with Stress

In order to deal with the situation that is causing you stress, you need to calm your mind

and body so as to stave off the reactions and cope with it in a positive way. This can be

through different methods, such as taking time off. If a situation is triggering your stress

and you are unable to calm down, remove yourself from it. Go outside and take a walk to

calm down. Alternatively, you can try implementing relaxation techniques such as deep

breathing. If it is an internal stressor, stop your thought process until you are able to deal

with it logically.

42

The key to making these 3 steps work for you is to practice them. These are not

instantaneous solutions, and you need to condition your mind and practice them so that

you can implement it when you are feeling stressed.

9. Stress Management

Stress management is the need of the hour. However hard we try to go beyond a stress

situation, life seems to find new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety

attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-body exhaustion or our erring attitudes, we

tend to overlook causes of stress and the conditions triggered by those. In such unsettling

moments we often forget that stressors, if not escapable, are fairly manageable and

treatable.

Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediate

disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervousness and

muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may also affect our

immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions,

which are inter-linked with stress.

Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are

some of the body's important built-in response systems. As a relaxation response the

body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones released during the

43

'fight or flight' situation prompt the body to replace the lost carbohydrates and fats, and

restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tightened muscles and an exhausted mind

crave for looseness. Unfortunately, today, we don't get relaxing and soothing situations

without asking. To be relaxed we have to strive to create such situations.

Recognizing a stressor:

It is important to recognize whether you are under stress or out of it. Many times, even if

we are under the influence of a stressful condition and our body reacts to it internally as

well as externally, we fail to realize that we are reacting under stress. This also happens

when the causes of stress are there long enough for us to get habituated to them. The

body constantly tries to tell us through symptoms such as rapid palpitation, dizzy spells,

tight muscles or various body aches that something is wrong. It is important to remain

attentive to such symptoms and to learn to cope with the situations.

We cope better with stressful situation, when we encounter them voluntarily. In cases of

relocation, promotion or layoff, adventurous sports or having a baby, we tend to respond

positively under stress. But, when we are compelled into such situations against our will

or knowledge, more often than not, we wilt at the face of unknown and imagined threats.

For instance, stress may mount when one is coerced into undertaking some work against

one's will.

Laughter:

44

Adopting a humorous view towards life's situations can take the edge off everyday

stressors. Not being too serious or in a constant alert mode helps maintain the equanimity

of mind and promote clear thinking. Being able to laugh stress away is the smartest way

to ward off its effects.

A sense of humor also allows us to perceive and appreciate the incongruities of life and

provides moments of delight. The emotions we experience directly affect our immune

system. The positive emotions can create neurochemical changes that buffer the

immunosuppressive effects of stress.

During stress, the adrenal gland releases corticosteroids, which are converted to cortical

in the blood stream. These have an immunosuppressive effect. Dr. Lee Berk and fellow

researcher Dr. Stanley Tan at Loma Linda University School of Medicine have produced

carefully controlled studies showing that the experience of laughter lowers serum cortical

levels, increases the amount and activity of T lymphocytes—the natural killer cells.

Laughter also increases the number of T cells that have suppresser receptors.

What Laughter Can Do Against Stress And Its Effects ?

• Laughter lowers blood pressure and hyper tension.

• It provides good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform

physical exercise’

• Reduces stress hormones (studies shows, laughter induces reduction of at least four of

neuroendocrine hormones—epinephrine, cortical, dopac, and growth hormone, associated

with stress response).

45

• Laughter cleanses the lungs and body tissues of accumulated stale air as it empties more

air than it takes in. It is beneficial for patients suffering from emphysema and other

respiratory ailments.

• It increases muscle flexion, relaxation and fluent blood circulation in body.

• Boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting

proteins called Gamma-interferon and disease-destroying antibodies called B-cells.

• Laughter triggers the release of endorphins—body's natural painkillers.

• Produces a general sense of well-being.

9(9.1) Workplace Stress

Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there

is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the

worker. Stress-related disorders encompass a broad array of conditions, including

psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder) and

other types of emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, etc.), maladaptive

behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse), and cognitive impairment (e.g.,

concentration and memory problems). In turn, these conditions may lead to poor work

performance or even injury. Job stress is also associated with various biological reactions

that may lead ultimately to compromised health, such as cardiovascular disease.

Stress is a prevalent and costly problem in today's workplace. About one-third of workers

report high levels of stress. One-quarter of employees view their jobs as the number one

46

stressor in their lives. Three-quarters of employees believe the worker has more on-the-

job stress than a generation ago. Evidence also suggests that stress is the major cause of

turnover in organizations.

