Executive Summery This project gives us a detailed idea of what is stress and also the definition of stress is been

defined. For more detailed study the types of the stress is al so defined. By looking at the starting of the project you will find: o Introduction to Human resource o Introduction and Definition of stress o Stress in biological terms o What is stress? o Coping with stress at work place. o Stress management o Workplace stress o Reducing of stress. After the theoretical part I have included the research part. My research work i ncludes two questionnaires. o Burn out test o Stress analysis Questionnaire My research includes the research methodology which contains the information as follows: o Research objectives o Sampling (types and methods of sampling) o Research instrument o Data analysis and interpretation o Employees opinion to reduce stress. o Research flowchart o Time consideration o Limitation of survey o Advantages and disadvantages of written questionnaire o Finding INDEX No Content Page no 1 Conceptual Framework 1 1.1 Introduction to HR 1 1.2 Concept of stress 3 1.2.1 Introduction to stress 3 1.2.2 Stress in Biological terms 8 1.2.3 What is stress 9 1.2.4 Coping with stress at workplace 11 1.2.5 Stress Management 15 1.2.6 Workplace stress 18 1.2.7 Reduce your stress 22 2 Research Methodology 27 2.1 Research objective 27 2.2 Sampling 29 2.3 Research instrument 32 2.4 Data analysis and interpretation 36 2.5 Employees opinion about how to reduce stress 48 2.6 Research flowchart 50 2.7 Time consideration 51 2.8 Limitation of the survey 52 2.8.1 Advantages of Written Questionnaires 52 2.8.2 Disadvantages of Written Questionnaires 53 2.9 Findings 55 3 Bibliography 58 4 Annexure 59 1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

(1.1) INTRODUCTION TO HR Human Resource Management is an art of managing people at work in such a manner that they give their best to the organization. In simpl e word human resource management refers to the quantitative aspects of employees working in an organization. Human Resource Management is also a management function concerned with hiring, m otivating, and maintains people in an organization. It focuses on people in orga nization. Organizations are not mere bricks, mortar, machineries or inventories. They are people. It is the who staff and manage organizations. HRM involves the application of management functions and principles. The functio ns and principles are applied to acquisitioning, developing, maintain, and remun erating employees in organizations. Decisions relating to employees must be integrated. Decision on different aspect of employees must be consistent with other human resource decisions. Decision made must influence the effectiveness of organization. Effectiveness of an organization must result in betterment of services to customers in the form of high-quality product supplied at reasonable costs. HRM function s is not confined to business establishment only. They are applicab le to non-business organizations, too such as education, health care, recreation etc. The scope of HRM is indeed vast. All major activities in the working life of his or her entry into an organization until he or she leaves-come under the preview s of HRM.specifically, the activities included are HR planning, job analysis and be sign, recruitment and selection, orientation and placement, training and dev elopment, performance appraisal and job evaluation, employee and executive remun eration, motivation and communication, welfare, safety and health, industrial re lations and the like. HRM is a broad concept Personnel management and human resource development is a part of HRM. Before we define Human Resource Management, it seems good to first defin e heterogeneous in the sense that they differ in personality, perceptio n, emotions, values, attitudes, motives, and modes of thoughts. Human resource management plays an important role in the development p rocess of modern economy. In fact it is said that all the developmen t comes from the human mind. Human Resource Management is a process of producing development, maintai ning and controlling human resources for effective achievement of organ ization goals.

