CHAPTER-1

INTRODUCTION

1.1.

Introduction about the title

Stress is a part of day today living of every individual. The college students may experience stress in meeting the academic demands, people on the job, business person may suffer stress to each office in the time and to complete the projects on time and even the household women may experience stress in managing the home affairs and to look for the maidservant. The reasons for the stress differ from person to person. The stress experience by people should not be necessarily treated as harmful. An optimum, amount of stress can always act as an energizer or motivator and people to apply the efforts and complete the work. Nevertheless, a high level of stress can be a serious threat to the personality traits of the individual and can cause physiological and social problems. . Definition: Stress is defined as an organism's total response to environmental demands or pressures. When stress was first studied in the 1950s, the term was used to denote both the causes and the experienced effects of these pressures. More recently, however, the word stressor has been used for the stimulus that provokes a stress response. - Gale Cengage The physiological and psychological responses to situations or events that disturb the equilibrium of an organism. While there is little consensus among psychologists about the exact definition of stress, it is agreed that stress results when demands placed on an organism cause unusual physical, psychological, or emotional...

According to AKTINSON HILGARD (1970) in the book of introduction to psychology, stress may be any discomfort situation produced due to anxiety, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness with in a person, so that the person is seriously disturbed and less able to (control) hold a job. It is a feeling of helplessness. Society at present is highly competitive. Everyone strives for power; prestige and possession to excel over his/her follow men. This competitive process obviously poses many challenges for the individual by causing stress and anxiety. Stress is a stain on ones emotions through processes and physical conditions. When it is excessive, it can threaten ones ability to cope with an environment.

Right from the day of entering into service until the day of retirement an individual is invariably exposed to various stressful situations for one reason or the other. Job stress originates due to organizational demands, which are experienced by the worker to change, that is, disrupt, or enhance his or her psychological and or physiological condition such that the person is forced to deviate from normal functioning.

As is pointed out, stress is not automatically bad for individual employees or their organizational performance. In general, the low levels of stress can even enhance job performance. For example; one recent study found that mild stress, such as getting a new supervisor or being involuntarily transferred, might have the positive results of an increased search for information in the job.

This may lead employees to new and better ways of doing their jobs. In addition, mild stress may get lead to increased activity change and overall better performance. People in certain jobs, such as in sales or creative fields or in IT sectors, would seem to benefit from a mild levels of stress. People in other jobs, such as police officers or physicians, may not benefit, from constant mild stress. The many challenges in the work environments, characterized by heightened competition, lack of time, more uncontrollable factors, lack of space, continuous
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technological development, conflicting demands from organizational stakeholder, increased use of participatory management and computerization, greater uncertainty, and others have resulted in higher job stress. The weakening of global economy during the past few years has resulted in substantial downsizing retrenchments. In an industry, the executives are one of the most essential persons. They have to execute the plans for the organizational or industrial development and as well play a vital role in that industry. As they may face a lot of stress, they should adapt ways to manage their own stress and do their best to minimize the harmful effects of stress. Stress in Today's World It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, Charles Dickens wrote of 20th century France in his masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities. Could the same be said for you, today's college student? Never before have college students been faced with such vast opportunities, such freedom of choice, and such an array of information. Yet these opportunities, these many choices, and this information overload can be the factors that leave you feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Will this be the best of times or the worst of times for you? As you will learn in the chapters to come, the decision is yours. With the right skills and the right information, you will be in control of your destiny. Without stress there would be no life Hans selye

Stress, stressors, eustress, distress, good stress, bad stress - it can be confusing and downright stressful to understand what stress is all about. As Hans Selye, the noted stress researcher, once said, Stress is a scientific concept which has suffered from the mixed blessing of being too well known and too little understood.

Coming up with an accepted definition of stress is not easy. Nurses and physicians, psychologists, biologists, engineers, and students may each have a different meaning in mind when they talk about stress. One useful definition of stress is stress is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body. This definition helps us understand three important aspects of stress. 1. Stress depends on your personal view of the stressor and can be both a positive and a negative factor in your life. 2. It is your reaction to the events in life, rather than the actual events, that determine whether the outcome is positive or negative. 3. Your capacities determine the results. Stress is a demand made upon the body's capacities. When your capacities for handling stress are strong and healthy, the outcome is positive. When you lack the ability to handle the demands, the outcome is negative.

Modern man is sick because he is not whole. - Carl Gustav Jung Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. - Johann Wolfgang Goethe

Stress can be challenging and useful. However, it can also become chronic and excessive to the point where you are no longer able to adapt and cope with the pressures. An optimal level of stress is characterized by high energy, mental alertness, high motivation, calmness under pressure, through analysis of problems, improved memory and recall, sharp perception, and a generally optimistic outlook.

1.2 INDUSTRY PROFILE

Education in India is provided by the public sector as well as the private sector, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. Education in India falls under the control of both the Union Government and the states, with some responsibilities lying with the Union and the states having autonomy for others. The various articles of the Indian Constitution provide for education as a fundamental right. Most universities in India are controlled by the Union or the State Government. According to current estimates, 80% of all institution is government making the government the major provider of education. However, because of poor quality of public education, 27% of Indian children are privately educated. According to some research, private institution often provides superior results at a fraction of the unit cost of government institution. However, others have suggested that private institution fail to provide education to the poorest families, a selective being only a fifth of the institution and have in the past ignored Court orders for their regulation In their favor, it has been pointed out that private institution cover the entire curriculum and offer extra-curricular activities such as science fairs, general knowledge, sports, music and drama. The pupil teacher ratios are much better in private institution (1:31 to 1:37 for government institution and more teachers in private institution are female. There is some disagreement over which system has better educated teachers. According to the latest DISE survey, the percentage of untrained teachers (paratechers) is 54.91% in private, compared to 44.88% in government institution and only 2.32% teachers in unaided institution receive inservice training compared to 43.44% for government institution. The competition in the school market is intense, yet most institution makes profit. However, the number of private institution in India is still low - the share of private institutions is 7% (with upper primary being 21% and secondary 32% - source: fortress team research).