Health and Healthcare Utilization

Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other

life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems. Many studies

suggest that psychologically demanding jobs that allow employees little control over the

work process increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. On the basis of research by the

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and many other organizations, it is

widely believed that job stress increases the risk for development of back and upper-

extremity musculoskeletal disorders. High levels of stress are associated with substantial

increases in health service utilization. Workers who report experiencing stress at work

also show excessive health care utilization. In a 1998 study of 46,000 workers, health

care costs were nearly 50% greater for workers reporting high levels of stress in

comparison to “low risk” workers. The increment rose to nearly 150%, an increase of

more than $1,700 per person annually, for workers reporting high levels of both stress

and depression. Additionally, periods of disability due to job stress tend to be much

longer than disability periods for other occupational injuries and illnesses.

9(9.2) Causes of Workplace Stress

Job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. Views

differ on the importance of worker characteristics versus working conditions as the

47

primary cause of job stress. The differing viewpoints suggest different ways to prevent

stress at work. According to one school of thought, differences in individual

characteristics such as personality and coping skills are most important in predicting

whether certain job conditions will result in stress-in other words, what is stressful for

one person may not be a problem for someone else. This viewpoint leads to prevention

strategies that focus on workers and ways to help them cope with demanding job

conditions. Although the importance of individual differences cannot be ignored,

scientific evidence suggests that certain working conditions are stressful to most people.

Such evidence argues for a greater emphasis on working conditions as the key source of

job stress, and for job redesign as a primary prevention strategy. Personal interview

surveys of working conditions, including conditions recognized as risk factors for job

stress, were conducted in Member States of the European Union in 1990, 1995, and 2000.

Results showed a trend across these periods suggestive of increasing work intensity. In

1990, the percentage of workers reporting that they worked at high speeds at least one-

fourth of their working time was 48%, increasing to 54% in 1995 and to 56% in 2000.

Similarly, 50% of workers reported they work against tight deadlines at least one-fourth

of their working time in 1990, increasing to 56% in 1995 and 60 % in 2000. However, no

change was noted in the period 1995–2000 (data not collected in 1990) in the percentage

of workers reporting sufficient time to complete tasks. A substantial percentage of

Americans work very long hours. By one estimate, more than 26% of men and more than

11% of women worked 50 hours per week or more in 2000. These figures represent a

considerable increase over the previous three decades, especially for women. According

to the Department of Labor, there has been an upward trend in hours worked among

48

employed women, an increase in extended work weeks (>40 hours) by men, and a

considerable increase in combined working hours among working couples, particularly

couples with young children.

Signs of Workplace Stress

Mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headache, and disturbed relationships

with family; friends and girlfriends or boyfriends are examples of stress-related problems.

The effects of job stress on chronic diseases are more difficult to see because chronic

diseases take a long time to develop and can be influenced by many factors other than

stress. Nonetheless, evidence is rapidly accumulating to suggest that stress plays an

important role in several types of chronic health problems-especially cardiovascular

disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders.

Prevention

A combination of organizational change and stress management is often the most useful

approach for preventing stress at work.

How to Change the Organization to Prevent Job Stress

Ensure that the workload is in line with workers' capabilities and resources.

Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to use

their skills.

Clearly define workers' roles and responsibilities.

49

Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their

jobs.

Improve communications-reduce uncertainty about career development and future

employment prospects.

Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers.

Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities

outside the job.

Discrimination inside the workplace. (e.g. nationality and language )

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company conducted several studies on the effects of

stress prevention programs in hospital settings. Program activities included (1) employee

and management education on job stress, (2) changes in hospital policies and procedures

to reduce organizational sources of stress, and (3) establishment of employee assistance

programs. In one study, the frequency of medication errors declined by 50% after

prevention activities was implemented in a 700-bed hospital. In a second study, there was

a 70% reduction in malpractice claims in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention

activities. In contrast, there was no reduction in claims in a matched group of 22 hospitals

that did not implement stress prevention activities.

9(9.3) How to reduce stress

1. Job analysis: -

We have all experienced that appalling sense of having far too much work to do and too

little time to do it in. We can choose to ignore this, and work unreasonably long hours to

stay on top of our workload. The risks here are that we become exhausted, that we have

50

so much to do that we do a poor quality job and that we neglect other areas of our life.

Each of these can lead to intense stress.

The alternative is to work more intelligently, by focusing on the things that are important

for job success and reducing the time we spend on low priority tasks. Job Analysis is the

first step in doing this.

The first of the action-oriented skills that we look at is Job Analysis. Job Analysis is a

key technique for managing job overload – an important source of stress.