(1.2) CONCEPT OF STRESS (1.2.1) INTRODUCTION TO STRESS

A lot of research has been conducted into stress over the last hundred years. So me of the theories behind it are now settled and accepted; others are still bein g researched and debated. During this time, there seems to have been something a pproaching open warfare between competing theories and definitions: Views have b een passionately held and aggressively defended. What complicates this is that intuitively we all feel that we know what stress i s, as it is something we have all experienced. A definition should therefore be obviousexcept that it is not. Definition: Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956 was that stress is not necessarily something bad it all depends on how you take i t. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while tha t of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental. Selye believed that the bi ochemical effects of stress would be experienced irrespective of whether the sit uation was positive or negative. Since then, a great deal of further research has been conducted, and ideas have moved on. Stress is now viewed as a "bad thing", with a range of harmful biochem ical and long-term effects. These effects have rarely been observed in positive situations. The most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S Lazarus) is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perc eives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is abl e to mobilize. In short, it s what we feel when we think we ve lost control of ev ents. This is the main definition used by this section of Mind Tools, although we also recognize that there is an intertwined instinctive stress response to unexpecte d events. The stress response inside us is therefore part instinct and part to d o with the way we think. The types of stress are as follows Mechanical Stress (physics), the average amount of force exerted per unit area. Yield stress, the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically. Compressive stress, the stress applied to materials resulting in their compactio n. Biological Stress (biological), physiological or psychological stress; some types include: o Chronic stress, persistent stress which can lead to illness and mental d isorder o Eustress, positive stress that can lead to improved long-term functionin g o Workplace stress, stress caused by employment Music Accent (music). Stress (band), an early 80s melodic rock band from San Diego. Stress (punk band), an early 80s punk rock band from Athens. Stress (Neo-Psychedelic band), from the late 1980 s. Stress, a song by the French band Justice on their debut album Other Stress (game), card game Stress (linguistics), phonological use of prominence in language Stress (physics), the average amount of force exerted per unit area. Stress is a measure of the average amount of force exerted per unit area. It is a measure of the intensity of the total internal forces acting within a body ac ross imaginary internal surfaces, as a reaction to external applied forces and b ody forces. It was introduced into the theory of elasticity by Cauchy around 182

2. Stress is a concept that is based on the concept of continuum. In general, st ress is expressed as Where Is the average stress, also called engineering or nominal stress, and Is the force acting over the area . Chronic Stress Chronic stress is stress that lasts a long time or occurs frequently. Chronic st ress is potentially damaging. Symptoms of chronic stress can be: upset stomach headache backache insomnia anxiety depression anger In the most severe cases it can lead to panic attacks or a panic disorder. There are a variety of methods to control chronic stress, including exercise, he althy diet, stress management, relaxation techniques, adequate rest, and relaxin g hobbies. Ensuring a healthy diet containing magnesium may help control or eliminate stres s, in those individuals with lower levels of magnesium or those who have a magne sium deficiency. Chronic stress can also lead to a magnesium deficiency, which c an be a factor in continued chronic stress, and a whole host of other negative m edical conditions caused by a magnesium deficiency. It has been discovered that there is a huge upsurge in the number of people who suffer from this condition. A very large number of these new cases suffer from i nsomnia. In a review of the scientific literature on the relationship between stress and disease, the authors found that stress plays a role in triggering or worsening d epression and cardiovascular disease and in speeding the progression of HIV/AIDS . Compressive stress: Compressive stress is the stress applied to materials resulting in their compact ion (decrease of volume). When a material is subjected to compressive stress, th en this material is under compression. Usually, compressive stress applied to ba rs, columns, etc. leads to shortening. Loading a structural element or a specimen will increase the compressive stress until the reach of compressive strength. According to the properties of the mate rial, failure will occur as yield for materials with ductile behavior (most meta ls, some soils and plastics) or as rupture for brittle behavior (geometries, cas t iron, glass, etc). In long, slender structural elements -- such as columns or truss bars -- an incr ease of compressive force F leads to structural failure due to buckling at lower stress than the compressive strength. Compressive stress has stress units (force per unit area), usually with negative values to indicate the compaction. However in geotechnical engineering, compres sive stress is represented with positive values.

