Summer Internship report on

Agile Capital Services

A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED TOWARDS THE PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF MBA PROGRAM

2021-2023

Graphic Era Hill University, Bhimtal (Nainital)

Uttarakhand (2021-23)

Submitted To Submitted By

Mr. Ankit Tiwari 0 Hemant Bisht

Roll no- 2155624

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Topic- A Study To Ascertain The Stress Of
Employees

Acknowledgement

Firstly I am very thankful to graphic era hill university for giving me this lovely opportunity working
with agile capital services and now I completed my internship under the guidance of miss shivani
mam where my work is to sale and give report to my mentor where I learn something new

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 Mentor checkup index

I Interactives Date Percent of Changes Changes Sign

number report suggested made by
completed by mentor previous
session

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 S.NO DATE TOPICS SIGN
CHAPTER1 1 13/12/2022 I INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER2 13/12/2022 RESEARCH

DESIGN
CHAPTER3 13/12/2022 COMPANY
PROFILE
CHAPTER4 13/12/2022 ANALYSIS
CHAPTER5 13/12/2022 STASTICS
C CHAPTER6 13/12/2022 QUESTIONAIRE

Chapter 1

1. Introduction
Like motivation, stress is a very individual experience. One person can feel extreme pressure and
anxiety over a task that is looming, and another might look at the same task and see it as an

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 exciting challenge. In spite of that, we’ve seen an overall jump in the number of people that report
stress on the job, and we can see how it’s taking its toll.

Stress is a dynamic condition, and it exists when an individual is confronted with an opportunity,
constraint or demand related to what he or she desires, and for which the outcome is perceived to
be both uncertain and important.

Stress isn’t necessarily bad, even though it’s usually discussed in a negative context. There’s
opportunity in stress, and that’s a good thing because it offers potential gain. For instance,
consider Luke Skywalker, piloting his X-Wing fighter, trying to blast his torpedo into that small,
little space that was the Death Star’s only weakness. There was plenty of stress, provided by
stormtroopers and Darth Vader himself via bullets and explosions, but Luke concentrated, used
stress to his advantage, and shot that torpedo right into the exhaust port.

Okay, maybe it was the Force, too. Athletes and performers use stress positively in “clutch”
situations, using it to push themselves to their performance maximums. Even ordinary workers in
an organization will use an increased workload and responsibilities as a challenge that increases
the quality and quantity of their outputs.

Stress is negative when it’s associated with constraints and demands. Constraints are forces that
prevent a person from doing what he or she wants. Demands represent the loss of something
desired. They’re the two conditions that are necessary for potential stress to become actual stress.
Again, there must be uncertainty over the outcome and the outcome must be important.

Kevin, a student, may feel stress when he is taking a test because he’s facing an opportunity (a
passing grade) that includes constraints and demands (in the form of a timed test that features
tricky questions). Salomé, a full-time employee, may feel stress when she is confronted with a
project because she’s facing an opportunity (a chance to achieve something, make extra money
and receive recognition) that includes constraints and demands (long hours, time away from
family, a chance that his knowledge and skills aren’t enough to complete the project correctly).

Stress is highest for those who don’t know if they will win or lose and lowest for those that feel that
winning (or losing) is an inevitability. Even so, the individual can perceive the winning (or
losing) as an inevitability, but if it’s important, the individual is still likely to experience a level of
stress.

Individual Factors
The first of three sources of stress are individual. Individuals may experience stressful commutes to
work, or a stressful couple of weeks helping at a work event, but those kinds of temporary,
individual stresses are not what we’re looking at here. We’re looking for a deeper, longer-term
stress. Family stress—marriages that are ending, issues with children, an ailing parent—these are
stressful situations that an employee really can’t leave at home when he or she comes to work.
Financial stress, like the inability to pay bills or an unexpected new demand on a person’s cash
flow might also be an issue that disturbs an employee’s time at work. Finally, an individual’s own

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 personality might actually contribute to his or her stress. People’s dispositions—how they
perceive things as negative or positive—can be a factor in each person’s stress as well.

Organizational Factors
There’s a plethora of organizational sources of stress.

 Task or role demands: these are factors related to a person’s role at work, including the design
of a person’s job or working conditions. A stressful task demand might be a detailed, weekly
presentation to the company’s senior team. A stressful role demand might be where a person is
expected to achieve more in a set amount of time than is possible.
 Interpersonal demands: these are stressors created by co-workers. Perhaps an employee is
experiencing ongoing conflict with a co-worker he or she is expected to collaborate closely with.
Or maybe employees are experiencing a lack of social support in their roles.
 Organizational structure: this refers to the level of differentiation within an organization, the
degree of rules and regulations, and where decisions are made. If employees are unable to
participate in decisions that affect them, they may experience stress.
 Organizational leadership: this refers to the organization’s style of leadership, particularly the
managerial style of its senior executives. Leaders can create an environment of tension, fear and
anxiety and can exert unrealistic pressure and control. If employees are afraid they’ll be fired for
not living up to leadership’s standards, this can definitely be a source of stress.
 Organizational life stage: an organization goes through a cycle of stages (birth, growth,
maturity, decline). For employees, the birth and decline of an organization can be particularly
stressful, as those stages tend to be filled with heavy workloads and a level of uncertainty about
the future.

Environmental Factors
Finally, there are environmental sources of stress. The economy may be in a downturn, creating
uncertainty for job futures and bank accounts. There may be political unrest or change creating
stress. Finally, technology can cause stress, as new developments are constantly making
employee skills obsolete, and workers fear they’ll be replaced by a machine that can do the same.
Employee are also often expected to stay connected to the workplace 24/7 because technology
allows it.

As a side note, it’s important to understand that these stressors are additive. In other words, stress
builds up, and new elements add to a person’s stress level. So a single element of stress might
not seem important in itself, but when added to other stresses the worker is experiencing, it
can, as the old adage says, be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

hose are the sources of stress, but differences within an individual determine whether that stress will
be positive or negative. Those individual differences include

 Perception. This is what moderates the individual’s relationship to the stressor. For instance,
one person might see a potential layoff as a stressful situation, while another person might see

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 that same layoff as an opportunity for a nice severance package and the opportunity to start a
new business.
 Job Experience. Because stress is associated with turnover, it would stand to reason that those
employees with a long tenure are the most stress-resistant of the bunch.
 Social Support. Co-workers, especially those who are caring or considered to be friends, can
help protect a fellow employee against the effects of stress.
 Belief in the locus of control. Those who have a high internal locus of control (those that believe
they are in control of their own fate) are, unsurprisingly, not as affected by stress as those who
feel they are not in control.
 Self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is an individual’s belief that he or she can complete a task. Research
shows that employees who have strong levels of self-efficacy are more resistant to the effects of
stress.
 Hostility. Some employees carry around a high level of hostility as a part of their personalities,
and they’re often suspicious and distrustful of their co-workers. These personality traits make a
person more susceptible to stress.

If those potential sources of stress sneak through the individual difference filters and manifest
themselves as stress, they will appear in a variety of physiological, psychological and behavioral
symptoms. We reviewed the physiological symptoms when we talked about the definition of
stress. Add to that psychological symptoms, like tension and anxiety, but also job dissatisfaction
and boredom, and behavioral symptoms, like turnover and absenteeism, and you can see how
stress can become an organizational problem.

How much of an organizational problem is stress? Well, stress can cost an organization a lot more
than money. We’ll take a look at that next.

Consequences and Costs of Stress

Today’s typical workplace expects quite a bit from its employees. In a climate of layoffs and
downsizing, employees are typically expected to do “more with less”—that is, additional work for
the same pay, often without updated resources and in a short amount of time. Demands for
increased efficiency, quality and innovation can come at quite the cost, and employees are caving
under the pressure.

A study conducted by Mental Health America (formerly the National Mental Health
Association) suggests that stress costs US employers an estimated $500 billion dollars in lost
productivity annually.

2. What does lost productivity mean? Let’s take a look at how employees responded to that 2017
survey, and talk about how it can directly (and indirectly) impact a company’s bottom line
Human resource management is the management process of an organization's
workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection,
training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing

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 organizational leadership and culture and ensuring compliance with employment
and labour laws. In circumstances where employees desire and are legally
authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will also serve as the
company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives (usually a trades
union). HR is a product of the human relations movement of the early 20th
century, when researchers began documenting ways of creating business value
through the strategic management of the workforce. The function was initially
dominated by transactional work, such as payroll and benefits administration, but
due to globalization, company consolidation, technological advancement, and
further research, HR now focuses on strategic initiatives like mergers and
acquisitions, talent management, succession planning, industrial and labour
relations, and diversity and inclusion. In start-up companies, HR's duties may be
performed by trained professionals. In larger companies, an entire functional
group is typically dedicated to the discipline, with staff specializing in various HR
tasks and functional leadership engaging in strategic decision making across the
business. To train practitioners for the profession, institutions of higher education,
professional associations, and companies themselves have created programs of
study dedicated explicitly to the duties of the function. Academic and practitioner
organizations likewise seek to engage and further the field of HR, as evidenced by
several field-specific publications.