To do an excellent job, you need to fully understand what is expected of you. While this

may seem obvious, in the hurly-burly of a new, fast-moving, high-pressure role, it is

oftentimes something that is easy to overlook.

By understanding the priorities in your job, and what constitutes success within it, you

can focus on these activities and minimize work on other tasks as much as possible. This

helps you get the greatest return from the work you do, and keep your workload under

control.

Job Analysis is a useful technique for getting a firm grip on what really is important in

your job so that you are able to perform excellently. It helps you to cut through clutter

and distraction to get to the heart of what you need to do.

2. Rational & positive thinking: -

You are thinking negatively when you fear the future, put yourself down, criticize

yourself for errors, doubt your abilities, or expect failure. Negative thinking damages

confidence, harms performance and paralyzes mental skills.

Unfortunately, negative thoughts tend to flit into our consciousness, do their damage and

flit back out again, with their significance having barely been noticed. Since we barely

51

realize that they were there, we do not challenge them properly, which means that they

can be completely incorrect and wrong.

Thought Awareness is the process by which you observe your thoughts and become

aware of what is going through your head.

One approach to it is to observe your "stream of consciousness" as you think about the

thing you're trying to achieve which is stressful. Do not suppress any thoughts. Instead,

just let them run their course while you watch them, and write them down on our free

worksheet as they occur. Then let them go.

Another more general approach to Thought Awareness comes with logging stress in your

Stress Diary. When you analyze your diary at the end of the period, you should be able to

see the most common and the most damaging thoughts. Tackle these as a priority using

the techniques below.

Here are some typical negative thoughts you might experience when preparing to give a

major presentation:

Fear about the quality of your performance or of problems that may interfere with

it;

Worry about how the audience (especially important people in it like your boss)

or the press may react to you;

Dwelling on the negative consequences of a poor performance; or

Self-criticism over a less-than-perfect rehearsal.

Thought awareness is the first step in the process of managing negative thoughts, as you

cannot manage thoughts that you are unaware of.

52

Rational Thinking

The next step in dealing with negative thinking is to challenge the negative thoughts that

you identified using the Thought Awareness technique. Look at every thought you wrote

down and challenge it rationally. Ask yourself whether the thought is reasonable. What

evidence is there for and against the thought? Would your colleagues and mentors agree

or disagree with it?

Looking at the examples, the following challenges could be made to the negative

thoughts we identified earlier:

Feelings of inadequacy: Have you trained yourself as well as you reasonably

should have? Do you have the experience and resources you need to make the

presentation? Have you planned, prepared and rehearsed enough? If you have

done all of these, you've done as much as you can to give a good performance.

Worries about performance during rehearsal: If some of your practice was

less than perfect, then remind yourself that the purpose of the practice is to

identify areas for improvement, so that these can be sorted out before the

performance.

Problems with issues outside your control: Have you identified the risks of

these things happening, and have you taken steps to reduce the likelihood of them

happening or their impact if they do? What will you do if they occur? And what

do you need others to do for you?

Worry about other people's reactions: If you have prepared well, and you do

the best you can, then you should be satisfied. If you perform as well as you

53

reasonably can, then fair people are likely to respond well. If people are not fair,

the best thing to do is ignore their comments and rise above them.

Tip:

Don't make the mistake of generalizing a single incident. OK, you made a mistake at

work, but that doesn't mean you're bad at your job.

Similarly, make sure you take the long view about incidents that you're finding stressful.

Just because you're finding these new responsibilities stressful now, doesn't mean that

they will ALWAYS be so for you in the future.

Tip:

If you find it difficult to look at your negative thoughts objectively, imagine that you are

your best friend or a respected coach or mentor. Look at the list of negative thoughts and

imagine the negative thoughts were written by someone you were giving objective advice

to. Then, think how you would challenge these thoughts.

When you challenge negative thoughts rationally, you should be able to see quickly

whether the thoughts are wrong or whether they have some substance to them. Where

there is some substance, take appropriate action. However, make sure that your negative

thoughts are genuinely important to achieving your goals, and don't just reflect a lack of

experience, which everyone has to go through at some stage.

Positive Thinking & Opportunity Seeking

54

By now, you should already be feeling more positive. The final step is to prepare rational,

positive thoughts and affirmations to counter any remaining negativity. It can also be

useful to look at the situation and see if there are any useful opportunities that are offered

by it.

By basing your affirmations on the clear, rational assessments of facts that you made

using Rational Thinking, you can use them to undo the damage that negative thinking

may have done to your self-confidence.

Tip:

Your affirmations will be strongest if they are specific, are expressed in the present tense

and have strong emotional content.

Continuing the examples above, positive affirmations might be:

Problems during practice: "I have learned from my rehearsals. This has put me

in a position where I can deliver a great performance. I am going to perform well

and enjoy the event."

