Employee Stress in State Bank of India – A Case Study

Abstract

The present study attempts to analyze level of stress and reasons for stress among the employees of State Bank of India. It also intends to examine the effects of age and experience of employees on level of stress. The study is based on a sample of 100 employees working in different branches of State Bank of India in Varanasi city. To measure stress level of employees, Occupational Stress Index (OSI) developed by Srivastava and Singh (1983) was used for measuring employees stress. This scale consists of 46 items, each to be rated on five point scale. The items relate to almost all relevant components of job which cause stress in some way or the other. Mean and quartiles were calculated to assess the level of stress. Further, chi square test and t-test was applied to find out the existence of variance in stress level of employees and to examine impact of age and experience on level of stress of employees. It emerged from the study that 70 percent employees were highly stressed and reasons responsible were poor communication, role ambiguity, work overload, poor peer relationships, and strenuous working conditions. The study further establishes that stress was not affected by age and experience (length of service) of the bank employees. In light of the results, it may be recommended that, there should be proper communication between different hierarchies of the organization, so as to ensure a proper understanding among the employees. The work should be distributed among employees in such a manner that situations of role overload, conflict and ambiguity do not arise.