(1.2.2) Stress in Biological terms: Stress is a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined. It includes a state of alarm and ad renaline production, short-term resistance as a coping mechanism, and exhaustion . It refers to the inability of a human or animal body to respond. Common stress symptoms include irritability, muscular tension, inability to concentrate and a variety of physical reactions, such as headaches and accelerated heart rate. The term "stress" was first used by the endocrinologist Hans Selye in the 1930s to identify physiological responses in laboratory animals. He later broadened an d popularized the concept to include the perceptions and responses of humans try ing to adapt to the challenges of everyday life. In Selye s terminology, "stress " refers to the reaction of the organism, and "stressor" to the perceived threat . Stress in certain circumstances may be experienced positively. Eustress, for e xample, can be an adaptive response prompting the activation of internal resourc es to meet challenges and achieve goals. The term is commonly used by laypersons in a metaphorical rather than literal or biological sense, as a catch-all for any perceived difficulties in life. It als o became a euphemism, a way of referring to problems and eliciting sympathy with out being explicitly confessional, just "stressed out". It covers a huge range o f phenomena from mild irritation to the kind of severe problems that might resul t in a real breakdown of health. In popular usage almost any event or situation between these extremes could be described as stressful.

(1.2.3) what is Stress? Stress refers to the strain from the conflict between our external environment a nd us, leading to emotional and physical pressure. In our fast paced world, it i s impossible to live without stress, whether you are a student or a working adul t. There is both positive and negative stress, depending on each individuals uniq ue perception of the tension between the two forces. Not all stress is bad. For example, positive stress, also known as eustress, can help an individual to func tion at optimal effectiveness and efficiency. Hence, it is evident that some form of positive stress can add more color and vi brancy to our lives. The presence of a deadline, for example, can push us to mak e the most of our time and produce greater efficiency. It is important to keep t his in mind, as stress management refers to using stress to our advantage, and n ot on eradicating the presence of stress in our lives. On the other hand, negative stress can result in mental and physical strain. The individual will experience symptoms such as tensions, headaches, irritability a nd in extreme cases, heart palpitations. Hence, whilst some stress may be seen a s a motivating force, it is important to manage stress levels so that it does no t have an adverse impact on your health and relationships. Part of managing your stress levels include learning about how stress can affect you emotionally and physically, as well as how to identify if you are performin g at your optimal stress level (OSL) or if you are experiencing negative stress. This knowledge will help you to identify when you need to take a break, or perh aps seek professional help. It is also your first step towards developing techni ques to managing your stress levels. Modern day stresses can take the form of monetary needs, or emotional frictions. Competition at work and an increased workload can also cause greater levels of stress. How do you identify if you are suffering from excessive stress? Psycholo gical symptoms commonly experienced include insomnia, headaches and an inability to focus. Physical symptoms take the form of heart palpitations, breathlessness , excessive sweating and stomachaches. What causes stress? There are many different causes of stress, and that which ca uses stress is also known as a stressor. Common lifestyle stressors include perf ormance, threat, and bereavement stressors, to name a few. Performance stressors are triggered when an individual is placed in a situation where he feels a need

to excel. This could be during performance appraisals, lunch with the boss, or giving a speech. Threat stressors are usually when the current situation poses a dangerous threat, such as an economic downturn, or from an accident. Lastly, be reavement stressors occur when there is a sense of loss such as the death of a l oved one, or a prized possession. Thus, there are various stressors, and even more varied methods and techniques o f dealing with stress and turning it to our advantages. In order to do so, we mu st learn to tell when we have crossed the line from positive to negative stress. Good stress v/s Bad stress: Stress has often been misunderstood to be negative, with few people acknowledgin g the importance and usefulness of positive stress. In our everyday lives, stres s is everywhere and definitely unavoidable; hence our emphasis should be on diff erentiating between what is good stress, and what is bad. This will help us to l earn to cope with negative stress, and harness the power of positive stress to h elp us achieve more. There are 4 main categories of stress, namely eustress, distress, hyper stress a nd hypo stress. Negative stress can cause many physical and psychological proble ms, whilst positive stress can be very helpful for us. Heres how we differentiate between them. Eustress: this is a positive form of stress, which prepares your mind and body for the imm inent challenges that it has perceived. Eustress is a natural physical reaction by your body which increases blood flow to your muscles, resulting in a higher h eart rate. Athletes before a competition or perhaps a manager before a major pre sentation would do well with eustress, allowing them to derive the inspiration a nd strength that is needed. Distress We are familiar with this word, and know that it is a negative form of stress. T his occurs when the mind and body is unable to cope with changes, and usually oc curs when there are deviations from the norm. They can be categorized into acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is intense, but does not last for long. On the other hand, chronic stress persists over a long period of time. Trigger events for distress can be a change in job scope or routine that the person is unable to handle or cope with. Hyper stress This is another form of negative stress that occurs when the individual is unabl e to cope with the workload. Examples include highly stressful jobs, which requi re longer working hours than the individual can handle. If you suspect that you are suffering from hyper stress, you are likely to have sudden emotional breakdo wns over insignificant issues, the proverbial straws that broke the camels back. It is important for you to recognize that your body needs a break, or you may en d up with severe and chronic physical and psychological reactions. Hypo stress Lastly, hypo stress occurs when a person has nothing to do with his time and fee ls constantly bored and unmotivated. This is due to an insufficient amount of st ress; hence some stress is inevitable and helpful to us. Companies should avoid having workers who experience hypo stress as this will cause productivity and mi ndfulness to fall. If the job scope is boring and repetitive, it would be a good idea to implement some form of job rotation so that there is always something n ew to learn. The types of stress are named as eustress and distress. Distress is the most co mmonly-referred to type of stress, having negative implications, whereas eustres s is a positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in person s life. Both can be equally taxing on the body, and are cumulative in nature, depe nding on a person s way of adapting to a change that has caused it.