Worries about performance: "I have prepared well and rehearsed thoroughly. I

am well positioned to give an excellent performance."

Problems issues outside your control: "I have thought through everything that

might reasonably happen and have planned how I can handle all likely

contingencies. I am very well placed to react flexibly to events."

55

Worry about other people's reaction: "Fair people will react well to a good

performance. I will rise above any unfair criticism in a mature and professional

way."

If appropriate, write these affirmations down on your worksheet so that you can use them

when you need them.

As well as allowing you to structure useful affirmations, part of Positive Thinking is to

look at opportunities that the situation might offer to you. In the examples above,

successfully overcoming the situations causing the original negative thinking will open

up opportunities. You will acquire new skills, you will be seen as someone who can

handle difficult challenges, and you may open up new career opportunities

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10. Research Methodology

10.(10.1) Research Objective:

Stress is a dynamic condition in witch an individual is confronted with an opportunity,

demand or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is

perceived to be both uncertain and important. This is a complicated definition.

Stress is not necessarily bad in and of itself. Although stress is typically discussed in a

negative context, it also has a positive value. It’s an opportunity when it offers potential

gain. Consider for example, the superior performance that an athlete or stage performer

gives in “clutch” situations. Such individuals often use stress positively to rise to the

occasion and perform at or near their maximum. Similarly, many professionals see the

pressures of heavy workloads and deadlines as positive challenges that enhance the

quality of their work and the satisfaction the get from their job.

But it is different in the case of bank employees. The bank employees are the people who

also have to achieve the certain target and so for the non-achievement of target the

employees remain stressed and tensed. The employees who have the simple table work

also have to face the problem of stress. Due to recession the banking sector is also facing

57

the problem of employee cut-offs and so the work load of the existing employees

increases and the feel stressed.

The types of stress are named as eustress and distress. Distress is the most commonly-

referred to type of stress, having negative implications, whereas eustress is a positive

form of stress, usually related to desirable events in person's life. Both can be equally

taxing on the body, and are cumulative in nature, depending on a person's way of

adapting to a change that has caused it. Stress management is the need of the hour.

However hard we try to go beyond a stress situation, life seems to find new ways of

stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-

body exhaustion or our erring attitudes, we tend to overlook causes of stress and the

conditions triggered by those. In such unsettling moments we often forget that stressors,

if not escapable, are fairly manageable and treatable.

Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediate

disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervousness and

muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may also affect our

immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions,

which are inter-linked with stress.

Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are

some of the body's important built-in response systems. As a relaxation response the

body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones released during the

'fight or flight' situation prompt the body to replace the lost carbohydrates and fats, and

restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tightened muscles and an exhausted mind

crave for looseness. Unfortunately, today, we don't get relaxing and soothing situations

without asking. To be relaxed we have to strive to create such situations.

This research is to carry out the study that how much stressed the employees of the banks

are and how do their stress affect their work life, social life, output etc. so a sample of 35

employees are selected from all the two banks for the research of stress among them.

58

10(10.2) Sampling

Sample: I have taken the sample of 35 employees from two different banks of Mumbai.

All the employees were of the same designations.

Reason: As we find the employees of the bank to be more stressful as more and more

employees are taking VRS and are dismissed because of inflation. I have selected only

those two banks which are affiliated to the public and are specialized in consumer needs

fulfillment.

It is incumbent on the researcher to clearly define the target population. There are no

strict rules to follow, and the researcher must rely on logic and judgment. The population

is defined in keeping with the objectives of the study.

Sometimes, the entire population will be sufficiently small, and the researcher can

include the entire population in the study. This type of research is called a census study

because data is gathered on every member of the population.

59

Usually, the population is too large for the researcher to attempt to survey all of its

members. A small, but carefully chosen sample can be used to represent the population.

The sample reflects the characteristics of the population from which it is drawn.

Sampling methods are classified as either probability or non probability. In probability

samples, each member of the population has a known non-zero probability of being

selected. Probability methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, and

stratified sampling. In non-probability sampling, members are selected from the

population in some nonrandom manner. These include convenience sampling, judgment

sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling. The advantage of probability

sampling is that sampling error can be calculated. Sampling error is the degree to which a

sample might differ from the population. When inferring to the population, results are

reported plus or minus the sampling error. In non-probability sampling, the degree to

which the sample differs from the population remains unknown.

Random sampling is the purest form of probability sampling. Each member

of the population has an equal and known chance of being selected. When

there are very large populations, it is often difficult or impossible to identify

every member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes

biased.