Even the poorest often go to private institution despite the fact that government institution is free. A study found that 65% of school children in Hyderabad's slums attend private institution. Operation of unrecognized institution has been made illegal under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act which has also significantly simplified the process of obtaining recognition. India has both private and public Institution , many of which are supported by the Government of India and the state governments. Apart from these there are private universities supported by various bodies and societies. Universities in India are recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which draws its power from the University Grants Commission Act, 1956. In addition, 15 Professional Councils are established, controlling different aspects of accreditation and coordination

Vocational education or vocational education and training (VET) is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation. It is sometimes referred to as technical education as the trainee directly develops expertise in a particular group of techniques. Vocational education may be classified as teaching procedural knowledge. This can be contrasted with declarative knowledge, as used in education in a usually broader scientific field, which might concentrate on theory and abstract conceptual knowledge, characteristic of tertiary education. Vocational education can be at the secondary or post-secondary level and can interact with the apprenticeship system. Increasingly, vocational education can be recognized in terms of recognition of prior learning and partial academic credit towards tertiary education (e.g., at a university) as credit; however, it is rarely considered in its own form to fall under the traditional definition of higher education.

However, as the labor market becomes more specialized and economies demand higher levels of skill, governments and businesses are increasingly investing in the future of vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives for businesses. At the postsecondary level vocational education is typically provided by an institute of technology, or by a local community college. Vocational education has diversified over the 20th century and now exists in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. Part time programs are offered through state technical education boards or universities who also offer full-time courses. Vocational training has been successful in India only in industrial training institutes and that too in engineering trades. There are many private institutes in India which offer courses in vocational training and finishing, but most of them have not been recognized by the Government. India is a pioneer in vocational training in Film & Television, and Information Technology. Vocational education consists basically of practical courses through which one gains skills and experience directly linked to a career in future. It helps students to be skilled and in turn, offers better employment opportunities. These trainings are parallel to the other conventional courses of study (like B. Sc., M. Sc. etc.). Time management and meeting deadlines play an important role in success in a vocational course and during their studies students normally produce a portfolio of evidence (plans, reports, drawings, videos, placements), which is taken as a demonstration of students capabilities for a job. After finishing the courses, students are often offered placements in jobs. Vocational trainings in a way give students some work related experiences that many employers look for. According to a National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report (No. 517, 61/10/03) two types of vocational trainings are available in India: a) Formal and; b) Non-formal. Formal vocational training follows a structured training program and leads to certificates, diplomas or degrees, recognized by State/Central Government, Public Sector and other reputed concerns. Non-formal vocational training helps in acquiring some marketable expertise, which
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enables a person to carry out her/his ancestral trade or occupation. In a way through such non-formal vocational training, a person receives vocational training through hereditary sources. Often Non-formal vocational trainings are also received through other sources. In such cases training received by a person to pursue a vocation, is not ancestral and is different from the trade or occupation of his/her ancestors. Type of Institutions for Vocational training according to National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO): Different institutions which impart vocational training can be classified into five categories: (i) Government, (ii) Local body, (iii) Private aided, (iv) Private unaided, and (v) not known. According to a NSSO report vocational training is received by only 10% of persons aged between 15-29 years. Out of this only 2% receive formal training, while non-formal training constitutes the remaining 8%. Out of the formal training received by that particular age group only 3% are employed. Most sought after field of training is computer related training. Only 20% of formal vocational training is received from ITI/ITCs. In India, technical education and vocational training system follows patterns like graduate - post graduate, engineer - technologists through training colleges, diploma from polytechnics and certificate level training in ITIs through formal apprenticeships. The Vocational Training in India is imparted by mainly two types of bodies:

Public Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) Private owned Industrial Training Centres (ITCs)

The Indian Government has invested a lot for the development of skills through ITIs. The DGE&T generally regulates these ITIs and ITCs at national level and implements policies for vocational training.

1.3. COMPANY PROFILE LIFECARE CAREER CENTER (LCCC) was created in 1999 to carry out the important role of student protection. LCCC sets basic education standards for registered private career training institutions in Tamilnadu Chennai and establishes standards of quality which must be met by accredited institutions. Lifecare Career Center training institutions in BC enroll over 15,000 students each year and Contains More than 150 employees working towards the achievement in students career and guide them in our various training unit of LCCC. The Lifecare Career Center is a registered, private institution in Chennai. In 2006, LCCC formed a partnership with the WEB CONSULTANCY (WC) and today the group has campuses spread throughout Chennai catering for full-time and part-time learners within the fields of Information Technology, BPO, Spoken English and Various Computer Application. LCCCs sole objective has always been to prepare its graduates for careers. Since its Inception in 1999, LCCC has prepared a great number of learners for a wide spectrum of employment opportunities. Many of LCCCs graduates have excelled in their chosen career fields and currently hold senior positions. LCCC offers and supports a variety of quality, career-orientated qualifications at its Center. Through its partnership & Tie-up with the various Companies like Tata Consultancy, L&T Technology, and by producing its own high quality qualifications, LCCC offers and supports a wide variety of international and national career qualifications ranging from Information Technology, Marketing, Management, Graphic Design.