(1.2.4) Coping with Stress at Work place With the rapid advancement of technology, the stresses faced at work have also i ncreased. Many people dread going to work, hence the term Monday Blues. What is th e reason for this? There is partly the fear from being retrenched in bad times, leading to greater job insecurity on the part of those who remain. Undoubtedly, occupational stress is one of the most commonly cited stressors faced by people all over the world. Stress refers to the pressure and reactions to our environment which results in psychological and physical reactions. Whilst some stress is good for motivation and increasing efficiency, too much stress can result in negative impacts such a s reduced effectiveness and efficiency. More and more people are feeling isolate d and disrespected at work, and this has led to greater occupational stress. Man y companies have taken to consulting experts and professionals on ways to increa se connectedness and motivation of their employees. Some companies organize parties and make their employees feel valued at work. Th ese are measures to motivate employees and help them to feel secure at their job s, translating into greater productivity. However, not all companies have such m easures in place, and some have not gotten it quite right. Hence, it is up to yo u to make sure that you can cope with stress at your workplace, and use it to he lp you work better. Here are 3 simple steps to help you with coping with stress in the workplace. Step 1: Raising Awareness Help yourself to identify when you are facing rising levels of stress, tipping t he scales from positive to negative. This is important, as being able to identif y signs of being stressed can help you to take steps to ensure that your overall quality of life does not drop. If left unacknowledged, the problem will only sn owball, leading to disastrous consequences to your health and overall wellbeing. You can identify if you are feeling stressed by checking if you have any physica l or psychological reactions, such as excessive sweating or heart palpitations, or the onset of headaches, irritability or the need to escape. If you experience any of these reactions, identify if you are feeling any overwhelming negative e motions, and if you are constantly worried. Step 2: Identify the Cause You need to be able to analyze the situation and identify what is causing the ri se in stress. These stressors can be external and internal. External stressors r efer to things beyond your control, such as the environment or your colleagues a t work. Internal stressors refer to your own thinking and attitude. Often, we on ly start reacting to stress when a combination of stressors working together exc eeds our ability to cope. Keep a diary or a list of events that have caused you to feel strong negative em otions, or that are likely stressors. This will help you to identify the causes of your stress. Whilst it is not always possible to eradicate them, we can chang e the way that we cope with it. Step 3: Coping with Stress In order to deal with the situation that is causing you stress, you need to calm your mind and body so as to stave off the reactions and cope with it in a posit ive way. This can be through different methods, such as taking time off. If a si

tuation is triggering your stress and you are unable to calm down, remove yourse lf from it. Go outside and take a walk to calm down. Alternatively, you can try implementing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing. If it is an internal stressor, stop your thought process until you are able to deal with it logically . The key to making these 3 steps work for you is to practice them. These are not instantaneous solutions, and you need to condition your mind and practice them s o that you can implement it when you are feeling stressed. (1.2.5) Stress Management