Systematic sampling is often used instead of random sampling. It is also

called an Nth name selection technique. After the required sample size has

been calculated, every Nth record is selected from a list of population

members. As long as the list does not contain any hidden order, this

sampling method is as good as the random sampling method. Its only

advantage over the random sampling technique is simplicity. Systematic

sampling is frequently used to select a specified number of records from a

computer file.

60

Stratified sampling is commonly used probability method that is superior

to random sampling because it reduces sampling error. A stratum is a subset

of the population that shares at least one common characteristic. The

researcher first identifies the relevant stratums and their actual

representation in the population. Random sampling is then used to select

subjects from each stratum until the number of subjects in that stratum is

proportional to its frequency in the population. Stratified sampling is often

used when one or more of the stratums in the population have a low

incidence relative to the other stratums.

Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher

is interested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the

name implies, the sample is selected because they are convenient. This non-

probability method is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a

gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to

select a random sample.

Judgment sampling is a common non-probability method. The researcher

selects the sample based on judgment. This is usually and extension of

convenience sampling. For example, a researcher may decide to draw the

entire sample from one "representative" city, even though the population

includes all cities. When using this method, the researcher must be confident

that the chosen sample is truly representative of the entire population.

Quota sampling is the non-probability equivalent of stratified sampling.

Like stratified sampling, the researcher first identifies the stratums and their

proportions as they are represented in the population. Then convenience or

judgment sampling is used to select the required number of subjects from

each stratum. This differs from stratified sampling, where the stratums are

filled by random sampling.

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Snowball sampling is a special non-probability method used when the

desired sample characteristic is rare. It may be extremely difficult or cost

prohibitive to locate respondents in these situations. Snowball sampling

relies on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional subjects. While

this technique can dramatically lower search costs, it comes at the expense

of introducing bias because the technique itself reduces the likelihood that

the sample will represent a good cross section from the population.

10(10.3) Data analysis and Interpretation

The project report shows the information of the level of stress which the employees

are facing as the period of recession is going the employee cut-off and turnover

ratios are found to be high so the workload for the existing employees are high. So

they are facing the problem of work overload and thus they get stressed.

Pie chart no 11. Are you satisfied with the performance you give at your work?

Analysis: From the diagram

it is clear that 77 % of the

employees are satisfied with

the performance they give in

the work while 23 % of the

employees are not satisfied.

Yes No

27 8

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2. Do you think that you are Pie chart no 2Suffering from depression?

Analysis: 30 % of the employee

feels that they are suffering from

depression while 70 % of the

employee feels that that they are free from the depression.

3. Do you worry about your colleague's opinion about

you? Pie chart no 3

Analysis: 76% of the employees

worry about their colleague’s opinion about them while 24% of the employees are not

concern with the opinion about their colleague.

4. Do you discuss your problem with your spouse or friend or any other close to

you? Pie chart no 4

Analysis: 57% of

Yes No

10 25

Yes No

26 9

Yes No

20 15

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the employees of the bank discuss their problem and share their feelings with their spouse

or friends or others while 43% of the employee is not concerned with it.

5. Do you work more than 8 hours?

Pie chart no 5

Analysis: 77% of the employees work for more than 8

hours which is the starting point of the stress while 23 %

of the employees don’t work for more than 8 hours.

6. You have an important function at your

home and your boss asks to give a 4 hour

over time, what will be your response?

Pie chart no 6

Analysis: 43 % of the employees are proved to be work

dedicated and they are ready to miss the important

function at their house while 57 % of the employees said no.

7. Do you regularly spend time for entertainment? Pie chart no 7

Analysis: 29% of the

employee spent regular time

Yes No

27 8

Yes No

15 20

Yes No

10 25

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on entertainment which helps us to remain stress free while 71 % of the employees don’t

do that.

8. Is your social life balanced? Pie

chart no 8

Analysis: 23 % of the employees find their social life to

be balanced while 77 % of the employees don’t have

their social life balanced.

9. Do you plan your

work before doing?

Pie chart no 8

Analysis: It is a good habit to plan the work you do. 63 % of the employees plan their

work before doing while 37 % of the employees don’t plan their work.

10. Do you find yourself to be overload with work and responsibility?

Pie chart no 9

Analysis: It is

found that 86%

of the employees

Yes No

8 27

Yes No

22 13

Yes No

30 5

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think that they are overloaded with responsibilities and work while 14 % of the

employees think that they are able to do the work .

11. Do you fear about the quality of your performance? Pie chart no 10

Analysis: 74% of the

employees fear the quality

of performance which they

give while 43 % of the

employees don’t fear the

quality of their work

12. Do you feel mental, emotional or physical stress? Pie chart no 12

Analysis: 80% of the

employees get the

feeling of mental, emotional or physical stress while 20 % of the employees does not feel

that way..