Qualifications offered and supported through LCCC and Web Consultancy range across four faculties: the Information Technology Faculty, the Software Testing Faculty, the Spoken English Faculty, and BPOs Faculty. The partnership with WEB CONSULTANCY makes it possible for prospective learners across the National, to study towards a Chennai in registered. In addition
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LCCCs unique study option makes it possible for prospective learners to fast track their IT studies and gain employment within one year. This unique, dual accreditation ensures that all programmes and academic service delivery (both for local and international programmes are of the highest local and international standard and that learners have more comprehensive employment opportunities available to them upon completion of their studies. LCCC and WEB Consultancy have both experienced solid growth over the past decade and are regarded by many as institutions of choice. They have established themselves as premium higher education institutions, delivering quality careerorientated qualifications not only to Chennai learners, but also to a large, all over Tamilnadu Students. The mission of LCCC is to make a positive difference in the lives of people, primarily through educating them, achieving the highest standard of career-focused education and assisting them in securing gainful employment. LCCC is committed to providing the highest quality of learning excellence and service to its learners and communities and to building life-long learning partnerships. VISION AND MISSION At LCCC, we strongly believe that maintaining "good corporate citizenship" through social involvement in the communities we work and live in is a fundamental aspect of an effective and sustainable corporate strategy. Our social involvement stems from "wanting to support others in need" because we are in a position to do so, and it is a labour of love for our staff and management. As LCCC staff, students, parents, the general public, and stakeholders, your involvement with LCCC contributes directly to the social well-being of others in the community. It is against this backdrop that LCCC has, through the dedication of one of its directors, Mr. Muruganadam, developed policies, mechanisms and systems to ensure the effective and efficient execution of its social responsibility in an equitable and sustainable manner.

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MISSION AND SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT It is the group's mission to make a positive difference in the lives of people, primarily through educating them, achieving the highest standard of career-focused career education, and assisting them in securing gainful employment. The group is committed to providing the highest quality learning excellence and service to its learners and communities, and to building life-long learning partnerships. The group strongly believes that maintaining good corporate citizenship through social involvement in the communities in which we work and live is a fundamental aspect of an effective and sustainable corporate strategy. As such, LCCC and WEB CONSULTANCY have committed to serve and involve communities in Chennai in order to uplift their social and educational wellbeing. Working Hours The regular work hours of our organization will be from 9am to 6pm, with a lunch interval of one hour from 1 pm to 2pm. On Saturdays the office will close by 5.30 pm. Sundays will be observed as holidays.

Working Code Clothing should he neat and should reflect the general image of our organization. Where ever uniforms are provided by the company, the same is to be worn by the employees. During normal working hours men will have to wear shirt tucked in with trouser, neat socks and shoes as well as women can come in sari. Any employee who must attend business meetings or other outside programs is required to wear appropriate business attire for such meetings. Housekeeping All employees are required to follow the Own your work place concept. All are expected to keep their work area neat and clean in order to have a better, safer, more pleasant place to work. it reduces accidents and promotes an organized work flow.
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Wearing Helmets &Seat Belts All our employees, who ride a two wheeler, are compulsorily required to wear helmet, failing which suitable action will be taken against the employee. Whenever any car is being used for office purpose/test drive/ final inspection etc., it is mandatory to wear seat belts in the interest of safety. This applies to all employees of our organization so that they can act as a role model. Team work As you know team work and co-operation among all employees is very important. When you join our organization you automatically become a member of LIFECARE CAREER CENTER (LCCC). You are part of a department team and each team depends upon each other for growth and learning new initiatives.

Recruitment and Selection Philosophy: We recruit new employees on the basis of demonstrated ability, relevant experience and future potential. We will ensure cent percent transparency in the recruitment process.

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1.4. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To study on Organizational Stress among Employees at LIFECARE CAREER CENTER (LCCC), Chennai. To study the nature of stress and suggest suitable measures to minimize the stress level among the employees. To study the various aspects that make the employees feel stressed. To help the company to have a proper understanding about their employees. Work force planning.

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1.5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

To identify the various factors influencing the employees and study about the present methods to eradicate the level of stress among the employees in the organization. The scope of the study is to understand the stress among the employees in the organizations and its importance. The study helps in finding the lapses, if any; in the present stress management system and thereby would help the organization to arrive at an improved system.

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1.6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

1.6.1 RESEARCH A broad definition of research is given by Martin Shuttleworth - "In the broadest sense of the word, the definition of research includes any gathering of data, information and facts for the advancement of knowledge."

1.6.2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research methodology is a method that can be used to solve the research problems. Its helps in studying how research is done scientifically. It provides various steps that can be adopted by the researcher in studying his problems.

1.6.3. RESEARCH DESIGN The researcher adopted Descriptive Research Design for the study. The major purpose of descriptive research design is the description of state of affairs, as it exists at present .The characteristic of descriptive research is that the researcher has no control over the variables. Researcher can only present what has happened or what is happening. In this study, the researcher is attempting to describe the Organizational Stress at LIFECARE CAREER CENTER (LCCC), Chennai and therefore descriptive research design is to be adopted for the study.

1.6.4 DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Descriptive research has been used for the study. Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, which describes data and characteristics about the population being studied. Descriptive research answers the questions who, what, where, when and how.

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1.6.5. SOURCES OF DATA:

PRIMARY DATA Primary data are the data collected from the respondents through the help of the Questionnaire.

SECONDARY DATA The required secondary data was collected from the books, journals, and internet sources. The secondary data include various authors definition on stress and their suggestions to reduce stress.

PERIOD OF THE STUDY The researcher had done the study at LIFECARE CAREER CENTER (LCCC), Chennai for a period of one month.

DATA COLLECTION METHOD The data was collected using Questionnaire, observation, and interview method.

