1. International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT (IJM)
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)
ISSN 0976-6502 (Print)
ISSN 0976-6510 (Online)
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013), pp. 36-42
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IJM
©IAEME
A SURVEY ON OCCUPATIONAL STRESS OF BANK EMPLOYEES
M.Vivek*,
S.Janakiraman**
*Ph.D Research Scholar, Department of Banking Technology, Pondicherry University
**Assistant Professor, Department of Banking Technology, Pondicherry University
ABSTRACT
Occupational stress has become one of the global issues in the current working environment.
Though the modern day organisations have succeeded in coping up with changing industry
structures, their success in tackling their employees’ stress level is still a question mark. Unless
employers do not try to lower their employees stress level, it will affect their organisations indirectly
by various means such as increase in absenteeism, high employee turnover etc. Especially it is not
good for organisations such as financial institutions where lump sum money is involved in day to day
activities. Also the modernisation of the industry led to various changes in the working environment
there by challenging the ability of employees to cope up with it. Due to these reasons, employees
working in financial sector particularly bank employees are more prone to stress. Hence it is
mandatory to study their stress levels in order to avoid negative consequences. So this paper attempts
to review such studies that have been carried out in the recent past in finding out bank employees
stress level. The similar studies such as study on stressors, study on how occupational stress vary
with demographic factors, nature of banks, job cadres, job satisfaction and job performance etc are
grouped under same captions for our easier understanding. The paper also throws light on the scope
of future research work in this area and adds definitely to the existing literature. We have
furthermore addressed limitations of the previous studies and have presented about our ongoing
research work focus.
KEYWORDS: Bank Employees; Banking Sector; Job Stress; Occupational Stress; Stress; Work
Stress.
1. INTRODUCTION
Occupational stress has become almost globalized and has the tendency to affect all
professions and workers irrespective of their categories (Ahmad and Ahmad, 1992). Though it
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2. International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)
cannot be confined to any specific occupation, the data such as longitudinal national statistics from
studies of different occupation groups showed that financial sector employees are more prone to
stress (Paola and Merlline, 2001).
The economic growth of a country mainly depends on its financial system. As rightly said,
they are the back-bone of economy. Over the last few decades, the Indian financial system
underwent some major changes in terms of structures, management techniques and the regulatory
environment. These changes are more pronounced in the banking sub-sector than any other subsectors (Tella & Akingunola, 1998). Thus the modernization of the finance industry led to severe
concerns such as excessive work demands, increased time pressure, role conflict and increased
incidents of stress (International Labour Organisation ILO, 2003) & minor psychiatric disorders
among its workers (Silva L.S et al., 2007).
Due to liberalization in policies of licensing procedures by Reserve Bank of India (Central
Banking Authority of India), a lot of new banks have entered in to the sector and hence making the
environment very competitive (Ouyang, 2009). In order to compete in the current environment,
banks are in a position of making huge profits so that they can survive. This led to increased working
hours and so on. Moreover, banking business in the recent times has transformed tremendously due
to various factors such as technological innovations in terms of communication and information
processing and increase in number of frauds which ultimately results in change in the stress level of
bank employees every time. Also, studies regarding occupational stress are very limited with
reference to banking sector. Hence the main motive here is to explore studies regarding stress
relating to banking sector in particular.
We have used “Bank Employees Occupational Stress” as a keyword and the search has yield
positive results related not only to banking sector but also to other services sector as well. From that,
studies in relation to other services sector such as teaching and nursing were omitted. After doing
thematic analysis of contents present in articles, the final sample consisting of about 65 studies (36
Indian and 29 International) regarding bank employees’ stress were chosen for the review purpose.
The following tabular column consists of details of year wise papers published on bank
employees’ stress so far.
S.No
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Table: 1
Papers Published
Years
Number of Papers
1971-1980
2
1981-1990
4
1991-2000
7
2001-2010
21
2011-Till Now
29
The paper proceeds with definitions of stress in Section 2 and that of occupational stress in
Section 3. Section 4 focuses on discussion in relation to studies about bank employees’ stress.
Section 5 narrates about limitations of previous studies. Finally, Section 6 offers future research
scope and concludes.
2. STRESS
Though stress can be defined in numerous ways, let us shift our focus towards some
important and notable definitions. McGrath (1970) rightfully pointed out that stress is a substantial
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3. International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)
imbalance between environmental demand and the response capability of the focal organism. Hans
Selye (1974) defines stress as the non-specific response of the body to demands placed on it.
According to Lazarus and Folkman (1980), stress will generate among human beings where a
particular relationship between a person and the environment, that is appraised by the person as
taxing or exceeding his/her resources and endangering his/her well being. Though an individual was
given with major responsibilities, he/she tends to develop stress if there is an absence of proper
delegation of power and authority (Vansell et al., 1981).