13. Do you get stressed at the non-achievement of your targets? Pie chart no 13

Analysis: 90% of the employees get stressed at non- achievement of their targets while

10 % of the employees does not feel stressed when didn’t reach their target.

Yes No28 7

Yes No

32 3

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14. Do you try to find any solution for the problem of your stress? Pie chart no 14

Analysis: 69% of employees

found the solution of their stress while 31% of employees say that they don’t have any

solutions.

15. (IF YES) Do you

practice yoga or any

other ayurvedic

therapy for reducing

stress?

Pie chart no 15Analysis: 31% of the employees try the yoga and other ayurvedic techniques to reduce

their stress while 51 % of the employees use other techniques to reduce stress

Yes No

24 11

Yes No

13 21

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10(10.4) Chi-Square Test

H1 = Employees when are overloaded with work and responsibilities get stressed.

H0 = Employees when are overloaded with work and responsibilities are not stressed.

Stress due to overload of work and responsibilities

No of Categories

ObservationValue (o)

Expected Value (e)

Yes 31 25 1.44No 4 10 3.6

Total 35 35 5.04

= 5.04, df = n-1(where n is the no. of categories of response) = 2-1= 1 , in

this case Degree of freedom (df) = n-1 where n is the number of classes

Df 0.05

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1 3.841

The value of chi- square is 5.04, & the value of the alpha (0.05) is 3.841 so therefore

since the value of chi- square is more than the value of alpha and hence in this case we

reject H0. Hence we can conclude that people are stress when they are overloaded with

work and responsibilities.

10(10.5) Employee’s opinion about how to reduce stress

This project consist of the information about the employees undergoing from stress who

working in the banks. So considering this factor this topic becomes one of the most

important part of the project as it consists of the opinion of the employees who work in

the banks. In short it was a direct interview of the employees who gave their opinion

about how to reduce stress. The response of employees in the two banks of Mumbai like

Bank of Maharashtra and Dena Bank it was marvelous and they have given their valuable

opinion about reducing stress as a result of the last question included in the questionnaire.

So the opinion if the employees were as follows:

“Just smile away” An employee- Bank of Maharashtra

“Just believe in your self and just do what your heart wants” An employee- Bank

of Maharashtra.

-“Talking to family members, - Watching TV or listening good music, - Going for

a walk or long drive” An employee- Bank of Maharashtra

“Believe in God” An employee- Dena Bank

“Respect yourself and give time to yourself” An employee- Dena Bank

“Play and watch cricket” An employee- Dena Bank

“Get adjusted with others, Find and spend time for prayer An employee- Dena

Bank

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These opinions are seemed to be valuable and effective as one of the effective things.

It is also noticed that in the Bank of Maharashtra in the time of afternoon slow

instrumental music are been played so that the employees can work stress free. This is

one of the positive things which are seen in the organization who is caring for their

employees. This will help the organization to boost up the productivity.

From the certain sample of employees selected for the research, only 8 employees have

given their opinion how to reduce stress. So we can understand that how overloaded the

employees of the bank are.

10(10.6) Limitation of the survey

The questionnaires were filled be 35 employees working in the two major Banks of

Mumbai i.e. Bank of Maharashtra, Dena Bank. So the scope of sample findings was

less.

The questionnaire was filled by 35 employees of same designations of different ages.

So the point of view of employees differs as per their ages.

The employees from whom the questionnaires are filled are in a heavy workload so

some of the questionnaires filled by the employees who are in stress cannot be called

reasonable.

Many a times the employees may not be really conscious or may not be bothered about

the questionnaire. This may create a problem in the research

10(10.7) Advantages of Written Questionnaires

Questionnaires are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews. This is

especially true for studies involving large sample sizes and large geographic areas.

Written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research

questions increases.

Questionnaires are easy to analyze. Data entry and tabulation for nearly all surveys can

be easily done with many computer software packages.

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Questionnaires are familiar to most people. Nearly everyone has had some experience

completing questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive.

Questionnaires reduce bias. There is uniform question presentation and no middle-man

bias. The researcher's own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer questions

in a certain manner. There are no verbal or visual clues to influence the respondent.

Questionnaires are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys. When a

respondent receives a questionnaire in the mail, he is free to complete the questionnaire

on his own time-table. Unlike other research methods, the respondent is not interrupted

by the research instrument.

10(10.8) Disadvantages of Written Questionnaires

One major disadvantage of written questionnaires is the possibility of low response rates.