SAMPLE SIZE Size of the sample means the number of sampling units selected from the population for investigation. The researcher has selected 50 samples among the employees using the sampling technique.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Sampling is the process of selecting the members, few from the bigger group to become the basis for estimating or predicting a fact, situation, or outcome. The sampling method used for this study is Random Sampling.

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RANDOM SAMPLING A method of sampling that involves the division of a population into smaller groups known as strata. In random sampling, the strata are formed based on members shared attributes or characteristics. A random sample from each stratum is taken in a number proportional to the stratums size when compared to the population. These subsets of the strata are then pooled to form a random sample.

1.6.6. TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS Analysis techniques are used to obtain finding and arrange information in logical sequence from the raw data collected. After the tabulation of data the tools provide a scientific and mathematical solution to complex problem. Percentage analysis

PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS In this proportion of an individual observation in a distribution is described. The most convention for describing the position of an individual score is a percentage method. No. of Respondents Percentage = ------------------------------------------ * 100 Total No. of Respondents

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1.7. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY The findings of the study may not be universally applicable. The employees were reluctant in answering the questions in the working hours. Since the data was collected using questionnaire, there is a possibility of ambiguous replies or omission of replies altogether to certain items mentioned in the questionnaire. There is every possibility of bias from the respondent. The study is relevant only to Private Organisation.

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2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Stokes and Kite (2001), in their review, they assert that there are two traditional models of psychological stress, stimulus-based and response-based. The stimulusbased stress approach assumes certain conditions to be stressful and dubs these stressors (i.e., workload, heat and cold, time pressure etc.). Historically this has resulted in researchers selecting such exogenous variables, applying them experimentally, and concluding that the outcome witnessed was likely the result of a stressmanipulation. The approach is based on an engineering analogy (mechanical stress and emotional strain) that Stokes and Kite contend is inadequate. They argue that this model ignores individual differences, does not evaluate circumstances, and leaves out emotionwe are not just machines that react to environmental stimuli. The response-based stress approach holds that stress is defined by the pattern of responses (i.e. behavioral, cognitive, and affective) that result from exposure to a given stressor. In contrast to the stimulus-based approach, these variables can be considered endogenous or coming from within the individual. This model has relied heavily on the work of Yerkes and Dodson (1908) and later Selye1956) and found its emphasis in physiological dimensions. Stokes and Kite (2001) suggested that physiological measures have failed to provide a complete understanding of the human stress response and do not necessarily equate to psychological stress, and thus a third approach to understanding the human stress response has emergedthe transactional model. Transactional models view stress as the interaction between the environment and individual, emphasizing the role of the individuals appraisal of situations in shaping their responses. From the transactional approach, stress is defined as, the result of a mismatch between individuals perceptions of the demands of the task or situation and their perceptions of the resources for coping with them.

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Yerkes and Dodson (1908) Inverted U Principle suggested that there is relationship between arousal and performance. Landers (1980) also criticized the hypothesis, noting, In actuality, the inverted-U hypothesis is not an explanation for the arousal- performance relationship; it merely posits that this relationship is curvilinear without explaining what internal state or process produces it. Further concerns have been raised about the methodology required to either prove or refute the hypothesis since arousal cannot be generated in the laboratory per se (it tends to result from some event or condition). Neiss (1988) suggested that the current research literature in support of the Yerkes-Dodson principle of arousal and performance, is psychologically trivial In his review of the inverted-U hypothesis, Neiss disputed the relationship between arousal and motor performance and instead explored a reconceptualization of arousal into specific psychobiological states (an interdependence model between affect, cognition, and such states). Neiss recommended that any investigation of these psychobiological states should optimally include measures that have historically been associated with arousal: respiration, heart rate, electroencephalography,

electromyography, etc. Easterbrook (1959), in his seminal paper on the relationship between stress and performance (the effects of emotion on cue utilization), argued that there is an optimal level of stress associated with cue sampling (attention allocation) as one scans and absorbs the various stimuli in his or her environment. Easterbrook (1959) proposed that the effects of arousal under stress were motivational in nature, serving to better organize a course of action, as opposed to emotional, leading to a disruption in performance. This too seemed to adhere to the Yerkes-Dodson principle. Hans Selye (1956) published over 1,500 articles and 30 books on the subject of stress and coping, and his work on the Global Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) propelled beliefs in the ubiquitous inverted U.

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Teichner, Arees, and Reilly (1963) proposed a distraction- arousal theory. They contended that stressors have two primary mechanisms for negatively affecting performance: they either distract the operator, drawing attention away from the primary task or they increase the operators level of arousal past optimal levels. Turning their focus to affective processes, Schachter and Singer (1962) devised an ingenious experiment aimed at determining the relationship between arousal and cognition in the creation of emotional states. During the course of arousal theorys evolution, many have come to view its definitive expression as a physiological one. Given the apparently inseparable state of arousal and stress, researchers commonly link physiologic reactivity to the human stress response. However, Stokes and Kite (2001) report on the misperception of various physiological measures (i.e., corticoids or skin temperature) as necessarily indicators of stress. They note that such measures need not co-vary and are often associated with a variety of positive and negative affective states. Roscoe (1978), in his investigation of this alignment, stated that physiological markers are not accurate measures of emotional stress. This connection has fused in large measure due to Cannons (1915) efforts to detail the human fight or flight response and Selyes (1956) work on the Global Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Stokes and Kite (2001) cite Selyes contention that the human response to stress is a nonspecific systemic reaction. This view closely resembles elements in arousal theory and served to support volumes of experimental work in this joint direction. Stemmler, Heldmann, Pauls, and Scherer (2001) extended this view in their exploration of psychophysiological responses to fear and anger under real-world and imaginal states. They suggest that emotion exists in context-deviation specificity. Specifically, they concluded that each individual has response components within a greater somatovisceral response organization that directs resource allocation based on situational circumstances.

