Role Stress Among Employees- An Empirical Study of Commercial Banks

Abstract

Stress has been on a rise in this era of high-technology speed, global competition and consumerism. Taking its toll on the physical and psychological health of the employees, it is affecting the productivity and functioning of an organization. Researchers have demonstrated the direct and indirect costs of stress (Matteson and lvancevich, 1987). Due to its cost, the critical importance of a stress-free work- life for an organization for creating and sustaining competitive advantage cannot be underestimated and it comes with the realization that employees are susceptible to high levels of stress. According to Kalia (2002), an estimate of The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease Survey shows that mental health disease, including stress-related disorders , will be the second leading cause of disabilities by the year 2020. A survey in 2007 by Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India also reported that work related stress and mental fatigue is affecting the Indian employees (www.assocham.org). In such an environment, it becomes the responsibility of the employing organizations and the individual to identify the causes of stress at the workplace and make efforts to reduce them for the effectiveness and efficiency of the individual and the organization itself.