A STUDY TO ASCERTAIN THE STRESS LEVEL OF EMPLOYEES” - AN

EMPIRICAL STUDY CONDUCTED WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ACS
In the current global work environment, all global companies are focused on retaining the talent
and knowledge held by the workforce. All companies are focused on lowering the employee
turnover and preserving knowledge. New hiring not only entails a high cost but also increases
the risk of the newcomer not being able to replace the person who was working in that position
before. HR departments also strive to offer benefits that will appeal to workers, thus reducing
the risk of losing knowledge
1.1. Definition: According to Edwin B. Flipped, ―Human resource management is the planning,
organising, directing and controlling of the procurement, development, resources to the end
that individual and societal objectives are accomplished
1.2. Nature of HRM: Human Resource Management brings organizations and people together
so that the goals of each are met. The nature of HRM includes: a) Broader Function Human
Resource Management is a comprehensive function because it is about managing people in the
organization. It covers all types of people in the organization from workers till the top level
management. b) People Oriented Human resource is the core of all the processes of human

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 resource management. So HRM is the process which brings people and organizations together
so that their goals can be achieved.
c) Action Oriented Human resource management believes in taking actions in order to achieve
individual and organizational goals rather than just keeping records and procedures.
d) Development Oriented Development of employees is an essential function of human resource
management in order to get maximum satisfaction from their work so that they give their best
to the organization.
e) Continuous Function As human resource is a living factor among all factors of production
therefore it requires continuous improvement and innovations in order to get excellence. So it
requires a constant alertness and awareness of human relations and there importance in every
day to day operations.
f) Future Oriented HRM is very important activity which helps organization to achieve its objectives
in future by providing well motivated and competent employees.
1.3. Functions of HRM The functions of HRM can be broadly classified into
two categories,
• Managerial Functions and
• Operative Functions
1. Managerial Functions Managerial functions of personnel management involve planning,
organizing, directing and controlling. All these functions influence the operative functions.
a) Planning: It is a predetermined course of action. Planning pertains to formulating strategies of
personnel programmers and changes in advance that will contribute to the organizational goals.
In other words, it involves planning of human resources, requirements, recruitment, selection,
training etc.
b) Organizing: An organization is a means to an end. It is essential to carry out the determined
course of action. In the words of J.C. Massie, an organization is a “structure and a process by
which a co-operative group of human beings allocates its task among its members, identifies
relationships and integrates its activities towards a common objective.”
c) Directing: The next logical function after completing planning and organizing is the execution of
the plan. The basic function of personnel management at any level is motivating, commanding,
leading and activating people. The willing and effective co-operation of employees for the
attainment of organizational goals is possible through proper direction.
d) Controlling: After planning, organizing and directing various actives of personnel management,
the performance is to be verified in order to know that the personnel functions are
performed in conformity with the actual with the plans, identification of deviations if any and
correcting of identified deviations.
2. Operative Functions The operative functions of human resources management are related to
specific activities of personnel management, employment, development, compensation and
relations. All these functions are interacted with managerial functions. Further, these functions
are to be performed in conjunction with management functions.
a) Job Analysis: It is the process of study and collection of information relating to the operations
and responsibilities of a specific job. It includes: Collection of data, information, facts and ideas
relating to various aspects of jobs including men, machines and materials.

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 b) Human Resource Planning: It is a process for determination and assuring that the organization
will have an adequate number of qualified persons, available at proper times, performing jobs
which would meet the needs of the organization and which would provide satisfaction for the
individuals involved. It involves: a. Estimation of present and future requirements and supply of
human resources based on objectives and long range plans of the organization.
c) Recruitment: It is the process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to
apply for jobs
• Identification of existing sources of applicants and developing them
• Creation/identification of new sources of applicants. d) Selection: It is the process of ascertaining
the qualifications, experiences, skills, knowledge etc., of an applicant with a view to appraising
his/her suitability to a job. This function includes:
• Framing and developing application blanks.
• Creating and developing valid and reliable testing techniques. • Formulating interviewing
techniques.
• Checking of references. e) Placement:
• Counselling the functional managers regarding placement.
• Conducting follow-up study, appraising employee performance in order to determine employee
adjustment with the job.
• Correcting misplacements, if any.
f) Induction and Orientation: Induction and orientation are the techniques by which a new
employee is rehabilitated in the changed surrounding and introduced to the practices, policies,
purposes and people etc., of the organization.
1.4. Importance of human resources management -- Human Resources are the
Nation’s Well-being. A nation with abundance of physical resources will not benefit itself unless
human resources make use of them. In fact, human resources with right attitude are solely
responsible for making use of national
resources and for the transformation of traditional economies into the modern industrial and knowledge
economies.
a) Man Vis-a-vies Machine Most of the problems in organizational sectional sections are human and
social rather than physical, technical or economic. No industry can be rendered efficient, so long
as the basic fact remains unrecognized that it is principally human. It is not a mass of machines
and technical processes but a body of men.
b) HRM and General Management Management of an organizational in modern economies is not
only complex and sophisticated but it is also vital influencing the economic growth of a country.
One of the fundamental tasks of management is to manage human resources in the service of
the economic objectives of the enterprise. Successful management depends not solely, but
significantly upon the ability to predict and control human behaviour
1.5. Stress management
a) Introduction Stress is part of life in a fast-paced society. However, stress is not always bad. We
need some stress to stimulate us. The good stress allows us to perform at a higher level, which is
beneficial. This type of stress is called eustress. It helps us to set and achieve goals as well as
perform at a higher level. For example, the demands of an upcoming competition, work project
or exam can create stress, which stimulates a person to work harder to win the competition,

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 finish the project on time or do well on the exam. However, there are times when stress is
overwhelming. This type of stress called distress which paralyses rather than stimulates. It
contributes to
decreased health and well-being. In fact, stress is a factor in 11 of the top 15 causes of death in
Canada and is a significant reason for physician visits. Therefore, an important part of healthy
living is to learn to bring stress to beneficial levels. b) Definition Stress may be defined as “a
state of psychological or physiological imbalance resulting from the disparity between
situational demand and the individual’s ability or motivation to meet those demands.” Dr. Hans
Sale, described stress as “the rate of all wear and tear caused by life”.

1.6What is Stress?
Although stress has been defined in many ways, the definition we use in this guide is: Stress is
the body’s physical response to a perceived threat. For stress to occur there must be a
perception of some level of danger or threat. If there is no danger there is no stress. The
perception of danger is usually a result of evaluating the demands of a situation, identifying the
resources you have to address it and realizing that you do not have enough resources to
adequately meet the demands. This is the main feature of stress. Since stress is the body’s
response to a perceived demand or threat, what then is that response? It is called the “fight or
flight” response and has been with us for millions of years. The stress response helped our early
ancestors escape from danger. As such, it gave those who had it an evolutionary advantage. The
stress response was so advantageous for survival that most animal species today respond to
stress in a similar way.

The “fight or flight” response helps us escape from danger. For most of human history, danger came
in the form of surprise encounters with predators. When faced with this danger a person had
two options for survival: attack the predator (fight) or run away as fast as possible (flight).
Although these are two different ways of addressing the situation, they both require the same
physical response, which is to prepare the body for some intense physical activity. This response
is hardwired into us. So what happens in a person’s body to prepare them to face danger? A
body preparing to fight or flee needs to get the most power out of muscles. This means it needs
to release and use energy, absorb oxygen and circulate oxygen-rich blood to organs that need it
such as heart, muscles, and the brain. This is accomplished mainly through the release of
hormones; namely adrenaline and cortisol.

Together, these hormones have several important physiological effects including:

i. Increasing heart rate

ii. Increasing breathing rate (respiration)
iii. Increasing muscle tension
iv. Increasing blood pressure
v. Increasing the secretion of insulin

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vi. Increasing blood flow to the brain, lungs, heart and muscles The increased blood flow to
essential body systems such as the lungs and heart is accompanied by a decreased blood flow to
less critical systems, which include the digestive tract, kidneys and skin. Other effects of stress
hormones are: a decrease in libido, an increase in the ability of blood to clot, a decrease in
growth and tissue repair, and an increase in immune function. Although the immune system
initially becomes stronger in times of stress,
this response lasts for a brief period. Studies show that during chronic (i.e. long-term or ongoing)
stress, immune function actually decreases, which leaves the body more vulnerable to infection.
Fortunately for our ancestors, once the predator was dead or safely out of range, they were able
to sit down on a rock somewhere and relax. With the threat gone, the body would stop
secreting adrenaline and cortisol and the person’s body would return to its normal state of
equilibrium. The days of being chased by a predator are long gone, but the “fight or flight”
response is still wired into us. Today’s threats and demands last much longer than what our
ancestors were accustomed to. Going to school, getting a job, dealing with conflicts, managing
finances, daily hassles and raising a family are only a few examples of long-lasting, stress-
provoking situations.
ABSENTISM
ABSENTISM
What employees say according to Hellebuyck, Michele, et al. “Mind the Workplace.” Mental Health
America, 2017,

A third of employees surveyed reported staying away from work at least two or more days a
month because their work environments were so stressful

Of those that responded that they missed two or more days of work

35% said they missed between three and five days a month

38% said they missed six days or more

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), absenteeism alone costs US
employers $225.8 billion annually, or about $1,685 per employee. This cost, they say, comes
from “Worker Illness and Injury Costs U.S. Employers $225.8 Billion Annually.” CDC
Foundation, 28 Jan. 2015

 Wages associated with unreported paid time off

 High cost of replacement workers
 Overtime pay for employees picking up their additional work
 Overall administrative costs of managing absenteeism

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It isn’t just the loss of productivity of the absentees, but their co-workers who are affected by this. In
an article for BenefitsPro.com, Mental Health American CEO Paul Gionfriddo said,
“Overstressed and unhealthy employees contribute to unhappy workplaces. This means that the
indirect effects on everyone else—the people who dread coming to work—may not show up in
the calculated productivity losses, but contribute to them nevertheless. Hellebuyck, Michele, et al.
“Mind the Workplace.” Mental Health America, 2017,

Turnover

Here’s what employees are saying about the effects of stress on their workplaces:[1]

Two-thirds felt they worked in an unsupportive or even hostile environment

Two-thirds said they didn’t often trust their coworkers to support them at work

 Two-thirds said their supervisor was unsupportive

 More than eight in 10 said the stress at work directly caused stress with family and friend
relationships
 More than seven in 10 admitted they bad-mouth their employer outside of work

It’s easy to see why, considering these sentiments, that nearly three quarters of the employees
surveyed are either actively seeking new employment or thinking of doing so.

The Work Institute’s 2017 Retention Report suggested that replacing an employee costs about 33%
of that employee’s salary, meaning that the average worker making $45,000 a year will cost about
$15,000 to replace, when you consider advertising, screening and testing applicants, training, and
onboarding costs (among others). For some harder-to-fill positions, this cost could increase to
50% of the worker’s salary. Sears, Lindsay, et al. 2017 Retention Report. Work Institute, 2017

Turnover also lowers productivity in that there is a shift of work while the position is empty and even
after when the new employee is learning her position, and the employee leaving takes with him
knowledge of the company that may not be recaptured.

