CAUSES AND EFFECT OF STRESS AMONG THE PEOPLE WORKING...

CAUSES AND EFFECT OF STRESS AMONG THE PEOPLE WORKING IN RETAIL SECTOR OF… / 25Journal of Asian Business ManagementVol. 3, No. 1, January-June 2011: 25-38

CAUSES AND EFFECT OF STRESS AMONG THE PEOPLEWORKING IN RETAIL SECTOR OF LUCKNOW (U.P.)

SHAILENDRA CHATURVEDIProfessor & Director, Sherwood College of Management, Lucknow (U.P), India.

GAURAV SINGHAssistant Professor, Sherwood College of Management, Lucknow (U.P), India.

In India, sudden and unprecedented growth in organised retailing poses a challenge to human

resources development. The success of any player in this lucrative sector depends not only on

understanding target market and implementing marketing mix strategies but also on how

effectively a retailer develops systems of high performance work practices including

comprehensive employee recruitment & selection procedures, incentive compensation &

performance management systems, and extensive employee involvement & training. Stress is

the sum of all the non-specific effects of factors that can act upon the body. It is an adaptive

response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening to a person’s well-being.

Stress is a condition of strain that has direct bearing on emotions, thought process and physical

condition of a person. People are stressed from overwork, job insecurity, information overload,

and the increasing pace of life.

INTRODUCTION

Organised retailing is highly manpower intensive. Retailing is the second largest

employer in India; presently it employs about 22 million people. India has a huge posse

of qualified human resources, who have the required education and are highly motivated

to undertake the challenging tasks of the retail sector. The working pattern of retail

sector requires employees to put in long hours (8-12 hrs.) of work which generally cause

fatigue and lower motivation among employees. There is lot of work pressure in particular

form: work overload, time pressures & deadlines, staff shortages and turnover

rates. This may lead to poor performance, absenteeism, mistakes in jobs etc. Stress

is an adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threatening

to the person’s well being. As we shall see, stress is the person’s reaction to a

situation, not the situation itself. Moreover, we experience stress when we believe that

something interferes with our well-being, that is, with our innate drivers and need

fulfillment.

Stress is the sum of all the non-specific effects of factors that can act upon the body.It is an adaptive response to a situation that is perceived as challenging or threateningto a person’s well-being. Stress has become a part of human life and is more pronouncedin corporate life. It has got to do with a person’s attitude and the priority of things in

26 / JOURNAL OF ASIAN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

life, because people want to achieve too much in too short time. Stress is a conditionof strain that has direct bearing on emotions, thought process and physical conditionof a person.

We often hear about stress as negative consequences of modern living. People arestressed from overwork, job insecurity, information overload, and the increasing paceof life. These events produce distress-the degree of physiological, psychological andbehavioral deviation from healthy functioning. There is also a positive side of stress,called eustress that refers to the healthy, positive, constructive outcome of the stressfulevents and the stress response. Eustress is the stress that activate and motivate peopleso that they can achieve goals, change their environments, and succeed in life’schallenges.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In India, the rapid development in this sunrise sector accelerates the need for the rightkind of employees who can take care of retail operations. The success of any player inthis lucrative sector depends not only on understanding target market and implementingmarketing mix strategies but also on how effectively a retailer develops systems of highperformance work practices including comprehensive employee recruitment & selectionprocedures, incentive compensation & performance management systems, and extensiveemployee involvement & training.

In India, sudden and unprecedented growth in organised retailing poses a challengeto human resources development. Therefore, it would be useful to look at the dimensionof human resource practices in retail industry, emerging requirements and challengesand measures to improve work atmosphere in Indian scenario. Although a few studieshave initiated their efforts on analyzing HR challenges in Indian retail sector (Chella2002, Chakraborthy 2007, Abraham & Kumudha 2007), there are gaping holes in theexisting research: in particular the factors leading to the type of HR policy carried outin the Indian retail sector is largely neglected.