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These views are consistent with the work of Thackray (Thackray, 1988; Thackray & Touchstone, 1983) who examined the startle response and its impact on performance. Thackray reported that the startle reflex immediately follows an initial orienting response to an unexpected stimulus, typically within 100 milliseconds after the event. Accordingly, he and others (Landis & Hunt, 1939) have suggested that this reflexive response is likely to be pre-emotional. The authors asserted that the response includes physiological and subjective dimensions. Physiologically, the startle reflex includes a full array of autonomic and central nervous system activation that has been characterized as general and non-specific. The authors theorized that the subjective feeling state induced by the startle reflex is related to fear or anger; however, being pre-emotional, the reaction is believed to be different, in some yet undefined way, than these more advanced affective states. Research on the startle response has convincingly demonstrated its effects on performance (May & Rice, 1971; Sternbach, 1960; Thackray, 1965) and is discussed in a further section of the review. Christianson (1992) conducted a rigorous review of the literature on arousals role in memory function and suggested that it was time to retire the inverted U as it no longer was useful in describing the relationship between stress or arousal and memory performance. Biondi and Picardi (1999) have provided the most thorough review of research examining the relationship between stress, cognitive appraisal, and neuroendocrine function. They found that ones subjective perception resulted in various psychoendocrine response patterns, specifically, modulations among the pituitaryadrenocortical, adrenomedullary, and the sympathoneural systems. Biondi and Picardi (1999) concluded that a consistent pattern of increased adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol secretions have been found in both laboratory and naturalistic settings. A large body of literature has evolved concluding that high-trait and high-state anxious individuals demonstrate an attentional bias toward threatening stimuli. This assertion rests on three theories: Beck (1976), who suggested that anxiety vulnerability relates to strong activation of schemas that are geared toward the
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processing of threat-related information: Bowers (1981), network theory proposed that a given emotional state leads to an activation of memory representations that are mood- congruent which in turn results in the selective processing of this information: MacLeod and Matthews (1988), suggested that such selective processing for threatbased cues occurs in high-trait anxious individuals under certain circumstances (possibly an interaction effect between trait and state anxiety). Matthews (2001) has developed an extensive model of driving performance, using a transactional concept of stress based on Lazarus and Folkmans (1984) work. Matthews asserted that cognition plays two important roles in the mediation process between person and situation. The first role concerns the appraisal of the situation and second, the choice and regulation of coping strategies. Specifically, Matthews suggested three types of coping that are typically used by drivers performing under stressful conditions: 1) problem or task-focused coping - attempts to change the external reality of the situation, 2) emotion-focused coping - attempts to deal with the stressor through its reappraisal, and 3) avoidance coping - attempts to ignore the stressor through distraction. Abela and Alessadro (2002) confirmed the common perception that attitude was directly related to an individuals risk of confirmed the common perception that attitude was directly related to an individuals risk of developing depressive moods following negative events. Hertel, Mathews, Peterson, and Kinter (2003) found that when non-anxious adults practiced a threat- related interpretation task (a semantic-judgment word task), threat-related interpretations transferred to an otherwise ambiguous word task that followed. Thus a threat-related interpretation of ambiguous words was induced in previously non-anxious subjects. With broad variations in descriptions the research literature in this area is often confusing and contradictory. For the better part of the last century research has relied on various theories to help explain the relationship between stress and performance. These include arousal, activation, energetical, and resource models.
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McGrath conceptualized stress as the interaction between three elements: perceived demand, perceived ability to cope, and the perception of the importance of being able to cope with the demand. Unlike many previous definitions of stress, this formulation distinctly incorporates the transactional process believed to be central to current cognitive appraisal theories.

Finally, the notion that anxious individuals show a bias toward emotionally threatening stimuli has been demonstrated repeatedly. Attentional biases toward such stimuli have been found in state and trait anxious subjects. Moreover, there is a robust clinical literature supporting the suggestion that anxious individuals (state, trait, or disordered) may experience a greater difficulty avoiding encoding threatening stimuli than non-anxious individuals. This literature is largely based on the work of Beck (1976; Beck, 1987) and those among the dominant theoretical schools of cognitivebehavioral psychotherapy.

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CHAPTER-3

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Stress is the impact of one object on another. There are three terms, which are used synonymously to denote this phenomenon; stress, strain and pressure. Stress is a term basically used in physical sciences which means pressure of one object on another from physical sciences, the term stress come to medical sciences and finally to special sciences. As per the medical explanation, the term stress is the bodys general response to environmental situations Selye, who has done considerable research on stress, has viewed stress as the non-specifically induced changes with a biological system.

Stress can be physical or emotional, meaning that the increased demands upon the body are of a physical nature (for example, an illness or injury) or psychological. Most people use the term to refer to psychological stress, and while there may be many different causes of psychological stress, there are no distinct or different types of stress in terms of the bodys reactions and symptoms.

For example, one might speak of lifestyle stress, relationship or marital stress, parenting stress, work-related stress, but all of these are just circumstances and causes for the body to perceive and react to stress. Stress causes a number of changes in the bodys functioning, including the ease of hormones to control and modify the stress response. Stress can have an impact on immune function and can worsen the symptoms of many different medical conditions. A persons perception and experience of stress is extremely varied. Different people will experience different symptoms and reactions when under a similar amount of stress, so there is no way to define which symptoms are specifically associated with stress or with particular type of stress.