Sadly, the Work Institute’s 2017 Retention Report also captured data that led them to determine that
roughly 75% of all turnover could be avoided. When surveying their 34,000 respondents, the top
reasons for turnover were cited as career development, compensation and benefits…and then
three that are directly related to stress: work-life balance, manager’s behavior and well-being.

Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is on the rise, and it is the third leading cause of death for workers on the job. Of
course, some workplace violence, like an active shooter or even an angry retail customer who
takes a swing, is not due to workplace stress. Still, this kind of activity takes a toll on businesses,
adding yet another layer of stress and a price tag of about $55 million in lost wages for the 1.8
million work days lost each year due to workplace violence (according to a study by Lower &

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 Associates, a risk management firm). Lowers & Associates. ” The Impact of Workplace
Violence.” The Risk Management Blog. May 19, 2016. Accessed April 26, 2019.

But workplace violence rears its ugly head on a smaller level as well. “Desk rage” is a term used to
describe extreme or violent anger shown by someone in an office, especially when this is caused
by worry or a difficult situation. This can manifest itself in screaming and shouting, throwing or
angrily destroying office equipment, or it can be more subtle, like damaging water cooler gossip,
theft or abuse of sick time. The people who work with someone experiencing desk rage are as
much victims of workplace stress here as the “desk rager.”

These are some of the results of stress that drive down productivity, but stress also affects the cost of
health benefits and medical needs that an employer will pick up by providing health insurance.
Stress factors into five of the six leading causes of death in the US, and a staggering number of
medical office visits will, in part, address symptoms related to stress.

It’s no surprise to hear that a company like General Motors spends more money on healthcare than it
does on steel. And (surprise!) workplace stress is responsible for up to $190 billion in annual US
healthcare costs. Joel Goh, Harvard Business School associate professor, tackled the subject of
healthcare costs and stress in his paper, “The Relationships Between Workplace Stressors and
Mortality and Health Cost in the US,” co-authored with Stanford University professors Jeffrey
Pfeffer and Stefanos Zenios.

The three researchers cited ten major factors of workplace stress and then mathematically examined
their occurrences (and co-occurrences), concluding that workplace stress contributes to
approximately 120,000 deaths each year. That, and additional healthcare expenses related to
addressing stress related problems, accounted for $125 to $190 billion in healthcare costs, or
about 5% to 8% of the nation’s total expendiTURE

1.7. History of Stress The term stress was borrowed from the field of physics by one of the
fathers of stress research Hans Selly. In physics, stress describes the force that produces strain
on a physical body (i.e.: bending a piece of metal until it snaps occurs because of the force, or
stress, exerted on it). Hans Selly began using the term stress after completing his medical
training at the University of Montreal in the 1920’s. He noticed that no matter what his
hospitalized patients suffered from, they all had one thing in common. They all looked sick. In his
view, they all were under physical stress. Since 1956, when stress was introduced into the
American vernacular, the concept has been wholeheartedly embraced by popular culture.

1.8. Stressors Stressors could be loud noise, uncomfortable air-conditioning, debts, ringing
telephones, broken relationships, unrealistic deadlines, discouragement, fear, pain and
thousands of other things that impact upon us in the normal course of life. It is impossible to
avoid stressors. The only totally stress-free state is death! Stressors will always be there because
we live in an imperfect and unpredictable world. We experience stress as the body adjusts to
the external demands placed upon it. Our body constantly seeks to maintain stability and stress
is usually sensed as the body readjusts to too much pressure. Scientists use the term

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 HOMEOSTASIS (homeo = the same; stasis = standing) to define the physiological limits in which
the body functions efficiently and comfortably. Stress disturbs homeostasis by creating a state of
imbalance. The source of stress may be outside the body or it may originate from within the
body in the form of blood pressure, pain, tumours or disturbing thoughts. Have you ever seen a
plastic clown toy that automatically returns to an upright position if pushed over? The clown
stays upright because of a heavy base that will always restore the toy to a vertical position.
Stress is the tension that the body exerts as it seeks to return to a steady-state. We need to
assist our bodies to cope with stress because our natural biological stressadjustors are not
ideally suited to the demands of modern living. Our bodies are well suited to cope with the
stressors faced by our primitive ancestors. The stressors faced by humans conditioned to a
nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle are obviously different to the high-tech lifestyle of today. Our
distant ancestors needed chemical responses to stress to enable them to trigger physical flight
or fight responses to the perils and pleasures of hunting.

These types of responses are inappropriate today. If you physically ran away from your workplace
whenever things got on top of you then this would not enhance your standing in the
Organisation. Conversely if you punch the boss on the nose when he/she gives you a tough time
then the resulting dismissal and assault charges will generate considerably greater levels of
stress. Consequently we need to develop special skills to deal with special stressors. We are all
very aware of specific stressors that affect us. As already discussed these assume many shapes
and forms. In addition to the specific stressors there are also back-ground stressors that can
have a more subtle but equally damaging impact on
1.9. Causes of Stress
Factors that cause stress are called "Stressors." The following are the sources or causes of an
organizational and Non-organizational stress.
a) Causes of an Organizational Stress
The main sources or causes of an organizational stress are:-

• Career Concern : If an employee feels that he is very much behind in corporate ladder, then he
may experience stress and if he feels that there are no opportunities for self-growth he may
experience stress. Hence unfulfilled career expectations are a major source of stress.

• Role Ambiguity: It occurs when the person does not known what he is supposed to do on the job.
His tasks and responsibilities are not clear. The employee is not sure what he is expected to do.
This creates confusion in the minds of the worker and results in stress.

• Rotating Shifts: Stress may occur to those individuals who work in different shifts. Employees may
be expected to work in day shift for some days and then in the night shift. This may create
problems in adjusting to the shift timings, and it can affect not only personal life but also family
life of the employee.

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• Role Conflict: It takes place when different people have different expectations from a person
performing a particular role. It can also occur if the job is not as per the expectation or when a
job demands a certain type of behaviour that is against the person's moral values.

• Occupational Demands: Some jobs are more stressful than others. Jobs that involve risk and
danger are more stressful. Research findings indicate that jobs that are more stressful usually
require constant monitoring of equipment’s and devices, unpleasant physical conditions, making
decisions, etc.

• Lack of Participation in Decision Making: Many experienced employees feel that management
should consult them on matters affecting their jobs. In reality, the superiors hardly consult the
concerned employees

before taking a decision. This develops a feeling of being neglected, which may lead to stress. Work
Overload: Excessive work load leads to stress as it puts a person under tremendous pressure.
Work overload may take two different forms:-

• Qualitative work overload implies performing a job that is complicated or beyond the employee's
capacity.

• Quantitative work overload arises when number of activities to be performed in the prescribed
time is many.

Work under load: In this case, very little work or too simple work is expected on the part of
the employee. Doing less work or jobs of routine and simple nature would lead to monotony
and boredom, which can lead to stress.

Working Conditions: Employees may be subject to poor working conditions. It would include
poor lighting and ventilations, unhygienic sanitation facilities, excessive noise and dust, presence
of toxic gases and fumes, inadequate safety measures, etc. All these unpleasant conditions
create physiological and psychological imbalance in humans thereby causing stress.

Lack of Group Cohesiveness: Every group is characterised by its cohesiveness although

they differ widely in degree of cohesiveness. Individuals experience stress when there is no unity
among the members of work group. There is mistrust, jealously, frequent quarrels, etc., in
groups and this lead to stress to employees.

Interpersonal and Intergroup Conflict: Interpersonal and intergroup conflict takes place
due to differences in perceptions, attitudes, values and beliefs between two or more individuals
and groups. Such conflicts can be a source of stress to group members.

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Organisational Changes: When changes occur, people have to adapt to those changes and
this may cause stress. Stress is higher when changes are major or unusual like transfer or
adaption of new technology.

1.10. There are four major types of Stress, namely:

a) 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. Eustress is a term that is
sometimes used to refer to what many call good stress. Rather than being the root cause for
discomfort or emotional distress, eustress motivates people to continue moving forward and
enjoy actions and events that require some effort but ultimately provide a great deal of
satisfaction. The term appears to have originated with Hans Selye, an endocrinologist who wrote
about the impact of stress on the mind and body. Just as there are many stressful situations that
can lead to the development of depression, anxiety, and apathy, there are also types of eustress
that promote general emotional and physical wellbeing. Physical exercise is an excellent
example of this kind of good stress. The action of engaging in planned physical activity such as
walking, running, or working out in a gym does place some degree of stress on the body.
However, that stress ultimately allows the muscles to develop and the heart and lungs to
strengthen. At the same time, the stress of exercise causes the release of endorphins that help
to elevate mood and protect individuals from depression.