The impact of human resource policies and practices on firm performance is animportant topic in the field of human resource management, industrial relations, andindustrial and organisational psychology (Boudreau 1991, Jones & Wright 1992, Kleiner1990). A number of texts have appeared in recent years promoting the advantages ofusing high involvement human resource practices (Arthur 1994, Kochan & Osterman,1994, Levine 1995, Pfeffer 1998, Guthurie 2001) as well as on the use of High PerformanceWork Practices, which can improve the knowledge, skills, and abilities of a firm’s currentand potential employees, increase their motivation, reduce shirking, and enhanceretention of quality employees (Jones & Wright 1992).

Beehr and Newman (1978) define occupational stress as “A condition arising fromthe interaction of people and their jobs and characterized by changes within peoplethat force them to deviate from their normal functioning”. Cobb (1975) has the opinionthat, “The responsibility load creates severe stress among workers and managers.” Ifthe individual manager cannot cope with the increased responsibilities it may lead toseveral physical and psychological disorders among them. Brook (1973) reported thatqualitative changes in the job create adjustmental problem among employees. The

CAUSES AND EFFECT OF STRESS AMONG THE PEOPLE WORKING IN RETAIL SECTOR OF… / 27

interpersonal relationships within the department and between the departments createqualitative difficulties within the organisation to a great extent.

Ivancevich and Matteson (1950) indicate, “Lack of group cohesiveness may explainvarious physiological and behavioural outcomes in an employ desiring such stickstogether.” Workplace interpersonal conflicts and negative interpersonal relations areprevalent sources of stress (Dewe, 1993; Lang, 1984; Long et al., 1992), and are existedwith negative mood depression, and symptoms of ill health (Israel et al., 1989; Karasek,Gardell and Lindell, 1987; Snap, 1992).

Lack of participation in the decision making process, lack of effective consultationand communication, unjustified restrictions on behaviour, office politics and no senseof belonging are identified as potential sources of stressors. Lack of participation inwork activity is associated with negative psychological mood and behavioural responses,including escapist drinking and heavy smoking (Caplan et al., 1975).

According to French and Caplan (1975), “Pressure of both qualitative andquantitative overload can result in the need to work excessive hours, which is anadditional source of stress.” Having to work under time pressure in order to meetdeadlines is an independent source of stress. Studies shown that stress levels increaseas difficult deadlines draw near.

Stress is often developed when an individual is assigned a major responsibilitywithout proper authority and delegation of power. Interpersonal factors such as groupcohesiveness, functional dependence, communication frequency, relative authority andorganisational distance between the role sender and the focal persons are importanttopics in organisational behavior (Vansell, Brief, and Schuler).

Occupational stress is an increasingly important occupational health problem anda significant cause of economic loss. Occupational stress may produce both overtpsychological and physiologic disabilities. However it may also cause subtlemanifestation of morbidity that can affect personal well-being and productivity (Quick,Murphy, Hurrel and Orman, 1992). A job stressed individual is likely to have greaterjob dissatisfaction, increased absenteeism, and increased frequency of drinking andsmoking, increase in negative psychological symptoms and reduced aspirations andself esteem (Jick and Payne, 1980). The use of role concepts suggests that occupationalstress is associated with individual, interpersonal and structural variables (Kutz andKahn, 1978; Whetten, 1978).

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The main objective of the study is: To analyze the causes and effects of stress amongthe employees working in different clusters of the organized retail sector of LucknowCity (Uttar Pradesh).

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The data for the study was collected from the employees working in Organised Retailsector. This retail sector has been divided into three different cluster, (i) Clothing Sector,(ii) Food Sector and (iii) Toys Sector. Employees were approached with a structured


questionnaire and a request was made to participate in the study. The questionnairecontains a set of attributes, which is to be measured on a Likert type scale. As thepopulation to be covered for the study was very large, a representative sample of 60respondents belonging to Lucknow (U.P) was taken. Though respondents name andaddress were recorded for research verification purpose, each of them was assured ofhis/her anonymity.