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A leading expert on stress, Cardiologist Robert Eliot, gives the following prescription for dealing with stress, he gave some rules, the first one is dont sweat the small stuff, Second one is its all small stuff and you cant fight and you cannot flee, flow, what is happening in todays organizations, however is that the small stuff is getting to employees, and they are not going with the flow. Stress has become a major buzzword legitimate concern of the times.

A recent estimate is that stress is costing corporate, America a staggering $68 billion annually in lost productivity due to the absence from work and stress claims costing up to 10 percent of a companys earnings! Health care professionals are reporting that up to 90 percent of patients complain of stress- related symptoms, and disorders. Stress effects physical, psychological wellbeing of individual employee in corporate sector. Stress is an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and / or psychological processes that are a consequence of any external action, situation, or event that places special physical and / or psychological demands upon a person.

Definition of stress 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 is the autonomy response to environmental stimulus. Van Fleet (1988) stress is caused when a person is subjected to unusual situations, demands, extreme expectations, or pressures that are difficult to handle. Douglas (1980) says stress is defined as any action or situation that places special physical or psychological demands upon a person.

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MODELS

GENERAL ADAPTION SYNDROME Hanss Selye researched the effects of stress on rats and other animals by exposing them to unpleasant or harmful stimuli. He found that all animals presented a very similar series of actions, broken into three stages. In 1936, he described this universal response to the stressors the general adaptation syndrome, or GAS.

The three stages of stress Alarm stage When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the bodys stress response is a state of alarm. During this stage, adrenaline will be produced in order to bring about the tight-or-flight response. There is also some activation of the HPA axis, producing cortical. Resistance stage If the stressor persists, it becomes necessary to attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually depleted. Exhaustion stage At this point, all of the bodys resources are eventually depleted and the body is unable to maintain normal function. At this point, the initial autonomic nervous system symptoms may reappear sweating, raised heart rate etc. If stage three is extended, long-term damage may result as the capacity of glands, especially the adrenal gland, and the immune system is exhausted and function is impaired resulting in the compensation.

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The result can manifest itself in obvious illnesses such as ulcers, depression, and diabetes, trouble with the digestive system or even cardiovascular problems, along with other mental illnesses.

STRESS IN WORKING AREA The term stress may come up with different ideas to describe by the people. How the sense of stress such as tension, anxiety or the things and events that cause to feel in this way. The pressure and its implication are in the life. Mostly the stress has come to mean both the causes and the effects of the feeling of pressure. Man is working animal who is mental and psychological qualities must be employed sufficiently for him to remain healthy and prevent emotional and physical atrophy. But he must learn to recognize that sometimes his work is so consuming that it robs him of the ability of in other areas of living (Seyle 1974). According to Lazarus and Folk man 1984 stress is an internal state which can be caused by, physical demands on the body by environment or social situation which are evaluated as potentially harmful, uncontrollable or exceeding our resources for coping.

STRESS FACTORS

The life in this fast changing world is fraught with lot of demands placed on the human beings; these stimulants are alternatively called stress, which leads to different kinds of reactions from each individual. A demand made on human beings. Constrains that limits the capability to meet the demands make it seems insurmountable. Available supports help the people to meet the demands or manage the demands. The demands and constrains create pressure and the resultant effects on ones stress. Thus, it is actually the interpretation of demands, constrains, and support. Perhaps even without not being aware of these, those determine the stress response.
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Naturally, the people see and perceive the situation through their own eyes with its attendant fitters, and it is ones perception of the demands and his ability to meet them that will determine the feelings are stressed or not. The response will depend upon the situation and be influenced by the backgrounds. There will be few situations, which may not lead to stress for an individual at anytime. It perceived relationship between the demands and ones ability to cope.

Dr. Hensley defines stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demands upon it. Every human being requires certain level of stress to function at the optimum level of his or her capabilities and potentials. However at the same time, if the demand of the bio systems is excessive than the system buckles and breakdown. At that stage the stress become distress and dysfunctional.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRESS

The stress factors may create stress due jobs conditions, especially during the working time. In the year of 1981 the importance of stress at work was dramatized by the National Strike of the Air Traffic Controllers Union, which was justified on the basis that the controllers jobs were so stressful jobs. Kahn Wolfe, Quinn Snock, and Roserthal in their entitled organizational stress have stated their findings of U.S. wide study of work life stress and anxiety of the national sample. Only 6 percent claimed to be relatively free of stress, while 83 percent reported that they were experiencing a great deal of stress as result of their job. Thus, he says that the job may be either satisfaction or dissatisfaction and feeling either positive or negative power over into the personal life. So mostly the stress will occur in the work life. There are so many changes to occur stress.

In another study, which was conducted by show and Riskind in 1983 recording stress related illness, 25 per cent and 50 percent job related illness was occurred. Thus, the stress will make the people to be in illness.

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CAUSES OF STRESS AT WORK These are typical causes of stress at work 1. Bullying or harassment by anyone, not necessarily a persons manager 2. Feeling powerless and uninvolved in determining ones own responsibilities 3. Continuous unreasonable performance demands 4. Lack of job security 5. Long working hours 6. Excessive time away from home & family 7. Office politics and conflicts among staff 8. A feeling that ones reward is not commensurate with ones responsibility

SOURCES OF WORK RELATED STRESS Stresss a work can take many forms. Frew 1977 identifies eight sources of work related stress. The unwritten psychological contract regarding the individuals expectations of what the job will provide the stress surrounding careers development. The negative impact of the family of job demands. The trauma of change, particularly as it relate to human obsolescence. Stress arising from attempts to cope with job demands coping with expectations of superiors, and the ideology of the organization.