There are other examples of eustress that many people encounter throughout their lives. All of
them ultimately provide some degree of happiness and wellbeing. Graduating from high school
or college, the birth of children and securing a highly desirable job are all events that come with
some amount of stress, but ultimately provide positive emotions that help people to find
meaning and value in life. It is important to note that eustress does not refer to satisfaction that
is achieved without effort. Students must study and successfully complete coursework in order
to earn a degree. Going through a pregnancy for nine months requires dealing with a wide range
of physical and emotional issues before a mother knows the joy of cradling her child in her arms.
Getting into top physical condition requires a commitment to regular exercise that challenges
the limits of the body and mind if the individual is ever to experience the joy of a well-built body.
The effects of eustress are many, and range from short-term to long-term benefits. In the short-
term, eustress provides motivation to keep moving forward with an activity or project, even
though it may be taxing. In the long-term, good stress helps to promote emotional balance,
confidence, a sense of being wanted and needed, and a general feeling of being in harmony with
the rest of the world. All these positive benefits help to minimize the chances of a number of
physical and mental ailments developing. Definition: A psychological term that refers to the
good form of stress that that helps an individual or businesses grows and remains healthy. A

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 business might find it desirable to add types of eustress to its work environment to promote
higher performance and the pursuit of excellence within its workforce.

b) 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. Definition: Pain or suffering affecting the body, a bodily
part, or the mind, a painful situation or a state of danger.

c) 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 your body needs a break, or you may end up with severe and chronic physical
and psychological reactions. Stress can take many forms and shapes in a person’s life including
depression, withdrawal, and the inability to seek help or to maintain a romantic relationship.
Not always due to negative events or experiences in a person’s life, stress can be triggered from
positive things such as a recent promotion at work, moving to a new city or getting married.
Hyper stress definition is being overwhelmed or overloaded at work to the point where it’s hard
to function. While it’s not limited to work but other areas of a person’s life including their
romantic life, it can prevent an individual from living a normal, healthy balanced life.
www.delusional.com can provide many examples, symptoms and treatments for people that
suffer from hyper stress as well as general information about the disorder. There are four
characterized forms of stress, with one being hyper stress. Unlike the others, hyper stress
involves someone who can’t handle the workload before them and as a result, every little thing
in their life has the ability to trigger an emotional response. An example of someone who suffers
from hyper stress would be a Wall Street stockbroker, an executive who just received a
promotion that involves a steep learning curve in a short period of time or someone who
whether mentally or physically cannot handle all that they are responsible for. Hyprestress
definition eludes to the fact that hyper stress can happen to anyone who is pushed to handle
too much or who’s workload requires too much of them. By hyper stress definition, it can
happen when people are working long hours at the office or even something like being a new
mom of a baby with Colic disease. The hyper stress definition can affect people from all walks of
life and in variety of

different work environments, from young women to old men who for one reason or another,
develop stress due to their work demands. d) 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

19
 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. There are
many types of stress that leave a person feeling anxiety in certain aspects of their life. Unlike
hyper stress which occurs when someone is overloaded by coursework or their workload in a
work setting, hypo stress does the opposite, triggering feelings of boredom in people. Usually
due to repetitive actions such as a retail job where you act more like a robot with the same tasks
over and over, hypo stress can leave a person feeling unstipulated, unchallenged or uninspired.
In the long run, it can contribute to overall happiness or lack of happiness and worthiness in
someone. Many factory workers and retail workers experience hypo stress. Due to a variety of
tasks available to them in their work environment, the lack of stimuli can also create feelings
and actions of laziness, boredom and a lower work ethic. A loss of creativity is also common in
people with hypo stress as well as depression with symptoms such as fatigue, excessive sleep,
and tenacity to overeat, watch more TV than usual, feelings of worthlessness, and contemplate
doubt about their abilities to perform or a combination of any of these symptoms. Hypo stress
can be a dangerous form of depression as it can be a stagnant way to feel about oneself, and
lead someone down

the path to not doing anything, becoming lazy about their work situation and have a lack of goals.
Luckily for those with hypo stress, there are many remedies worth discovering to help manage
those feelings. Hypo stress is considered a chronic stress disorder and unless you take action and
make a change in your work situation, it isn’t likely to go away. While hypo stress comes in the
form of many symptoms including fatigue, weight gain and laziness, there is hope. Hypo stress
diagnosed individuals can find an outlet for their creativity or anything that sparks their
excitement for life again. If your work situation can change, such as with a promotion or
different tasks you can become responsible for, this can drastically help eliminate symptoms of
hypo stress. Hypo stress can also decrease if you can find something creative or exciting to do
outside of work to look forward to, such as a new exercise class, planning a trip or going to a
new restaurant. Often the hardest part about living with the chronic, hypo stress is taking the
first step and acting on it. When you enrol to a sculpting class, join the gym or find any other
outlet to spark your creativity, hypo stress will decrease in your life. Hypo stress is a manageable
disorder if acting on as soon as possible. While many jobs can become repetitive and boring at
times, it’s up to the individual to take action and control over what they can control. By finding a
creative outlet such as playing the guitar on your time off or seeking out different work tasks,
your work stress can become a thing of the past after a while, or at least eliminate the intense
feelings of boredom.

1.11. Symptoms of Stress

Stress can cause changes in those experiencing it. In some cases there are clear signs that people
are experiencing stress at work and if these can be identified early, actioncan be taken before
the pressure becomes a problem. This may make it easier to reduce and eliminate the causes. It

20
 is important that everyone looks out for changes in a person's or a group's behaviour. However,
in many cases the changes may only be noticeable to the person subject to the stress and so it is
also important to look at how you are feeling and try to identify any potential issues you may
have as early as possible and take positive action to address them; this may be raising the
matter with a line manager, talking to an occupational health professional or your own GP.
Stress can show itself in many different ways - see below. Some of the items in this list may not
be signs of stress if people always behave this way. Managers may need to manage staff
exhibiting some of these signs differently. You are particularly looking for changes in the way
people behave that could be linked with excessive pressures. I.

Types of Stress symptoms

a) Physical symptoms

b) Mental symptoms

c) Emotional symptoms

d) Behavioural symptoms

a. Physical Symptoms
• Palpitation, chest pain, general discomfort, sleeplessness, feeling of fatigue

• Indigestion, constipation, other digestive discomforts which don’t have origin in gastrointestinal
infections

• Overeating, under eating, nausea, giddiness, other eating disorders like bulimia

• Allergy , asthmatic problems, respiratory difficulties

• Back ache, head ache, neck pain, thyroid problem, muscle pain, general body ache

• Urinary problems

• Sexual problems / difficulty in sexual relationships

• Menstrual disorder, stomach cramps

• Rashes, itching, boils/ skin problems, strain in eye

• Falling hair, premature greying of hair

• Low resistance to cold, infections

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• Obesity, arthritis, hypertension, strokes. Most of these physical symptoms are diagnosed as diseases calling
for medical attention. In fact, medical treatment mostly alleviates the symptoms for some time, whereas
the root cause remains deeply lodged and makes a comeback at the slightest provocation. Most of the
time we are not even aware that there is some stress which is responsible for all these terrible
symptoms.

b. Mental Symptoms
Like physical problems, mental symptoms are also regarded as problem areas which if not handled properly
can lead to severe disorder needing intervention by experts. Some of these symptoms are:

• Lack of concentration

• Communication problem

• Trouble in decision making

• Difficulty in remembering temporary and selective memory lapses

• Repeating mistakes

• Becoming an introvert / extrovert

• Hypochondria

• Depression

• Hallucination

The mind is our most important backup software. Any snag in its functioning sooner or later results
in a personality disorder. It also induces abnormal emotional and behavioural symptoms. The
mind with its tools of thought and memory is not properly understood. The subconscious and
unconscious impression in the mind which remains embedded in the psyche raise their heads
without any prior notice. These radicals’ elements know how to camouflage themselves- leaving
the individual clueless about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ aspects while one are facing the symptoms. At
times incorrect information and half-truths affect the bio-psyche combination extremely
severely causing severe mental stress. This not only affects day to day functioning, but also
spreads gloom all around. Most of us behave in the same fashion when under mental pressure
that originates under such circumstances. Mental pressure does make one jump to negative
conclusions without waiting for the facts to be verified.

c. Emotional Symptoms The emotions we feel have a direct connection with the body-
mind condition which responds to environmental inputs as well as to the interpretation of such
inputs.

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Accordingly physical and mental stresses do lead to emotional stress and vice versa. Emotional
stress is the most intense of all three and hence needs immediate redressal. Some of the
symptoms of emotional stress are as follows:

• Prone to anger and violence

• Easily irritated, panicky

• Mood swings, emotional, over and under drive

• Feeling lonely and useless

• Guilty, ashamed, anxious

• Suffering from phobias, fearful, distressful

• Lapsing into crying spell

• Too much of artificial laughter

• Feeling a lump in the throat while talking

• Ill will towards others, feeling of insecurity Once in a while every normal human being exhibits
one or some of the above listed emotional states. However, if it becomes a set pattern and one
finds it difficult to break the pattern, then it becomes a matter of concern and should be taken
seriously to pre-empt chromic disorder.

d. Behavioural Symptoms
Our behaviour reflects our mood, State of mind, Emotions, thoughts and physical well-being
discomfort. Of course, the better actors amongst us do succeed in camouflaging the true
feelings. In fact these are people who take pride in saying that thought inside their mind they
have two horses pulling them apart in two different directions yet they carry on with life by
setting up a third from which is a mask to their real inner being. Masking does help once in a
while either by keeping others at a distance or by protecting oneself against perceived as well as
real harm. Some of the Stress generated Behavioural Symptoms are as follows:

• Excess smoking / drinking

• Erratic sleeping time

• Poor time management, excess time boundaries

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• Withdrawn, over active

• Rash driving, technophobia

• Aggressive behaviour, lethargic / workaholic

• Addiction to computer

• Over ambitious, emotional

• Loud talking, stuttering, other speech abnormalities not attributed to physical challenges.

• Nail biting, splitting hair, frequent blinking of eyelids

• Kleptomania

• Compulsive and impulsive lying

• Bullying, getting bullied

• Cranky, obstinate, fidgety

• Knotted eyebrows, squinting

• Excess hand movement while talking

• Complaining of burden, tiredness.

The mental, emotional and behavioural symptoms , if not watched carefully, become a part of one’s
personality based on which one gets classified as type ‘A’ or type ‘B’ or any other type of
personality. In fact, while typecasting someone or self as of a particular type, one should be
aware of the fact that behind these traits there lies an individual other partly aware or
absolutely unaware of the stress that might be promoting such traits. The very purpose of
learning the symptoms of stress will defeat if corrective and remedial measures are not taken to
alleviate the symptoms. It is a general tendency to identify with one or another symptom and
get one’s personality typecast which is just a defence mechanism. However, this defence
mechanism becomes a matter of concern if it becomes a routine feature. So one needs to guard
against it.

1.12. Coping with stress at work place:

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

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 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 headaches, irritability or the need to escape. If you experience
any of these reactions, identify if you are feeling any overwhelming negative motions, 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 motions, 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. 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.