Baum (1999) defines stress as a negative experience, which is mostly accompanied by
behavioural, cognitive, emotional and physiological changes. According to Robbins and Sanghi
(2006), stress usually results from a lack of fit between a person and his environment when he/she
cannot cope up with the encountered demands. Stress usually occurs when an individual’s physical
and emotional ability do not match their job demands (Ugoji and Isele, 2009).
Most of us think that stress is always harmful. But it is not as we think. Stress may be either
good (eustress) or bad (distress) (Fevre et al., 2003). Eustress usually refers to a stress that motivates
a person to achieve something new or the one that helps a person in achieving some greater heights
e.g. working towards one’s goal or success. Distress is a state where a person is unable to cope up
with stressors that leads to dysfunctional behaviour.
Positive pressure is proved to be one of the most important factors in improving the
productivity of the organisation (Spielberger, 1980). If the same pressure becomes excessive, it may
lead to distress which will negatively affect the attitude and behaviour of employees in the workplace
(Seaward, 2005).
3. OCCUPATIONAL STRESS
Though stress may be of various types, it is referred to as job stress when it is traceable to a
particular job or occupation. According to Beehr and Newman (1978), job stress usually arises when
the interaction between people and their jobs went wrong that ultimately drives them towards some
abnormal functioning. Thus stress is an adaptive response to an external situation that results in
physical, psychological and behavioural deviations for organisational participants.
Luthans (1995) defines job stress as a workplace chronic disease that has a negative impact
on individual’s performance. According to Malta (2004), occupational stress is any discomfort which
is felt and perceived at a personal level which is mainly triggered by events and instances that are too
frequent and strong so as to exceed people coping capabilities. Irene (2005) defines job stress as a set
of reactions that occur when the skill sets and abilities of employees are unable to cope up with
demands placed on them. Thus it is a new phenomena of modern day living and it has become a
malaise.
Whether occupational stress and job stress are different? Most of us will say yes. But in an
organisational context, occupational stress is also referred to as job stress or work stress. These terms
are often used interchangeably in organisations, but its meaning refer to the same thing (AbuAlRub,
2004; Larson 2004).
4. DISCUSSION OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES
Since contributions made by the previous authors are enormous, it is impossible to discuss all
of them in a detailed manner. So, we have shifted our focus mainly towards their important findings.
Studies made by Md. Mosharaff Hossain (1997) and by Bharati Roy and Anita Arora (2012)
showed that bank employees are more prone to stress i.e. banking jobs are highly stressful. The
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4. International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)
existence of casual relationship between role stress and employee outcome is revealed by Parkington
and Schneider (1979).
A. Stressors
The major sources of stress among bank employees include work/ role overload (Bhatnagar
and Bose, 1985; P.Chand and Sethi, 1997; Nadeem Malik, 2011; K.Saikumar, 2011; A.Sharmila and
J.Poornima, 2011; Victor L.D and Thavakumar D, 2011; Silva LS and Barreto SM, 2012; Saira
Ashfaq, 2013; R. Sam Renu and G. Arumugasamy, 2013) followed by poor working condition/
environment (Chand and Sethi, 1997; Gnanaraj, 2001; Silva LS and Barreto SM, 2012; R. G.
Phadatare and Pisal Sucheta, 2013; Ajay Solkhe).
Some of the other stressors include ‘high effort-reward imbalance’ (W.J. Coetzer and S.
Rothmann, 2006; Silva LS and Barreto SM, 2012), ‘role ambiguity’ (Kedar Nath, 1988; A. Oke and
Patrick Dawson, 2008), ‘role authority’ (Farooq A.Shah, 2003; Nadeem Malik, 2011) ‘role
indistinctiveness’ (Jyoti Sharma and Arti Devi, 2011; Nadeem Malik, 2011), ‘role stagnation’
(Farooq A.Shah, 2003; Swati Goyal and Vinay Kashyap, 2010) and ‘work-life balance’ (A.Sharmila
and J.Poornima, 2011; Mohd Abass Bhat, 2012).
b. Occupational Stress Vs Demographic Factors
Most studies have concluded that stress is negatively related to experience i.e. higher the
experience (number of years of service), lower is the stress and vice-versa (T.R.Rajeshwari, 1992;
Neelameghan and Asrafali, 2010; Yasin Bez and Abdurrahim Emhan, 2010; Davinder Sharma, 2011;
Yasir Arafat and Elahi Mishra Apoorva, 2012).
The study by T.R.Rajeshwari (1992) illustrated that stress is independent of position whereas
the study by Nazira Paruk and Anesh Maniraj Singh (2012) revealed that stress mainly depends on
employees’ roles and responsibilities. T.R.Rajeshwari’s (1992) study also demonstrated that stress
level is mainly dependent on income and independent of sex whereas studies by Nazira Paruk and
Anesh Maniraj Singh (2012), Showkat Kalil Wani and Weerasinghe T.D and Batagoda proved that
female employees feel higher stress.