Low response is the curse of statistical analysis. It can dramatically lower our confidence

in the results. Response rates vary widely from one questionnaire to another (10% -

90%), however, well-designed studies consistently produce high response rates.

Another disadvantage of questionnaires is the inability to probe responses.

Questionnaires are structured instruments. They allow little flexibility to the respondent

with respect to response format. In essence, they often lose the "flavor of the response"

(i.e., respondents often want to qualify their answers). By allowing frequent space for

comments, the researcher can partially overcome this disadvantage. Comments are

among the most helpful of all the information on the questionnaire, and they usually

provide insightful information that would have otherwise been lost.

Nearly ninety percent of all communication is visual. Gestures and other visual cues are

not available with written questionnaires. The lack of personal contact will have different

effects depending on the type of information being requested. A questionnaire requesting

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factual information will probably not be affected by the lack of personal contact. A

questionnaire probing sensitive issues or attitudes may be severely affected.

When returned questionnaires arrive in the mail, it's natural to assume that the respondent

is the same person you sent the questionnaire to. This may not actually be the case. Many

times business questionnaires get handed to other employees for completion. Housewives

sometimes respond for their husbands. Kids respond as a prank. For a variety of reasons,

the respondent may not be who you think it is. It is a confounding error inherent in

questionnaires.

Finally, questionnaires are simply not suited for some people. For example, a written

survey to a group of poorly educated people might not work because of reading skill

problems. More frequently, people are turned off by written questionnaires because of

misuse.

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11. Findings

It is analyzed from the questionnaire filled by the employees that the employees who

have low confidence about their work are not satisfied with the performance which they

give in the organization. Thus it is proved that the employees who are desired to give

better performance than their original performance are found more stressful than the

others .From the sample of 35 bank employees who have been surveyed, one is found to

be a heart patient. This can be because of high level of stress.

Many of the employees are to be found suffering from depression. It is proved from the

survey that many employees are concern about the opinion of their colleagues. Among

them some employees are there who not mind about their colleague’s opinion. Thus it is

proved that the colleagues opinion also play a lead role in the increase and decrease of the

stress level. Those who mind about their colleague’s opinion are found to be more

stressful.

The employees believe in sharing their problems with their spouse or friend or any closed

one. Thus we can say that sharing your problems with your spouse or close friends is a

better idea to reduce stress.

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In questionnaire one of the question was “You have an important function at your home

and your boss asks to give a 4 hour over time what will be your response ‘Yes or No’?”

the employees have given their opinion as per the boss pressure and their dedication.

While considering the point of view of entertainment it depends upon the mood of the

employees. The entertainment is considered one of the most ultimate solutions to reduce

stress. Most of the employees do not spend regular time in entertainment. This may be

because they may not be getting time for entertainment or they may not be interested in

the same.

One of the questions was asked that were their social life balanced? It is observed that the

majority of the employees did not have their social life balanced. Thus it is proved that

stress may affect their social life also.

The employees were asked whether they plan their work or not, majority of the

employees has answered that they do well planned their work in advance to avoid chaos.

But even failure of a plan may also lead a person to stress. Thus we can conclude that

planning of the work may help to reduce stress level.

Most of the employees fear about their quality of work they give. This aspect depends

upon the dedication of work due to work pressure they may not give the better quality of

work which is expected from them.

A question was asked that weather you get stressed at the non-achievement of their

target? Most of the employees have responded positively. From this we can conclude that

all the employees are given achievable target and naturally by the non-achievement of the

target all the employees may get stressed. One of the other possibilities is that the

employees have responded positively to show themselves to be good.

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A question was asked that do the employees get stressed at the non-achievement of their

targets. Majority of the employees out of 35 sample size, 32 have responded positively

stating that they get stressed when they don’t achieve their daily or monthly targets. This

can be one of the major reasons for the stress.

Out of 35 employees 30 employees stated that they find their selves to be overload with

work and responsibility which can be another major reason for bringing stress in

employees.

Out of 35 employees of the sample 30 of the employees accepted that the reason for their

stress is workload.05 employees are not stressed because of the workload. All the 24

employees have accepted that they try to find the solution of their stress.13 employees

out of 30 employees practice yoga to reduce their stress and the other 22 employees don’t

practice yoga.

Thus we can conclude that the employees have reduced their stress by yoga therapy and

other employees have just opted for walk, listening to music, watching TV and playing

some indoor or outdoor games.

The above analysis is done by the data received from the questionnaire. So the accuracy

of data depends upon the response of the employee

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10. Conclusion

Finding and conclusion are based on the survey conducted and these points are to be

looked into and steps are to be taken in this regards.