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CHAPTER-4 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION Table 4.1 TABLE SHOWING THE AGE PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS Particulars(In years) Below 20 21 30 31 40 40 & Above Total No. of Respondents 2 40 8 0 50 Percentage 4 80 16 0 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 4% of the employees are below 20 years, 80% of employees are between 20 30 years, 16% of employees are between 31 40 years.

Chart.4.1 CHART SHOWING THE AGE PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

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Table 4.2 TABLE SHOWING RESPONDENTS BY GENDER

Particulars Male Female Total

No. of Respondents 18 32 50

Percentage 36 64 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 36% of employees are male, 64% of employees are female.

Chart 4.2 CHART SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS BY GENDER

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Table 4.3 TABLE SHOWING THE RESPONDENTS BY DESIGNATION:

Particulars Manager Assistant Manager Supervisor/Team Leader Staff Member Total

No. of Respondents 0 2 8 40 50

Percentage 0 4 16 80 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 4% of employees are middle managers, 16% of employees are supervisors/team leaders, and 80% of employees are staff members.

Chart 4.3 CHART SHOWING THE RESPONDENT BY DESIGNATION:

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Table 4.4 TABLE SHOWING LEVEL OF JOB SATISFACTION:

Particulars Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Total

No. of Respondents 46 4 0 50

Percentage 92 8 0 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that 92% of the employees are satisfied with their job, and 80% of employees are neutral with their current job. Majority of the employees are satisfied with the job.

Chart 4.4 CHART SHOWING LEVEL OF JOB SATISFACTION:

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Table 4.5 TABLE SHOWING BENEFITS OF STRESS MANAGEMENT TRAINING:

Particulars Extremely useful Not applicable Not Attended the Training Total

No. of Respondents 22 12 16 50

Percentage 44 24 32 100

INTERPRETATION:

This table shows that 44% of the employees found the training to be useful while 32% did not undergo any training.

Chart 4.5 CHART SHOWING BENEFITS OF STRESS MANAGEMENT TRAINING:

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Table 4.6 TABLE SHOWING HASSLES IN COMMUNICATION: Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total No. of Respondents 14 12 24 0 50 Percentage 28 24 48 0 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 48% of the employees disagree that there is hassles of communication, where as 28% strongly agree and 24% agree the organization has hassles in communication.

Chart 4.6 CHART SHOWING HASSLES IN COMMUNICATION:

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Table 4.7 TABLE SHOWING THE WORK PROVIDED:

Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total

No. of Respondents 12 18 20 0 50

Percentage 24 36 40 0 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that the 40% of employees disagree with the work provided where as 36% agree and 24% of the employee disagree

Chart 4.7 CHART SHOWING THE WORK PROVIDED:

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TABLE 4.8 TABLE SHOWING THE EMPLOYEE TIME MANAGEMENT:

Particulars Yes No Total

No. of Respondents 36 14 50

Percentage 72 28 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that the 72% of the employees agree the organization is effective in time management and 28% disagree.

Chart 4.8 CHART SHOWING TIME MANAGEMENT:

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Table 4.9 TABLE SHOWING OPINION OF RESPONDENT TOWARDS PARITY BETWEEN AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY:

Particulars Agree Disagree Both Total

No. of Respondents 24 8 18 50

Percentage 48 16 36 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 48% of the respondents agree that the match between the responsibilities and authority level is a source of stress and 36% both agree and disagree and 16% disagree that the authority level and the responsibilities are mismatched. Chart 4.9 CHART SHOWING OPINION OF RESPONDENT TOWARDS PARITY BETWEEN AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY:

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Table 4.10 TABLE SHOWING LEVEL OF PRESSURE:

Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total

No. of Respondents 4 10 36 0 50

Percentage 8 20 72 0 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that 72% of the employees disagree that there was no pressure from the management, 20% agree and 8% strongly disagree. Chart 4.10 CHART SHOWING LEVEL OF PRESSURE:

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Table 4.11 TABLE SHOWING INTELLUCTUAL/TECHNICAL DEMANDS STRESS LEVEL:

Particulars Yes No Total

No. of Respondents 12 38 50

Percentages 24 76 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 76% of the respondents disagree and 24% agree that there was no intellectual technical demand forced by the job concerned.

Chart 4.11 CHART SHOWING INTELLUCTUAL/TECHNICAL DEMANDS STRESS LEVEL:

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Table 4.12 TABLE SHOWING PHYSICAL EFFORTS STRESS LEVELS:

Particulars Often Sometimes Never Total

No. of Respondents 14 10 26 50

Percentage 28 20 52 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that 52% of the respondents never felt stress in their job and 28% often and 20% sometimes feels stressed.

Chart 4.12 CHART SHOWING PHYSICAL EFFORTS STRESS LEVELS:

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Table 4.13 TABLE SHOWING CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS STRESS LEVEL:

Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total

No. of Respondents 10 14 26 0 50

Percentage 20 28 52 0 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that 52% of the people disagree to give positive opinion, 28% agree and 20% strongly agree the potential consequences of making a mistake in their job is a source of stress.

Chart 4.13 CHART SHOWING CONSEQUENCES OF ERRORS STRESS LEVEL:

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Table 4.14 TABLE SHOWING LEVEL OF SATISFACTION TOWARDS

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP:

Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total

No. of Respondents 8 13 29 0 50

Percentage 16 26 58 0 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 58% of the respondents are not satisfied about the employee relation in the organization, 26% agree and 16% strongly agree with the relationship between the organization and employees.