1.13. Role of a Human Resource Manager with regard to Stress

Management
Human Resource staff is often on the front line in dealing with cases of work related stress –
especially in liaison with line managers and occupational health – and dealing with associated
attendance management issues. HR staff is also responsible

25
for the generation and maintenance of many of the relevant policies and procedures that apply to
this issue. You will be instrumental in preparing the organisation to run the Management
Standards process. Key Functions:

• Human Resource staff members are ideally placed to act as Board level champions or as day-to-
day project managers for the Management Standards. Organising, planning and resourcing such
projects are often the responsibility of HR departments. • Providing relevant data and feedback
to the Board.

• Engage and communicate with staff about this issue and raise awareness.

• Engage effectively with Trade Union representatives to ensure appropriate workforce

involvement in the process.

• Supporting line managers in managing individuals experiencing stress and helping them return to
work.

• To work with others, including your Health and Safety advisors and line managers, in
implementing solutions identified by staff and monitoring and reviewing their effectiveness.

• Reviewing relevant policies and procedures.

• Providing appropriate training in the area of work related stress, mental health and well-being.

• Liaison with those who may have important data like Employee Assistance Programmes.

• HR managers are often responsible for the co-ordination of the organisational response to a
potential or actual case of work related stress (see defining a case) usually in conjunction with
Occupational Health and

line management. They are often instrumental in organising programmes of rehabilitation and
return to work.

• Some individuals feel most comfortable approaching their union or safety representative but you
may be asked for support from individuals especially where the issue is to do with relationships
with their line manager.

• Provide tailored training for individuals and managers.

1.14. Stress Relievers

• Counselling

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• Exercise

• Acupressure

• Massage

• Tourism/vacationing

• Hobbies

• Creative activities

• Sleep/sex

• Gossip, talk, sharing positive thoughts

• Fantasies

• Pranayama

• Diet

• Change of place, clothes, lifestyle, attitude

• Medical/chemical remedy

• Hypnosis

• Meditation

• Enhancing spiritual quotient

• Mantra

• Tantric sex

• Art of breathing

• Enhancing happiness quotient

. Encourage workplace wellness.

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Exercise and healthy living are two of your best weapons against workplace stress. Exercise takes
employees' minds off the stress of their job to focus on the task at hand. It also improves moods
by increasing the production of endorphins, the brain's feel-good neurotransmitters.

 Encourage employees to go on a walk during lunch breaks

 Subsidize gym memberships
 Bring a yoga instructor into the office once a month
 Hold a steps contest among teams for those who own fitness trackers
 Offer healthy snacks in the office

Employees feel valued when they think you're looking out for their health! A study by Peapod.com
reported that 66% of employees felt extremely or very happy when their employer regularly
stocked the refrigerator and cupboards, and 83% said that having healthy and fresh snack options
was a huge perk. Something as simple as keeping fresh fruit or cartons of yogurt in the fridge
goes a long way with employees.

 2. Revamp the habitat.

A lot of stress comes from environment. Think about every aspect of your office space and what it
does (or doesn’t do) for the wellness of your team. Simple things like the quality of the coffee or
the height of the cubicle walls can affect employee engagement.

Update the office with an upbeat color scheme, additional plants, or new silverware. If you have the
space, think about adding a ping pong or foosball table to allow employees to take their mind off
of their stress for a few minutes. Any changes that increase employee enjoyment will leave them
feeling less stressed.

3. Allow for flexible hours and remote working.

You hired your employees because you have confidence in their ability to do their jobs well and in a
timely manner—so let them prove it. Your office shouldn’t feel like a cell, but rather a place that
facilitates getting a job done. Let your employees know that their job is defined by the quality and
timeliness of their work, not when they punch the clock.

Allow your employees to work remotely, and give flexibility for start and end times. This freedom is
great for office morale, and the policy shows employees that you trust them enough not to
babysit.  

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4. Encourage social activity.
Employees spend a lot of time together, and the more comfortable they are, the less stress they will
feel. As coworkers get to know each other, expectations and communication barriers are broken
down, greasing the wheels for easier future interactions. 

 5. Create quiet time.

Stress can't be completely avoided, but you can help alleviate it when it arrives. Ensure your
employees have a place where they can take a break.

Our research shows that more than 80 percent  of disengaged and hostile employees preferred the
opportunity to have stress-relief breaks, such as a nap, massage, or required break. A small room,
a lounge space at the end of the hall, and even an outdoor bench can be perfect places to find
refuge from the chaos of the daily grind. Think about longer, retreat-style vacations, which can
serve the same purpose.

If your organization can afford to do so, consider implementing "No Meeting Mondays" or something
similar, essentially blocking off time for employees to focus in on individual task and keep from
getting bogged down with meetings or overwhelmed by a heavy workload.

 6. Provide onsite or distance counseling.

Many companies have also begun providing counseling as a way for employees to help deal with
stress; in a recent study, almost half of workers felt they needed help in learning how to handle
the stresses of their jobs. This strategy—in or out of the office, in group settings or individually—
can help employees prepare for what stress will come their way.

7. Recognize your employees.

Employees love being praised for a job well done, and recognizing their success results in a serious
boost in engagement. Each employee has a different personality, so be mindful when considering
how and when to recognize. Some employees appreciate a call-out during a meeting or praise in a
company-wide email, while more reserved types might prefer a card on their desk or a thank you
in person.

However you choose to recognize, your employees will appreciate that you are aware off their
success and wa

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Study after study—and survey after survey—tell the same story: Modern workers feel stressed out on
the job, and the stress is taking a toll on their sleep, health, relationships, productivity and sense
of well-being.

Add to that the stress brought on by the coronavirus—because of furloughs, job losses, worries about
getting sick, feeling isolated while working remotely.

Eight in 10 workers say they are stressed by at least one thing at work. About 1 in 2 workers in low-
paying jobs say their job has a negative effect on their stress levels, while about 4 in 10 in
medium- and high-paying jobs say the same, according to several sources cited by Happify
Health, a New York City-based company that helps employees develop skills to reduce stress.
Among those sources were the 2016 Work and Well-Being Survey from the American
Psychological Association and a 2016 study by the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

And new research suggests that people aged 30 to 59 are experiencing the greatest levels of anxiety
over fears that they may catch the coronavirus.

What managers can do to ease workplace stress?

"Since the lockdown measures were brought in two weeks ago, we have seen a change in what most
people are worrying about," the study's lead author Dr. Daisy Fancourt said in a statement from
University College London, where the study was conducted. "The current highest stress factor
appears to be worries about either catching COVID-19 or becoming seriously ill from it."

Unrealistic Expectations

Just recently, Heather Kelly was speaking with a former colleague and reminiscing about their early
careers.

"We were working in the office every Saturday and most weeknights until 8, and everyone had the
all-nighter war story to share," said Kelly, CEO of SSPR LLC, a public relations agency with
offices in Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and Colorado Springs, Colo. "Today, our office is
often empty by 4, but folks are back online at 7 or 8. No one comes into the office on Saturday,
but everyone checks their email 24/7."

"We live in a culture that values business and stress," she said. "Stress is a powerful currency. The
busier and more stressed you are, the more important and valuable you seem. Is the stress level of
today's worker really higher than that of a worker … [employed] when there were no labor laws
or weekends? It doesn't matter. Culturally, we perceive ourselves as the most-stressed worker-era
in history, and our perception is our reality."

According to the World Health Organization, workplace stress is particularly common in situations

when employees are asked to do things that exceed their knowledge, abilities and coping skills,
and when they do not have enough support from peers and supervisors to close that gap.

30
In research from Accountemps staffing service, employees also cited unrealistic manager
expectations as a top stressor, along with heavy workloads and looming deadlines.

"Increasing workloads can make you feel like there are not enough hours in the day to get everything
done," said Mike Steinitz, executive director for Accountemps.

In fact, the top five things that employees say make them feel stressed have to do with workplace
conditions that managers could probably do something about, according to Happify Health. Those
top five things are low wages or salaries, lack of opportunity for advancement or growth, too
heavy a workload, unrealistic job expectations and long hours.

"It's important for managers to spot the signs of stressed-out employees, such as incomplete work,
decreased productivity, lower quality of work and mistakes," Steinitz said. They can also ease up
on deadlines and meet with workers and help them prioritize projects.

Even if managers only occasionally place demands on employees during off hours, employees may
never really get a mental break from being at work if they know their manager could contact them
at any time, said Acacia Parks, chief scientist at Happify Health. "This is not to put all the blame
on managers. Employees also do this to themselves, working more in the evenings because of
pressure—real or imagined—to do more."

Changes in Career Arcs

There was a time, not too long ago, when employees decided on a career, landed an entry-level
position, then steadily worked their way up within the same organization until retirement, said
Kyle Kensing, online content editor for CareerCast, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based company that hosts
an online job-search portal and publishes career management and HR advice.

"Such career arcs are decreasing, both because of human competition and technological
advancements that, while making certain jobs easier, might threaten career options," Kensing
said.  

"As technology and best practices evolve, so will the roles we are expected to fill and the skills we
will need to fill these roles," Parks said. "The answer isn't to liberate workers from having to learn
new things, but for workers to become more resilient so that they are better able to handle this
type of challenge. One key piece of resilience … is how you look at a stressful situation. Do you
see it as a threat or a challenge? Changing needs of the marketplace when it comes to technology
could be seen as a threat, but resilient people see it as a challenge to tackle."

People are living farther from their jobs, and commuting is a relatively new stressor in the workplace.
While the advent of telecommuting—especially during the coronavirus—means workers can
reduce or eliminate those commutes, remote work can also shake the stability of careers.

"Telecommuting might turn the candidate pool into a regional, national or even international one for
jobs that may have been local in the past," Kensing said.

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[SHRM members-only toolkit: Developing and Sustaining Employee Engagement]

What is Organisational Stress?

Organisational stress can be described as a cognitive, behavioural and emotional response to the
harmful and aggressive aspects of the work, organisational climate and work environment.

When an employee feels uneasy and helpless in solving tasks, such a condition comes under
organisational stress. In a work setting, people face various job-related issues, such as
discrimination, job dissatisfaction, and so on, which result in stress.