Two major hypothesis have been formulated after classifying the respondents undertwo categories i.e. (i) On the basis of Gender, and (ii) On the basis of different Age groupof the respondents(employees), which are as follows:

Hypothesis: 1: The two factors (Male and Female) say that the different attributesrelated to work place causes stress among the employees.

Hypothesis: 2: The respondents of different Age groups say that the differentattributes related to work place causes stress among the employees.

Data Analysis and Findings: The data collected from the respondents of differentclusters (Clothing, Food and Toys) gives the following results:

Table 1Age Group of Respondents

Age Group of Respondents Frequency %

22-25 Years 0 0.026-29 Years 7 11.630-33 Years 18 30.034-37 Years 20 33.438 & above 15 25.0Total 60 100

The Table 1 given above shows the result that majority of the respondents i.e, 33.4per cent respondents lies in the age group of 34-37 years, 30.0 per cent of them lie in theage group of 30 to 33 years, 25.0 per cent respondents of them are above 38 & aboveyears and 11.6 per cent respondents are in the age group of 26 to 29 years.


Table 2Gender of the Respondents

Gender of the Respondents Frequency %

Male 36 60Female 24 40Total 60 100

The Table 2 given above shows that 60 per cent of the employees working in retailsector are male, while 40 per cent of the respondents working in retail sector are females.Which shows that majority of the employees working in retail sector are males.

Table 3Marital Status of the Respondents

Marital Status of the Respondents Frequency %

Single 47 78.33Married 13 21.67Total 60 100


The Table 3 given above shows that 78.33 per cent of the employees working inretail sector are single, while 21.67 per cent of the respondents working in retail sectorare married. Which shows that majority of the employees working in retail sector aresingle.

Table 4Educational Qualification of the Respondents

Qualification of the Respondents Frequency %

Under Graduate 27 45Post Graduate 33 55Total 60 100

The Table 4 given above shows that 45 per cent of the employees working in retail

sector are under graduate, while 55 per cent of the respondents working in retail sector

are post graduate. Which shows that majority of the employees working in retail sector

are post graduate.

Table 5Type of Business

Type of Business Frequency %

Clothing 22 36.66Food 24 40.00Toys 14 23.34Total 60 100

The Table 5 given above shows that 40 per cent of the employees working in Food

cluster of the retail sector are taken, 36.66 per cent of the employees working in Clothing

cluster of the retail sector are taken and 23.34 per cent of the employees working in

Toys cluster of the retail sector are taken. Which shows that majority of the respondents

are working in Food cluster of the retail sector.


Table 6Family Status

Family Status Frequency %

Nuclear 27 45Joint 33 55Total 60 100

The Table 6 given above shows that 45 per cent of the employees working in retailsector are living in a nuclear type of family, while 55 per cent of the respondents workingin retail sector are living in joint family. Which shows that majority of the employeesworking in retail sector are living in joint family.

Table 7Stress Management helps to reduce stress

SMHRS Frequency %

Yes 57 95No 03 5Total 60 100


The Table 7 given above shows that 95 per cent of the employees working in retailsector says that stress management helps to reduce the stress, while 5 per cent of therespondents working in retail sector say that it does not helps to reduce the stress.Which shows that majority of the employees working in retail sector says that stressmanagement reduces the stress among the employees.

Hypothesis: 1

Null Hypothesis (Ho): The two factors (Male and Female) say that the different attributesrelated to work place causes stress among the employees.

Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): The two factors (Male and Female) say that the differentattributes related to work place does not causes stress among the employees.

ANOVA –Table

S S df M S F-ratio

3A1 Between Groups .025 1 .025 .037Within Groups 39.708 58 .685Total 39.733 59



3A4 Between Groups .711 1 .711 1.141Within Groups 36.139 58 .623Total 36.850 59


S S df M S F-ratio




The F-ratio estimated for the different type of attributes is: Work Culture: .037,Organisational Structure: .237, Mutual Trust: .004, Communication Gap: 1.141, DyadicRelationship: .148, Incompetence: .222 and Timing of Work: .037, which accepts the nullhypothesis at 5 % level of significance, for all the attributes. This implies that therespondents (Male and Female) working in different clusters of the organized retail sectoraccepts that the above given factors/attributes of work place causes stress, among them.