Chart 4.14 CHART SHOWING LEVEL OF SATISFACTION TOWARDS INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP:

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Table 4.15 TABLE SHOWING EMPLOYEES HAVE JOB SECURITY OR DO NOT HAVE JOB SECURITY:

Particulars Yes No Total

No. of Respondents 24 26 50

Percentages 48 52 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 52% of the employees are satisfied and 48% not satisfied with their job security in the current organization.

Chart 4.15 CHART SHOWING EMPLOYEES HAVE JOB SECURITY OR DO NOT HAVE JOB SECURITY:

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Table 4.16 TABLE SHOWING WORK SHIFTS STRESS LEVEL:

Particulars Yes No Total

No. of Respondents 8 42 50

Percentage 16 84 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that 16% of the employees agree that the work shift is a source of stress and 84% disagree.

Chart 4.16 CHART SHOWING WORK SHIFTS STRESS LEVEL:

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Table 4.17 TABLE SHOWING ORGANIZATIONAL MORALE STRESS LEVEL:

Particulars Agree Disagree Total

No. of Respondents 20 30 50

Percentage 40 70 100

INTERPRETATION:

The table shows that 40% of the employees agree that the organizational morale is a source of stress and 60% disagree.

Chart 4.17 CHART SHOWING ORGANIZATIONAL MORALE STRESS LEVEL:

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Table 4.18 TABLE SHOWING EFFICIENCY IN CIRCULATION OF INFORMATION: Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total No. of Respondents 8 14 24 4 50 Percentage 16 28 48 8 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 8% of the employees strongly disagree that the circulation of information is poor, 48% disagree, 28% agree and 16% strongly agree that it is a source of stress.

Chart 4.18 CHART SHOWING EFFICIENCY IN CIRCULATION OF INFORMATION:

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Table 4.19 TABLE SHOWING RESPONSIBILITIES TRANSCENDING BEYOND AUTHORITHY LEVEL:

Particulars Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total

No. of Respondents 4 18 20 8 50

Percentage 8 36 40 16 100

INTERPRETATION: The table shows that 36% agree, 8% strongly agree 40% disagree and 16% strongly disagree. That the responsibilities which are beyond their authority levels are a source of stress.

Chart 4.19 CHART SHOWING RESPONSIBILITIES TRANSCENDING BEYOND AUTHORITHY LEVEL:

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Table 4.20 TABLE SHOWING PAYSCALE SATISFACTION:

Particulars Agree Disagree Total

No. of Respondents 16 34 50

Percentage 32 68 100

INTERPRETATION:

From this table it is clear that 68% of the employees are not satisfied and 32% satisfied with the salaries and increments paid according to their performance.

Chart 4.20 CHART SHOWING PAYSCALE SATISFACTION:

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5.1 FINDINGS 80% of the employees are between 21 30yrs. 36% male and 64% female employees are working in the organization. 80% are staff members and 4% to 16% are middle managers and supervisors/team leaders. Majority of 80% of the employees are satisfied with their current job. 44% of the employees found the training is extremely useful. 48% of the employees disagree that there is hassles of communication, where as 28% strongly agree and 24% agree the organization. 40% of employees disagree with the work provided where as 36% agree and 24% of the employee disagree. 72% of the employees agree the organization is effective in time management. 48% of the employees agree with the match between the responsibilities and authority level. 72% of the employees disagree that there was no pressure from the top management. 76% of the respondents disagree with the intellectual technical demand forced by the job concerned. 42% of the respondents never felt stress in their job. 58% of the employees are not satisfied and 16% to 26% are satisfied with the relationship between employees and organization. 52% of the employees disagree and 48% agree with their current job security. 16% of the employees agree and 84% disagree with the work shift. 60% disagree and 40% agree with the organizational morale. 8% to 48% strongly disagree and 16% to 28% strongly agree with the efficiency in circulation of information is a source of stress. 40% disagree and 16% strongly disagree that the responsibilities which are beyond their authority level are a source of stress. 68% not satisfied and 32% satisfied with the salaries and increments paid according to their performance.

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5.2 SUGGESSIONS

Based on the main findings presented in the previous chapter, the researcher offers few practical suggestions on various strategies to reduce stress among employees. At the Indian organizations are growing up the value chain and growing global, the biggest challenge would be increasingly important for organizations to adopt and invest in approaches and policies that enhance the health of their employees and keep the level of occupational stress at optimum. Hence, suggestions. From the study it emphasis that job security plays major role in stress development to employee; where in turn job assurances in company yield job satisfaction and increased activity of the employee. Increase work or overtime leads to stress development and reduce of work in turn change of environment like games, chatting room implement reduce stress among employees. Reinforcement/rewards like increments, bonus, special schemes to employee all yields satisfaction of employee with excellence in work performance and also find reduce in stress level. Employees attitude towards the employee as well as team co-ordination relates the level of employees personality in a concern employer friendly atmosphere and team sharing shows better and higher performance of employees than with strange employer. Being able to predict the occurrence of stressors and preparing well in advance can sharply lessen the impact when they actually occur. The importance of time management arises because many individuals have too many tasks they need to do. Delegating authority not only reduces the workload of the manager but also improves the design of the subordinates job and creates cohesion. Altering the work environment may not be totally under the individuals control, some individual control can be exercised in the area of job selection and additional tasks.

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5.3 CONCLUSION

Stress is so wide spread; it has a very high cost per individual, organization, families and for society, for the individuals, the loss of capacity to cope with working and social situation which can lead to less success at work place including loss of career opportunities and employment. It can give greater strain even in family relationship and with friends. Hence it may results in depression, suicide, or even death. For the organization, the cost of stress may take many forms, which include absenteeism, high medical cost, and staff turnover. For the society, cost of stress may include many parameters like frustrations and less success in achieving individual objectives. Thus, a study of stress will be useful to organizations and community at large.

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