EFFECTS OF STRESS ON THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF WORKERS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In this study we are going to look at what harm or good stress has done to workers and their performances in any establishment or organization.
It is a common feature that people as individual or group interact with their environment these experiences are carried into the organizations, which may help to increase or bring about decline in their productivity and performances.
Stress has generated a great deal of interest in recent years. It has been a great concern to employees who experience it and to researchers.
To most people, stress is bad must be avoided, but this position is not always true. According to Yates (1979), stress in proper amounts is a necessary ingredient in any person whose life is going to manifest vitality. Stress is to be managed and not simply avoided. Thus, this study is designed to look into the effect of stress on workers performance in any organization with a case study of College of Education, Ekiadolor-Benin. Ivancevish Matterson 1980 pointed out that to say stress produced performance degradation is rather a simplistic over stated position thus there must be on optimum level of stress that is tolerated to bring about performance. This standpoint makes stress a complex concept that does not lead itself to a simple definition. Mc Garth (1976) defined stress in terms of conditions necessary for it as follows;
It is a potential for stress when environmental situation is perceived as presenting a demand that threatens to exceed the persons’ capabilities where he expects to substantial deferential in towards and costs from meeting the demand versus not meeting it.
Signs of stress are wide spread among the teaching staff i.e. lectures which are the academic staffs, the senior non teaching staffs i.e. principal officers and the junior non teaching staffs today in the college. And so are the adverse effects of stress on their well being health and even the safety of their co-workers.
Some negative effects of stress are increased absenteeism, heart disease, lateness to work and ill-health. The issue at hand is to find out the effects of stress on perform these effects could either be positive or negative.
Work stress can have both positive and negative consequences on the individual, thus having stress to work peak efficiency can create satisfaction a sense of well being and accomplishment and other reward for success. But on the other hand, excessive stress at work can result loss of efficiency, failure to perform well and negative effects on mental and physical health.
Stress is caused by some factors (stressors), which exist both within and without the organization. These stressors can be identified as intra-individual, inter-individual organizational and extra organizational stressors.
In this regards, the present study seeks at finding causes, symptoms and effects and the relationship that exist between job stress and employees performance and finally to recommend stress coping strategies to management by using the employees of college of education Ekiadolor as a case study.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS
Gibsin, Ivancevich and Donnelly (1955) defined stress as an adaptive response mediated by individual differences and psychological process, that is a consequence of any external (environmental) action, situation or physical demand on person.
It can be gathered from the above, that due to individual differences and different adaptive capabilities, factors that would causes stress often differ among individual.
Some common factors have however been identified as sources of work related stress, some of these are;
1. Role overload
2. Irregular work hours (Saturdays)
3. Lightening condition
4. Lack of autonomy
5. Role conflict
6. Organization structure etc
Another problems that needed be looked into is how can stress be recognized in an employee currently experiencing it, what are the symptoms of stress? Thus, this study aims at finding the sources, symptoms and effects of stress. Stress that would not hinder performance would also be another area of focus of this study.
PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose of carrying out this study is follows;
i. To identify the possible sources and problems symptoms of stress experienced by college of education, Ekiadolor staffs
ii. To determine the effect of stress employees performances in college of education, Ekiadolor
iii. To show that stress as an experience is not limited to any category of employees
iv. to make appropriate recommendation on how stress can be managed based on the findings on the study.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research question would be tested in this study;
a. Does stress recast lead to poor job performance in college of education, Ekiadolor
b. Does organizational factor (role over load and role conflict) not lead to stress in the college?
c. Do irregular payments of salaries lead to stress in college of education,. Ekiadolor?
d. Do extra working hours lead to stress in college of education, Ekiadolor?
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In carrying out this study, the researcher relied heavily on information collected from primary and secondary sources of information. This includes journals, magazines, newspaper, books and interview from the various respondents.
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
This study is of a great importance to the college an as institution. It would afford the college an opportunity to elicit from its staffs highest possible level of performances by balancing the amount of stress employees experience while carrying out their tasks.
This study, also intends to the notice or awareness of the college. Those reactions to stress vary from individual and thus, afford the institution an insight into how much stress an individual can effectively handle.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
In this study, which is the affect of stress on workers performance, there is two terms these are (stress and performance).
A. STRESS: Is defined as an adaptive response, mediated by individual differences or psychological proceeds that is consequence of any external (environment) action, situation or even that places excessive psychological and physical demand on a person.
B. PERFORMANCE: Is being viewed as an activity in which an individual is able to accomplish successfully the task, goal assigned to him subject to the normal constraint of the reasonable utilization of the available resources.