The term ‘stress’ refers to various kinds of pressures that people feel in life. It can be defined as a
reaction that people have towards excessive pressures caused by demands imposed on them. It is
created when individuals are not able to deal with changes happening around them.

Causes and Consequences of Stress

There can be many different situations or life events that can cause stress and there are also some
consequences to those stress.

So now we discuss the different Causes and Consequences of Stress:

1. Environmental Factors
2. Organisational Factors
3. Individual Factors

4. Environmental Factors
5. These indicate various internal and external environmental factors, which are explained as
follows:
6. Economic uncertainties: These involve changes in the business cycle that may lead to stress. For
example, the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak led to the nationwide lockdown, which adversely
impacted the businesses of many organisations and created a huge job crunch in the economic
system. As a result, employees faced lay-offs, pay cuts and delays in appraisals. Such market
conditions led to stress and anxiety among employees.
7. Political uncertainties: Political sources can also cause stress, directly or indirectly. For
example, in the COVID-19 Pandemic, the government has imposed various restrictions on the
functioning of public transport services and restaurants, which adversely impacted the revenues of
the affected parties/businesses. Therefore, political bans and restrictions also cause stress in a
business environment.
8. Technological uncertainties: These indicate changes taking place in the technology of an
organisation. If there is a sudden change in technology in an organisation, it may lead to stress
among employees. This happens because employees fear that they would be replaced with people

32
 better acquainted with the new technology or with machines. For instance, the installation of
recharge vending machines at metro stations has reduced the need for manpower.
9. Organisational Factors
10. They signify factors that influence employees within the organisation. These factors are:
11. Pressures to avoid errors: An expectation of doing a job with perfection can make employees
stressed.

Completion of tasks in a limited time period: Time limits given to employees to achieve the targets
create pressure on their minds to work hard. As employees reach the end of the time limit, they
become more and more stressed, which also impacts their personal lives.

Demanding and insensitive boss: This indicates that a strict and demanding attitude of the boss can
make the subordinate stressed.

Too much competition: A fierce competition between colleagues can also be a source of stress.
Employees tend to behave unethically and are more likely to avoid creative behaviours to solve
problems.

Role ambiguity: It happens when employees lack clarity about their job role and are not sure what
they are expected to do.

Organisational structure: Too much distance between employees and employers, excessive rules
and regulations and absence of participative decision-making can make employees stressed.

Reward system: This states that rewards are the most encouraging factors for any employee. The
employees continuously put in their best efforts for rewards due to which they always remain
under pressure and feel stressed.

Career development: This signifies that a lack of job security, promotion or demotion and failure in
the attainment of one’s career objectives can be a source of stress.

Individual Factors

These indicate inherent factors of an individual, which lead to stress. Such factors include the
following:

Family issues: These issues state that any kind of relationship problem or issue with family can make
an individual stressed. For instance, if an individual’s child is suffering from some medical issue,
it will affect his peace of mind, which will lead to stress and anxiety at his/her workplace.

Personal economic problems: Any kind of financial problem can make an individual stressed. The
financial state of an individual affects his behaviour, attitude and perspective. For instance, an
individual in debt is more likely to get frustrated compared to the one who is financially stable
and healthy.

33
Inherent personality characteristics: The personality traits of employees can also be a source of
stress. For instance, when a person has anger issues, he/she may behave arrogantly with
colleagues which can lead to a stressful situation at the workplace.

Symptoms of Stress

Following are the symptoms of stress explained which occur due to the consequences of stress:

1. Physiological Symptoms
2. Psychological Symptoms
3. Behavioural Symptoms

Physiological Symptoms

These state the effects of stress on the health of an individual. Such effects can be high blood
pressure, exhaustion, muscle cramps, stomach problems, change in appetite, weakness, headache
and back pain.

Psychological Symptoms

These signify the effects of stress on the mental and emotional condition of an individual. Examples
of psychological symptoms are nervousness, irritability, tension, anger, depression, difficulty in
making decisions and anxiety.

Behavioural Symptoms

These indicate the effects of stress on the behaviour of an individual. Behavioural symptoms include
a change in productivity, an increase in absenteeism and employee turnover, rapid speech, and
sleep disorders

Chapter 2

2. Research design

2.1. Title
“A study to ascertain the stress level of employees - An empirical study conducted with special
reference to acs.”

2.2. Statement of problem

34
The stress level among employees decreases the performance and also deteriorates the physical
and intellectual functioning. High stress affects the creative performance and results in
forgetfulness, frequent mistakes, restlessness, lack of concentration or irritability

2.3. Objectives
1. To find out whether it is a conducive work environment.

2. To identify common stress indicators and stress diseases.

3. To study about the effect of stress on employees in ACS

4. To identify situations that causes stress.

2.4. Need
Stress being an invisible factor, may affect any person, any organization and people involved in it.
This study focuses on analysing the stress level and the importance of stress management for
employees under high pressure and high work load in A

2.5. Scope
The scope of the study is extended only to the employees working in ACS, Dehi, It does not cover
employees working in other branches ofACS to fulfil the objectives of this research, this study is
conducted to analyse the stress management among the employees of ACS

2.6. Operational definitions:

STRESS: stress is a state of psychological or physiological imbalance resulting from the disparity
between situational demand and the individual’s ability or motivation to meet those demands.
STRESSORS: stressor refers to an agent, condition or other stimulus that causes stress to an
organism. A stressor can be physical, psychological or social force.

2.7. Research methodology

Research Basic research is used to explore the fundamental bases of behaviour, without regard to
how those bases are manifested in the real world. Basic research aims to explain, predict, and
describe fundamental bases of behaviour. It is called basic, pure, fundamental research. The
main motivation is to expand man's knowledge, not to create or invent something. There is no
obvious commercial value to the discoveries that result from basic research. Basic research lay
down the foundation for the applied researchS

35
2.8. Sources of data collection:
• Primary sources: The procedure followed in the collection of primary data is from structured
questionnaire and interview from the target employees.

• Secondary sources: The data is collected through information available with the company in the
form of past records, newspaper articles, journals etc.

2.9. Sample design:

A sample size of 80 employees has been taken; the sample was selected using convenience
sampling. The total population of 80 respondents, which comprises of chief manager, managers,
supervisors, staff, clerk, operator, store manager, chief technician, sales department and
Garments worker.

2.10. Tools and techniques for data collection:

The primary information was collected by distributing the questionnaires and by performing
surveys. On the basis of tables, the facts are presented in the form of pie charts.

2.11. Plan of analysis

1. The data is collected and classified using convenience sampling method.

2. The classified data is tabulated and calculated into percentages.

3. The tabulated data is shown in the pie charts for better understanding.

2.12. Limitations of study:

1. sample size is limited

2. The study is limited to time constraints

3 financial cost

Chapter3

36
3 Company profile
Agile Capital Services is the choice of many reputed Multinational Organizations and
businesses because of its commitment to deliver best results. ACS pride itself with the
reputation of being the trusted and reliable talent acquisition partner as well as providing
expert guidance towards achieving financial independence to its clients.
We are having experts who are providing consultancy services regarding financial and
investment sector to individual so that they can secure financial future of themselves and
their family. Providing the professional and expert advice in wealth maximization, career
planning and bridging the gap between the job seeker and talent seeker. Our experts
provide financial advice in the simplest way possible because we believe in managing
wealth in less complicated way

Agile Capital Services Is One Of India's Emerging Consulting Firm. At Agile

Capital, We Provide Wealth Management Services To High And Ultra High-Net-
Worth Individuals (Hnis & Uhnis).

Our highly trained and specialized team engage with clients from across the country as
well as those based abroad. in addition to our custom-designed solutions, we focus on
'un complicating' the entire process of investment for each client. our focus on building
long-term relationships defines our business. our advisory backed by a strong product
and research team, underscores the unmatched value of the ACS proposition.

Our vision
Our vision is to significantly increase the wealth of our clients by providing best financial
services as well as most valuable recruitment service provider.

Our Mission

We thrive to provide best and simplest wealth management advice through honest financial solutions as well as inspire the
candidates to explore job opportunities across various industrial sector

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

3.1. Findings:

1. Most of the employees have a long term relationship with the organization i.e., from 3-5 years
and are experienced and the remaining have a short term relationship varying from 1-3 years.

37
2. There is a conducive working environment as majority of them in the organization are able to
work in the given time frame without any disturbances. But there are also situations where in
the employees do not cope up with the time frames.

3. Majority of the employees experience headaches or migraines, this happens when an individual
constantly pressurizes once mind for various reasons or other reasons like cold, pollution, dust.
Etc. while the other few employees in the organization have no impact on their health.

4. Less than half of the employees get time to meet their personal obligations and are satisfied
about the time schedule available for them to meet their personal obligations which includes
spending time with family. While the rest of the employees say no and rarely do they get time to
meet their personal obligations hence it adds on to their stress.

5. Half and more than quarter of the entire working population get angry while they are interrupted
at work which means they are under indirect stress. But also many employees in the
organization say no as they are calm and composed at work place

6. Majority of the employees do not experience trouble in taking decisions, that means they are
confident about their decision making skills, but few others also experience problems while
making important decisions due to lack of peace of mind

. 7. Most of the employees do not experience repetitiveness in mistakes / approach which in turn
helps them perform efficiently in the organization. But from the findings we observe that also
equal number of employees in the organization repeat mistakes due to unmanageable stress
levels.

8. Less than half of the employees are stressed because textile industry job is monotonous, which
means they don’t enjoy their work, instead feel stressed. While the rest of the employees are
also happy about their job and the working environment.

9. Less than half of the employees lose temper while being stressed at work, since the environment
of a textile industry is such that it builds a lot of pressure. But others say they have patience to
deal with the difficult situations without losing temper.

10.Majority of them do not plan their day and work out the plan but the other employees in the
organization also say they do plan their daily schedule which in turn will help them in achieving
the bench set for the day.

11.Less than half of the employees are not anxious to finish an assignment as they can switch to the
next assignment quickly, this means the employees are calm and composed about their working

38
 style. While the others who constitute the major part of the organization try to finish their
assignments quickly and this shows their anxiety level in completing the assigned tasks

12.Most of the employees in the organization say their productivity is not affected when they are
under stress. While the other employee’s productivity is rarely affected when they are stressed,
which means the productivity of an employee takes a beat when he / she work under stress.