Hypothesis: 2

Null Hypothesis (Ho): The respondents of different Age groups say that the differentattributes of work place causes stress among the employees.

Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): The respondents of different Age groups say that thedifferent attributes of work place does not causes stress among the employees.

ANOVA –Table

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F-ratio


3A2 Between Groups 3.425 3 1.142 1.586Within Groups 40.309 56 .720Total 43.733 59


3A4 Between Groups 2.960 3 .987 1.630Within Groups 33.890 56 .605Total 36.850 59


3A6 Between Groups 1.843 3 .614 1.413Within Groups 24.340 56 .435Total 26.183 59

3A7 Between Groups 1.310 3 .437 .637Within Groups 38.423 56 .686Total 39.733 59


The F-ratio estimated for the different type of attributes is: Work Culture: .70,Organisational Structure: 1.586, Mutual Trust: .189, Communication Gap: 1.630, DyadicRelationship: .064, Incompetence: 1.413 and Timing of Work: .637, which accepts thenull hypothesis at 5 % level of significance, for all the attributes. This implies that therespondents of different Age group working in different clusters of the organized retailsector accepts that the above given factors/attributes of work place causes stress, amongthem.

Effects of Corporate Stress

However, it’s only now that stress assumed such pandemic proportions because of the

complex business environment we live in. Simply put, stress makes up sick and slowly

paves way to some modern diseases leading to emotional turmoil, psychological

imbalances, physical burnouts etc. These ultimately lead to a plethora of ailments like

heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, ulcers, asthma and what not. Here, the list of some

symptoms of stress and health disorders associated with stress are given below:

*List of Symptoms of stress & Health Disorders Associated with Stress

Symptoms of Stress Health Disorder

• Headaches • Coronary heart disease• Muscular aches • Hypertension• Nervous ties • Eating disorder• Increased sweating • Ulcers• Rapid heart rate • Diabetes• High blood pressure • Asthma• Increase in or loss of appetite • Depression• Irritation, anger • Migraine headaches• Fear, panic • Sleep disorder• Poor concentration• Restlessness• Insomnia• Fatigue

Approaches to Manage Stress

However, most managers find it difficult to always remain in this area as they have to

be readily available for their employees. Further, they have to deal with constantly

changing information, decisions and activities around them. Rarely do they find a few

minutes alone without distractions. There are three major approaches to manage stress:

1. Action-oriented Approach: This approach is suitable when the situation can bechanged if an effective action is taken. It involves managing and overcomingstressful situations and changing them into advantageous situations. Here, skillsare introduced to enable people to perform their jobs actively, work well withtheir boss & to co-workers, and change their surroundings to eliminateenvironmental stress. Beside, this approach it helps in overcoming the stress


overload, eliminating the stress of jobs problem, and dealing with problem people,managing performance stress.

2. Emotional-oriented Approach: This approach is suitable but plays an effectiverole in managing stress. When no action can change a situation, people need tochange the way they look at that situation which causes them stress. Thisapproach is less attractive than the action oriented approach because stresscan reoccur at a later point of time. Sometimes because of negative thinking,harshness and unjust nature, people find it difficult to maintain cordial behaviorwith their friends and colleagues, which cause the development of stress.

3. Acceptance-oriented Approach: When neither the right action nor a change ofemotion works in controlling stress, this approach is applicable. People have toaccept the situation as it cannot be changed. For example, the death of a lovedone in the family has to be accepted as it is.

Stress Management Strategies

• Take adequate steps to redesign jobs, which are taxing to employees’ abilities andcapacities.

• To reduce the workload role slimming and role adjustment process should beresorted to.

