Effect of Demographic Variables on Occupational Stress and their Coping Strategies

Nandini Pandey,G V Kesava Rao

doi:10.21095/ajmr/2013/v6/i1/88343

Abstract

This study focuses on investigating the relationship between dennographic variables & occupational stress and the coping strategies adopted by employees to deal with it. Age, experience, and gender are used as demographic variables. Problem-oriented and emotion-oriented coping strategies are primarily investigated to understand their impact on coping stress. Two additional coping strategies related to emotion venting and consuming medicines were also studied. Data has been collected from a US based software development firm. An attempt was made to fit a regression model on health based coping strategy elements and the demographic variables. A relationship between various coping strategies adopted at managerial/non-managerial level is explored in this study. At gender level, various coping strategies and their interrelationship is investigated. The results indicate that at organization level, emotion-based coping strategies have a direct relationship with health. At managerial level, female employees adopt more of problem-oriented strategies compared to their male counterparts. Problem-oriented strategies are being adopted at managerial level further confirms that, male and female employees are more socialized in structural and instrumental thinking thereby adopting problem-oriented strategies. At non-managerial level, female employees adopt more of emotion-oriented strategies compared to their male counterpart. This further implies that at non-managerial level, male and female employees are socialized into conventional behaviour thereby relying on emotion-oriented strategies.

Highlights

To study the various coping strategies adopted by employees in managing occupational stress and to find out the differences if any, in coping strategies adopted by employees in terms of theirgenderand position
The hypothesis that male and female employees who are the same level in the organization and do similar work use problem focused strategy to cope stress was supported to some extent
Male employees at managerial level use more of planning based coping strategies as compared to female managers

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Occupational stress can be defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Problem-focused coping strategy has been considered to be more acceptable of the two as it tries to eliminate stress rather than managing It (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). This helps employees In an organization to resist occupational stress rather than getting impacted by it emotionally (Allie, Bhagat et al, 1991). Some authors have reported no difference in coping strategy by gender (Parkes, 1990; Allie, Bhagatetal.,1991) It is argued by Kahn and Long (1993) that those findings in which men use more of problemfocused coping strategy than women are attributed to cases when men and women are not matched at organizational level. This study is aims at studying the coping strategies adopted by employees in an organization

OBJECTIVE

LIMITATIONS

FINDINGS

Gender Level

CONCLUSION