13.Most of the employees are under stress due to their pay package while in contrast the other few
employees are satisfied and are happy about their pay scale.

14.From the survey done we can infer that least of the employees in the textile industry find their
job stressful throughout, the other range of employees say often and rarely do they find the job
stressful because of the work load which is high at certain period of time.

15.Majority of the employees rarely find difficulty in concentrating or remembering things, the
reason behind this can be stress or other pre-occupied thoughts in the employee’s mind. While
the other few have no problem with regard to concentrating on work or in remembering things
as they have peace of mind at work place.

16.Few employees work over time when they can’t meet the organization’s target as they are set
high and majority employees do not work overtime, as the target and standards of the
organization is met by the employees on time.

17.From the survey we can infer that not most of the employees find work load as the prime reason
causing stress, while the other few employees find their workload as the reason for stress, as
they are unable to meet the expectations in their work.

18.Half of the employees in the organization have physical or mental impact of stress on their
health. While few others say rarely do they find any impact on

their health due to stress and the rest of the employees say they have no health issues.

19.Most of the employees want the management to give sufficient training which would help them
improvise in their assignments and in turn relieve the stress, while few others feel increase in
pay scale and recruiting supportive staff’s will help them reduce their stress levels.

20.Most of the employees prefer to watch movies or listen to soothing music to relieve their stress
and keep them calm. While few others are engaged with yoga, exercise, aerobics and like to
socialize with colleagues and dear ones to get rid of stress.

4.2. Suggestions:

1. As employees stress levels should be within a healthy boundary, facilities like recreation, yoga
classes, meditation, etc. could be introduced.

39
2. A few feasible and peaceful stress buster programs could be implemented.

3. An area for fun, games etc. to reduce stress could be created to relax the employee’s mind and to
lighten the environment.

4. Proper counselling and grievance handling cell for all employees could benefit the employees to
become stress free and perform better.

5. Organization should focus more on work life balance of employees and take initiatives in
implementing the strategies.

6. Employees in the textile industry to be given an option of flexi working hours, which will reduce
their stress in a great extent

7. Human resource department or employee engagement department in the textile industry will
enhance the engagement level which in turn distresses the employees.

8. A customized training module to be used to specific skillset which will reduce the employee’s job
related stress and build the employee morale.

Chapter4

ANALYSIS DATA
-interpretation Table

RResponse NNo of response Ppercentage

L Less than 6 months1 12 1 15%

1- 1-2 years 3 30 3 37.5%

3 3-5 years 2 24 3 30%

M More than 5 years1 14 1 17.5%

40
Total 80 100%

From the above data it is analysed that out of 80 respondents, 12 of them have worked for less
than 6 months, 30 of them have worked for 1-2 years, 24 of them have worked for 3-5 years and
14 of them for more than 5 years.

Graph1

less than 6 months

15%

4th Qtr
30%

above 5 years
18%

1-2 years
38%

Inference

41
From the above data it is implied that there are very few experienced workers who are working in
the organization between 3–5 years and also above 5 years. The other employees are newly
employed to the organization.

Table 2: IF EMPLOYEES HAVE TIME TO PERFORM WORK WITHOUT ANY DISTURBANCE

RE RESPONSE NU NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS PEPERCENTAGE

Ye YES 5858 73%

N NO 2020 25%

OFTEN 0 0 0%

RaRARELLY 2 2 25%

ToTOTAL 8080 10 100%

Analysis: From the above table it is analysed that out of 80 respondents, 58 of them have enough
time to perform their work without any disturbance, 20 of them do not have time to perform
their work without disturbance, and 2 of them find time rarely to perform their work without
disturbance.

Graph 2

42
 Sales
Rarely
2%

No
25%

Yes
73%

43
TABLE 3: EMPLOYEES WHO EXPERIENCE HEADACHES /MIGRAINES

Response No of students Percentage

Yes 59 74%
No 18 22 %
Often 0 0%
Rarely 3 2 4%
Total 80 80 100%

Analysis: From the above table it is analysed that out of 80 respondents, 59 of them say yes, 18 of
them say no and 3 of them say rarely, they experience headaches / migraines.

44
 rarely
4%

No
23%

Yes
74%

Inference

From the above data it is implied that majority of the employees suffer from headaches or
migraines due to the stress level in the working conditions but there are also employees who do
not have and are rarely affected by any kinds of stress diseases.

45
 TABLE 4: EMPLOYEES TIME TO MEET PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS EVERYDAY

Response No of students Percentage

Yes 38 64%
No 20 34%
Often 0%
Rarely 22 2%
Total 80 100%

Analysis: From the above table it is analysed that out of 80 respondents, 38 of them get time to
meet their personal obligations every day, 20 of them do not get time to meet their personal
obligations, 22 of them get time rarely to meet their obligations.

Graph 4

Sales
Rarely
2%

No
34%

Yes
64%

46
Inference

From the above data we can imply that few employees are not able to and few employees are
rarely getting time to meet their personal obligations every day. It is less than half of the
employees who are able to cope up with the professional and personal life.

TABLE 5: IF EMPLOYEES GET ANGRY WHEN YOU INTERRUPTED AT WORK

Response No of response Percentage

Yes 34 42.5%
NO 24 30%
Often 22 27.5%
Rarely 0 0%
Total 80 100%

Analysis: From the above table we can analyse that out of 80 respondents, 34 of them say yes, 24 of
them say no, 22 of them say often, 0 of them say rarely get angry when interrupted at work.

Graph 5:

Sales

Often
28%

Yes
43%

No
30%

47
 Chapter 5

STASTICS

5.1 Signs of a Stressful Work Enviroment

 Some signs that the whole organization has a stressful environment are high employee turnover,
increased absenteeism, long-hours working culture, low productivity and efficiency (Stress.org) 
 Some of the negative effects stress has on employees are job performance,
lower engagement with their work, tense communication with coworkers (CDC, 2018) 
 41% of workers said stress made them less productive, 33% said it made them less engaged,
15% admitted to looking for a new job because of stress (Coloniallife, 2019) 
 91% of respondents said that feeling overwhelmingly stressed negatively affects the quality of
their work (Deloitte) 
 More than half of respondents said they often have 12-hour work days, and an equal
amount frequently skip lunch because of job stress and demands (WM

Affects Personal Life

 7 in 10 adults reported that workplace stress affects their personal relationships (ADAA) 
 50% of workers bring their work home, causing interference in their personal and work life (HBR,
2016) 
 When job satisfaction declines so does marital satisfaction, proving a strong work-
family stress spillover (ScienceDirect, 2017) 
 One-third of children believe their parent has been always stressed out during this last month
(APA, 2010) 
 Nearly half of children reported feeling sad or worried when their parent is stressed out (APA,
2010) 
 More than 20% of workers spend more than 5 hours daily thinking about their stressors
(Coloniallife, 2019) 
 25% said their job is number one stressor in their lives (Stress.org) 
 Working mothers experience 18% more stress than childless women. (Theswaddle.com, 2019) 
 Burnout syndrome accounts for 8% of all occupational illness cases. (Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2018) 
 According to studies, 46% of women are more prone than men (27%) to overeat while dealing
with working stress. Furthermore, 44% of women, compared to 21% of men, would discuss the
distressing issue with friends and family. (Stress, 2019) 
 According to workplace stress statistics, working moms are 18% more stressed than the rest of
the labor force. (Globalnews.ca, 2019) 

48
5.2Workplace
Stress Factors
 Most common causes of workplace stress are workload (44%), lack of support (14%), changes at
work (8%) (HSE, 2019) 
 Six in 10 adults listed work and money as a significant source of stress (APA, 2019) 
 One in three workers say their boss thinks work should be a top priority and come before family
life (Relate, 2016) 
 58% of employees have left a job, or would consider leaving because of negative office politics
(Randstad, 2018) 
 A third of employees say their employer thinks the ideal employee would be available 24-hours
a day (Relate, 2016) 
 Some other common stress factors are low salaries, lack of opportunity for growth, unrealistic
job expectations, and long hours (SHRM, 2020) 
 One of the top causes of workplace stress is the inability to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
(Realbuzz.com, 2020) 
 17% of healthcare workers report being “very stressed” at work. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2020) 
 80% of remote employees say they are “not anxious at all” or “stressed to a modest degree.”
(Pwc, 2021) 
 Customer service professionals report being unhappy for at least 20 minutes each hour of work.
(Verizon.com)  
 Workers who work from home are more likely to be stress-free. (Flex Jobs) 

Workplace
Stress Factors

 Most common causes of workplace stress are workload (44%), lack of support (14%), changes at
work (8%) (HSE, 2019) 
 Six in 10 adults listed work and money as a significant source of stress (APA, 2019) 
 One in three workers say their boss thinks work should be a top priority and come before family
life (Relate, 2016) 
 58% of employees have left a job, or would consider leaving because of negative office politics
(Randstad, 2018) 
 A third of employees say their employer thinks the ideal employee would be available 24-hours
a day (Relate, 2016) 
 Some other common stress factors are low salaries, lack of opportunity for growth, unrealistic
job expectations, and long hours (SHRM, 2020) 
 One of the top causes of workplace stress is the inability to achieve a healthy work-life balance.
(Realbuzz.com, 2020) 
 17% of healthcare workers report being “very stressed” at work. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2020) 
 80% of remote employees say they are “not anxious at all” or “stressed to a modest degree.”
(Pwc, 2021) 

49
 Customer service professionals report being unhappy for at least 20 minutes each hour of work.
(Verizon.com)  
 Workers who work from home are more likely to be stress-free. (Flex Jobs) 