Stress is something that happens in our daily lives and is usually associated with a

particular event such as work, family or other responsibilities. There are many situations

that we can’t control, but there are ways to control how we deal with certain situations.

Effective Stress Management is something that our lives can go little more smoothly.

Stress management is as simple as talking a walk. It was been proven that physical

activities would improve a person’s mental health, help with depression and relieve the

side effects of stress. This makes a person’s heart rate increase and will be more likely to

affect by stress. It is vital that stress management techniques are implemented into our

daily live. Coping with stress is an individualized task. A person that is stressed takes so

much away his or her performance levels.

Employees at bank are too much stressed with their jobs with heavy workload, so the

employees can have some refreshing events to add up in their workplace like

entertainment trips, intervals once in a while during lumps of work. As they are loaded

with work the employees are not able to achieve their targets which are the main causes

of stress.

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Even working for more than 8 hours employees tend to feel stress, is another reason why

bank employees are getting stress. Though many of the employees have various solutions

for the problem of stress. Finally I would like to conclude by saying that this project

worked has given immense knowledge about the functioning of Government sector. Its

great advantage to have good insight about such banks before the end of the course.

13. Recommendations

1. Know what stresses you most.

Not your co-worker, friend, husband, or  wife. YOU!! Get your feelings out. Write

them out and describe each situation. Share all bad feelings with a friend or in a journal.

Before you can conquer your stresses you must know what is stressing you.

2.Say no.

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Focus on you own goals, not your spouse's or parents'. You must know yourself, your

dreams, and your passions. If asked to chair another group or take on another

responsibility, look at your mission statement or goals for the day. If it is does not fit it

there say thank you but I just cannot. Saying no is one of the hardest things in life, but

will help make you a success in your chosen field.

3. Learn to relax

Work hard but know when to take time off to be with the family, go to the beach, or read

a book. Work all day if you must but when you get home play, watch cartoons, or tell

your child a story. This allows stress tension to go away and helps you calm the heart's

pace and digest food normally, and protect your immune system. Learn to meditate and

take deep breaths to calm down.

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4. Eat Healthy

Eat less junk food and more fruit and vegetables for amazing overall lowering of stress

levels. We can actually lower the amount of the bad stress hormone, Cortisol, by taking

vitamins. Take those vitamin pills daily

5. Keep laughing

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Keep a sense of humor. Studies show a good attitude helps lower cancer rates, makes

surgery more effective, and keeps a relationship together through hard times.

6. Ask yourself WHY

Why are you doing this? Write down your wants, needs, goals, hopes, and dreams. Does

what you are doing now help you get fulfill any of these things? What is your

motivation? The more you understand why you doing what you are doing the less stress

you will have. If you cannot come up with a good reason, then stop doing it.

7. Stay active

Exercise is a great way to relive tension and gives you a great break from exams. A

healthy body makes a happy body. Even a three-minute jog is helpful at taking your

mind off your pressures. You'll come back with an acute focus and renewed

energy.

8. Follow your bliss.

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Try to know which subjects and type of people you enjoy .Structure your life around

activities that you love. Joseph Campbell, a wise philosopher, advises you to

follow your bliss. The more you do in life that goes with your own flow, the more

passion you will have for what you do.

9. Organize and Prioritize.

Do the worst and hardest tasks first. Keep a to-do list and calendar with you at all times.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

14. Bibliography

o www.mindtool.com

o Organizational Behavior “Stephen P. Robbins”

o www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.

o www.tutorialspoint.com .

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o Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress: A Handbook for the Overworked,

Overscheduled, and Overwhelmed  “Rita Emmett”

15. ANNEXURE

QuestionnaireCode No: Name of the organization:

Age: (25 – 30) (30 – 35) (35 – 40) (40 – 45)

Designation:

Experience:

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Q1. Are you satisfied with the performance you give at your work?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q2. Do you think that you are suffering from depression?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q3. Do you worry about your colleague's opinion about you?

(a) Yes ( b) No

Q4. Do you discuss your problem with your spouse or friend or any other close to you?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q5. Do you work more than 8 hours?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q6. You have an important function at your home and your boss asks to give a 4 hour over time, what will be your response?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q7. Do you regularly spend time for entertainment?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q8. Is your social life balanced?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q9. Do you plan your work before doing?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q10. Do you find yourself to be overload with work and responsibility?

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(a) Yes (b) No

Q11. Do you fear about the quality of your performance?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q12. Do you feel mental, physical or emotional stress?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q13. Do you get stressed at the non-achievement of your targets?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q14. Do you try to find any solution for the problem of your stress?

(a) Yes (b) No

Q15. (If Yes) Do you practice yoga or any other ayurvedic therapy for reducing stress?

(a) Yes (b) No

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