Stress varies based on educational qualification (Michailidis and Georgiou, 2005;
Neelameghan and Asrafali, 2010).
c. Occupational Stress Vs Nature of Banks
Aminabhavi and Triveni (2000) study showed that nationalized bank employees have higher
stress when compared to their non-nationalized counterparts while the study by S. Katyal et al.,
(2011) found that non-nationalized bank employees have higher job stress which is analogous to
studies conducted by Swarnalatha & Gopalakrishnan (2012) and Sudha Katyal & Ronica Katyal
(2013).
Weerasinghe T.D and Batagoda, Nadeem Malik (2011) and Shilpa Sankpal et al., (2010)
suggested that there exist higher stress among private bank employees when compared to their public
bank counterparts which was confirmed again by Yasin Bez and Abdurrahim Emhan (2010) on their
study on occupational stress of women bank employees. In contradiction, studies conducted by
Sunita.G.Rao and Sunita Borkar (2012) and M.Sakthi Vadivel and Ayyappan (2013) showed that the
level of stress is higher among public sector bank employees.
The study by Shah Ala & Kainat Rizvi (2012) illustrated that psychological well-being is
higher among public sector bank employees. Harajyoti Mazumdar et al., (2011) study demonstrated
that job stress was found to be higher among rural bank employees.
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5. International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)
d. Occupational Stress Vs Job Cadres
Farooq A.Shah (2003) found that employees belonging to clerical cadre face higher stress
which was similar to the result of studies conducted by Sen (1981), T.R.Rajeshwari (1992), Pandey
and Srivastava (2000) and Farooq A.Shah (2003).
The occupational stress was quite higher among managerial bank employees when compared
to non-managerial bank employees such as clerks (Showkat Hussain Gani, 2012) while the study by
Akingunola Richard Oreoluwa and Adigun Abel Oludele (2010) found that the level of stress is
higher among executive employees.
e. Occupational Stress Vs Job Satisfaction and Job Performance
Majority of study confirmed that the correlation between job satisfaction and job stress is
negative (Achmamba and Gopikumar, 1990; Md. Mosharaff Hossain, 2000; Srivastava, 2008;
Samuel, 2009; Yasir Arafat and Elahi Mishra Apoorva, 2012; Quarat-ul-ain et al., 2013; Showkat
Kalil Wani; Weerasinghe T.D & Batagoda).
Job stress leads to job dissatisfaction which has been proved by Neelameghan and Asrafali
(2010) in their study.
Job Stress is negatively related to employees’ performance (Gnanaraj, 2001; Mohamed Irfan
Ismail and Tan Teck-Hong, 2011; Nikolaos Kakkos and Panagiotis Trivellas, 2011; Muhammad
Naeem Shahid et al.,).
Studies by Mariam Imran et al., (2010) and Vimal K. Bhatt et al., (2012) confirmed the above
i.e. job stress leads to job dissatisfaction and also it is negatively related to employees’ performance.
f. Effects of Occupational Stress
Occupational stress leads to high employees turn-over which-in-turn has a significant
relationship with intention to quit (Cha Xin Yi, 2012) and there exist positive relationship between
stress level & psychological effects such as anger & nervousness (R. G. Phadatare and Pisal Sucheta,
2013).
5. LIMITATIONS OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES
Though all the above studies have succeeded in attaining their objectives; the common
limitations with most of them include,
• The sample size chosen for the above studies was not a true sample of the population
which results in failure to generalize the results. Therefore their results may not be
applicable to the banking sector as a whole.
• Some of the important stressors such as role boundary, responsibility etc were not
included in their studies.
• Modernization of the banking sector has resulted in increased use of information and
communication technology. Even though, stress due to information technology was not
considered.
• Not all the job cadres (i.e. executive, officer, clerk and sub staff) have been considered
viz. most studies were confined to one or two job cadres only.
• Though focus was mainly towards studying stress level in public sector and private sector
banks, the same with respect to foreign banks are very narrow.
• The above studies have dealt either with occupational stress or stress management
(coping with stress) alone without dealing with both.
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6. International Journal of Management (IJM), ISSN 0976 – 6502(Print), ISSN 0976 - 6510(Online),
Volume 4, Issue 6, November - December (2013)
6. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE SCOPE
Studies regarding bank employees’ occupational stress are on a constant rise for the past few
years (refer: table 1) thereby explaining us why the study is the need of the hour. Though more
studies have been conducted in this field, only meagre number of studies has laid both strong
empirical as well as theoretical foundations. So the main focus must not only be on empirical
research but also on theoretical research as well.
Currently we are studying bank employees’ stress by fulfilling all the above addressed
limitations in an elaborate manner. In addition, we are also studying stress due to information
technology apart from studying psychological strain and coping with stress. The future studies can
focus more towards studying bank employees’ stress by addressing the above listed limitations.
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