Overall Workplace Stress Trends

 55% of Americans reported feeling stress during each day (Gallup, 2019) 
 40% of workers reported their job was extremely stressful (Stress.org) 
 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half said they need help in learning how to manage
stress (The Marlin Company, 2001) 
 38% of respondents said they feel more pressure at work currently than they were a year ago
(The Marlin Company, 2001) 
 Millennials and Gen Z report highest levels of stress and have the most trouble coping with
stress (APA, 2014) 
 Seven in 10 Americans in the poorest 20% of the population said they experienced stress daily,
compared to four in 10 Americans in the richest 20% of the population (Gallup, 2019) 
 Work was the third most common source of stress for 61% of respondents, with money and the
future of our nation at the top (APA, 2017) 
 51% of workers in low-paying jobs reported being stressed, and 41% of average and high-paying
jobs reported feeling the negative effects of stress (SHRM, 2020)
 18% of employees report dealing with job stress daily. 
 Long working hours are cited as the primary source of work-related stress by 21% of employees.
(Researchgate.net, 2017) 
 Surprisingly, higher-income workers are more likely to feel job stress. (The Relationship Between
Job Stress and Income Level (Verywellmind.com, 2020) 
 33,3% of customer service personnel report regularly feeling emotional exhaustion after work.
(Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 2021) 
 According to 2019 workplace stress data, up to 55% of US people are stressed at work. (Stress,
2019) 
 According to a US LinkedIn survey of 1,000 people earning between $51,000 and $75,000 have
the lowest stress level. (CNBC, 2018) 
 70% of individuals earning $200,000 or more each month reported being constantly anxious.
(CNBC, 2018) 
 Some people with large salaries admit that the cause of their susceptibility to stress is greed,
which grows along with their money, resulting in feeling mentally exhausted.  (CNBC, 2018) 
 One of the biggest causes of workplace stress is the lack of a solid work-life balance. ( Tiny
Pulse, 2017) 
 Many employees are feeling swamped by the workload. Work overload is not the only source of
stress for employees; “underload” is also a factor. (Tiny Pulse, 2017) 

50
5.3Cost of Workplace Stress
 Effective stress management reduces sickness absence costs by up to 20%
(StressManagementSociety, 2016) 
 Stressed workers incur healthcare costs twice as high than other employees (HealthAdvocate,
2009) 
 The consequences of stress-related illnesses cost businesses an estimated $200 to $300 billion a
year in lost productivity (HealthAdvocate, 2018) 
 Absenteeism in the workplace due to depression costs the economy around $23.3 billion per
year (APA, 2015) 
 12.8 million working days are lost in a year due to work-related stress, depression, or anxiety
(HSE, 2019) 
 12% of respondents have called in sick because of job stress (WM) 
 Workplace stress leads to a 50% increase in voluntary turnover (HBR, 2015

5.4 Health Effects of Stress

 Workplace stress is linked to 70% of visits to the doctor and for 85% of serious illnesses
(StressManagementSociety, 2016) 
 35% feel the workplace is negatively affecting physical and emotional employee well-being (The
Marlin Company, 2001) 
 Women are more likely than men to experience physical symptoms of stress and are also more
likely to cope with stress with unhealthy behaviors (HealthAdvocate, 2009) 
 To cope with stress many employees pick up unhealthy habits such as alcohol, prescription pain
medication and other substances (NCBI, 2017)

  Two-fifths of adults reported overeating due to stress, and a third reported skipping a meal
because of stress in the last month (APA, 2010) 
  62% of workers said they end the day with neck pain, 44% reported stressed out eyes and
34% reported difficulty in sleeping because of stress (WM) 
  Poor leadership and stress-producing employers have been linked to heart disease in
employees (Karolinska Institutet, 2009) 
  The most common physical symptoms of stress are irritability (45%), fatigue (41%), and lack of
energy or motivation (38%) (APA, 2010) 
  Stress-related distraction or sleepiness account for 60-80% of accidents on the job
(HealthAdvocate, 2009) 
  When faced with work-related stress, women are more prone than men to overeat, while
males are more likely to turn to drugs. (thebusinesswomanmedia.com, 2020) 
  Work-related depression accounts for 44% of all diseases among stressed employees. These
also account for roughly 54% of all working days missed due to illness. (Unssc.org, 2019)

51
Effective Stress and
Management Prevention

 The most-reported stress management techniques are listening to music, exercising, watching
tv, and going online (APA, 2014) 
 64% of employees who reported feeling passionate about their work also reported feeling
stressed, therefore disproving the myth that passion does not mean no stress (Deloitte) 
 One in five Americans (20%) report they never engage in an activity to help relieve or manage
their stress (APA, 2014) 
 64% of employees reported their organization offered support related to job stress
(PeopleManagement, 2019) 
 Actions managers can take to effectively manage stress: offer free or subsidized screenings for
depression, provide lifestyle coaching, raise awareness about mental health, create dedicated
and quiet places for meditation and practicing mindfulness, host seminars for better stress
management, join a workplace wellness program (CDC, 2018) 
 Some strategies for employers to lower workplace stress are: flexible working hours, work from
home, longer lunch hours, job sharing, etc. (HealthAdvocate, 2009) 

Work stress is a concern for both employees and employers because, as the statistics above show,
there is a clear link between employee wellbeing and the performance of a company.

Global Impact Of Stress

Stress causes people to stay home from work, go to the doctor, miss school, or even pass away.
Unfortunately, it’s estimated that American employers spend $300 billion annually on health care
as well as lost work days related to stress.

Also, up to 80% of workplace accidents come from stress or stress-related problems. For example, a
construction worker is too tried or distracted to notice that there’s a sharp object on the floor
which he/she accidentally steps on.

Stress isn’t only a costly issue in America, in fact, people in the UK miss 13.7 million work days
because of stress every year. Australia has an extra $14.2 billion of costs and the UK around $37
billion in lost productivity every year.

Prevalence Of Stress Disorders

Acute stress disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common stress disorders which
are triggered by trauma. Did you know that approximately 5% of Americans – more than 13
million people – have PTSD at any given time? Acute stress disorder also affects as many as 50%
of all people who are exposed to a serious stressor that could even be life-threatening.

52
 5.6 Student Stress Statistics
With a finite number of hours per day to complete their classes, homework, chores, and other
responsibilities, it’s not a surprise that students are experiencing stress throughout their childhood
and young adult life.

We’ve compiled more than a handful of student stress stats that will help you be informed of the
stress high school and college students face while trying to achieve their educational goals.
Whether it’s college admission, an abundance of homework, exams, too many extra-curricular
activities, or chores, students are constantly facing stress.

High School Students Stress

High school students have many academic, social, family, and peer responsibilities and pressure,
from getting admitted to the college of their choice or exposure to other students bullying them,
or even violence. Even more pressure comes from the COVID-19 virus that has changed the way
many schools are operated.

This section will answer the common question: what percent of high schoolers are stressed?

The statistics below will help illustrate how much stress high school students have:

1. 61% of teenagers ages 13-17 report they are under a lot of pressure to produce good grades. (Pew
Research Center, 2019)
2. 59% of teenagers plan on attending a 4-year college course after completing high school. (Pew
Research Center, 2019)
3. The passing rate for college applicants is around two-thirds (65.4%), and many high school
students are constantly stressed about whether they’ll get accepted into the college of their choice.
4. 3 out of 4 high schoolers and 1 out of 2 middle schoolers describe themselves as “always or often
feeling stressed” by their homework. (The Washington Post, 2019)
5. Almost 1 in 2 high school students (45%) report feeling stressed out all the time. (Global
NewsWire)

College Students Stress

The previous section showed the main causes of stress in high school students, and what percentage
of them are stressed on a regular basis. In this section, we’ll reveal the most common factors that
influence a college student’s stress to give you some insights on the amount of pressure and stress
college students face regu.

Gun Violence and School Shooting Stress

Unfortunately, the U.S. remains a country where gun-related violence happens regularly, even in
schools. The increasing reports of mass shootings have caused millions of students across the
U.S. to have more stress related to their safety at school.

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In fact, the threat of a school shooting or school violence can cause students to think about not
attending classes in-person, or simply leaving school and going home.

The student stress statistics below will help you understand more about the concerns students face
regularly:

1. There are 3 million schoolchildren who get exposed to gun violence yearly. (Everytown, 2021)
2. Black high school students in the U.S. are twice as likely to miss school due to safety issues,
compared to white students. (Everytown, 2021)
3. There was a total of 45 reported school shootings in just 46 weeks in 2019, which means there
was an average of almost one school shooting per school week.

5.7Conclusions:
The stress of employees at ACS is within the optimal range for performance and the stress builds
could be controlled. The various stress indicators of the employees are experiencing troubles
while taking decisions, getting angry while interrupted at work, experiencing repetitiveness in
mistakes or approach, difficulties in concentrating or remembering things, experience frequent
headaches and migraines, etc. The common responses given by employees under stress are
heavy workload, working overtime, low pay package, lack of training etc. It is also a comfortable
environment to work as majority employees are able to work without disturbances or
interruptions and also do they get time to meet their personal obligations. But since it is a textile
industry, the environment adds on to an employee’s stress.

BIBILIOGRAPHY BOOKS:
1. P. Subba Rao, Human Resource Management, Himalaya Publications, New Delhi, 4th Edition.

2. P. SubbaRao, Human Resource Development, HimalayaPublications, New Delhi.

Chapter6

Questionnaire
1. Do you get time to meet your personal obligations every day?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

2. Do you get angry when you are interrupted at work?

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a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

3. Do you experience trouble in taking decisions?

A Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

4. Do you feel stressed because export job is monotonous?

A Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

5. Are you usually anxious to finish an assignment/task, so that you can switch to the next job? a.
Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

6. Is your productivity affected when you are under stress?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

7. Does your pay package indirectly affect your stress?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

8. Do you experience headaches / migraines?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

9. Are you satisfied with your job?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

10. Do you regularly work overtime or more than 8 hours?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

11. Is the workload reason for your stress?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

12. Is there any effect of stress on your health?

Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

13. What do you expect from the management to relieve the stress of employees?

a. High pay package b. Training c. Recruit supportive staff

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14. What do you generally do to relieve your STRESS

a. Going for walk b. Yoga/ aerobics/ exercise c. Socialize

2. Do you have enough time to perform your work without any disturbance?

a. Yes b. No c. often d. rarely

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