• Encourage the cross-functional and interdepartmental work arrangements to reducework related stress among low performers and low achievers.

• Facilitate role enlargement, role linkage and role enrichment to manage roleisolation, self-role distance and role erosion.

• Adequate role clarification to be made whenever necessary to eliminate roleambiguity.

• Introduce more job oriented training programs, which improve employee’s skill andtheir confidence to work effectively.

• Do concentrate on career planning to manage role stagnation.

• Encourage open channel of communication to deal work related stress.

• Let the employee clear about hard work related reward and smart work relatedreward.

• Adequate resources i.e., material, technical and human, should be extended to makeemployee feel safe and secure to perform their work effectively.

• Undertake stress audit at all levels in the organization to identify stress areaimproving conditions of job and alleviating job stress.

• Ensure justified use of grievance handling procedures to win trust and confidenceof employees and reduce their anxiety and tension related to job related problems.

• Encourage involvement of leaders and personnel at various levels in all phases ofstrategic interventions to ensure successful and long-standing interventions.


• Formulate HRD interventions and individual stress alleviation program.

• Introduce ‘Pranayam’ (Brain Stilling and control of Vital Force) as a holisticmanagerial strategy to deal with occupational strategy.

• Provide counseling on work related and personnel problems and support from ateam of welfare health and counseling staff.

• Attractive system of reward and recognition of good work.

• Ensure an organizational climate with career planning and career growth to ensurefurther the retention of talented employees.

• Extent the counseling practices at employee family level including dependents andrelatives.

• Effective follow up should be made to different leave category absentee employees.

• Organization should organize regular check up and those found suffering from veryhigh stress should be subjected to stress management process.

• Cut back excessive hours, which directly affect the employee’s physical fitness.

• Develop realistic self-concept among employees that is neither inflated nor deflated.

• Encourage management to practice proactive approaches rather than reactiveapproaches as a strategic step.

Defusing Corporate Stress

The health and wellness of workers is not only a matter of serious concern for the

employees themselves, but also for the employer. It is a well acknowledged truth that

better the health of workers, the greater will be the productivity, profit corporate success.

It is therefore the duty of the employer to ensure that workers are made to work in a

congenial work environment, conductive to their well-being, free of mental, physical

and social stressors. The following are the measures that aim at reducing employees

stress in an organization setting:

• The employer should ensure that workplace environment is conducive to thewell-being of employees: for example- the workplace needs to be well ventilated,well illuminated, non-humid and free from external disturbances like vibrations,gases, fumes, etc.

• The job profile of employees should be made in such a way that they find itmeaningful, exciting, challenging and enterprising.

• Family responsibilities, demands and commitments are of prime importancefor any individual which the employer should keep in mind.

• The employer should avoid setting unattainable deadlines for workers whichexpose the employees to greater magnitudes of stress.

• The employer should punctuate laborious work route with intermissions andbreaks.


• Working hours should be made flexible and the time schedule must be realistic.

• The employees should be provided with job security, good salary, promotionalopportunities and satisfactory retirement benefits that boost their morale.

• The employers should facilitate participative decision-making, provisions forfree interactions with colleagues and co-workers should be available.

• The employers should provide the workers with facilities for yoga, exercise,relaxation, etc.

• Last, but not the least, the employers should ensure that the nature of the jobis such that workers are not exposed to a great deal of physical difficulties intheir work via-a-vis a non physiological posture of carrying out any workrequiring full contraction of muscles for a long period at a stretch, etc.

CONCLUSION

The employee working in organized retail sector do experience stress due to workplacebecause of the work culture, organizational structure, mutual trust, communicationgap, dyadic relationship, incompetency and timings of work. The productivity of thework force is the most decisive factor and the success of the organization depends on it.The productivity in turn is dependant on the psychosocial and physiological well beingof the employees. In an age of highly dynamic and competitive world, employees areexposed to all kinds of stressors that can affect him on all realms of life. Whereas, theemployees should try to cope up with the stress with the help of different stressmanagement strategies.

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