Stress management is the need of the hour. However hard we try to go beyond a st ress situation, life seems to find new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-body exhaustion or our e rring attitudes, we tend to overlook causes of stress and the conditions trigger ed by those. In such unsettling moments we often forget that stressors, if not e scapable, are fairly manageable and treatable. Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediat e disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervo usness and muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may als o affect our immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions, which are inter-linked with stress. Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are some of the body s important built-in response systems. As a relaxation res ponse the body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones relea sed during the fight or flight situation prompt the body to replace the lost c arbohydrates and fats, and restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tighten ed muscles and an exhausted mind crave for looseness. Unfortunately, today, we d on t get relaxing and soothing situations without asking. To be relaxed we have to strive to create such situations.

Recognizing a stressor: It is important to recognize whether you are under stress or out of it. Many tim es, even if we are under the influence of a stressful condition and our body rea cts to it internally as well as externally, we fail to realize that we are react ing under stress. This also happens when the causes of stress are there long eno ugh for us to get habituated to them. The body constantly tries to tell us throu gh symptoms such as rapid palpitation, dizzy spells, tight muscles or various bo dy aches that something is wrong. It is important to remain attentive to such sy mptoms and to learn to cope with the situations. We cope better with stressful situation, when we encounter them voluntarily. In cases of relocation, promotion or layoff, adventurous sports or having a baby, w e tend to respond positively under stress. But, when we are compelled into such situations against our will or knowledge, more often than not, we wilt at the fa ce of unknown and imagined threats. For instance, stress may mount when one is c oerced into undertaking some work against one s will. Laughter: Adopting a humorous view towards life s situations can take the edge off everyda y stressors. Not being too serious or in a constant alert mode helps maintain th e equanimity of mind and promote clear thinking. Being able to laugh stress away

is the smartest way to ward off its effects. A sense of humor also allows us to perceive and appreciate the incongruities of life and provides moments of delight. The emotions we experience directly affect our immune system. The positive emotions can create neurochemical changes that buffer the immunosuppressive effects of stress. During stress, the adrenal gland releases corticosteroids, which are converted t o cortical in the blood stream. These have an immunosuppressive effect. Dr. Lee Berk and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley Tan at Loma Linda University School of Me dicine have produced carefully controlled studies showing that the experience of laughter lowers serum cortical levels, increases the amount and activity of T l ymphocytesthe natural killer cells. Laughter also increases the number of T cells that have suppresser receptors. What Laughter Can Do Against Stress And Its Effects? Laughter lowers blood pressure and reduces hypertension. It provides good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to per form physical exercise. Reduces stress hormones (studies shows, laughter induces reduction of at least f our of neuroendocrine hormonesepinephrine, cortical, dopac, and growth hormone, a ssociated with stress response). Laughter cleanses the lungs and body tissues of accumulated stale air as it empt ies more air than it takes in. It is beneficial for patients suffering from emph ysema and other respiratory ailments. It increases muscle flexion, relaxation and fluent blood circulation in body. Boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, diseasefighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and disease-destroying antibodies call ed B-cells. Laughter triggers the release of endorphinsbody s natural painkillers. Produces a general sense of well-being. (1.2.6) Workplace Stress Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or n eeds of the worker. Stress-related disorders encompass a broad array of conditio ns, including psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder) and other types of emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fa tigue, tension, etc.), maladaptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse) , and cognitive impairment (e.g., concentration and memory problems). In turn, t hese conditions may lead to poor work performance or even injury. Job stress is also associated with various biological reactions that may lead ultimately to co mpromised health, such as cardiovascular disease. Stress is a prevalent and costly problem in today s workplace. About one-third o f workers report high levels of stress. One-quarter of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Three-quarters of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Evidence also sugge sts that stress is the major cause of turnover in organizations. Health and Healthcare Utilization Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are an

y other life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems. M any studies suggest that psychologically demanding jobs that allow employees lit tle control over the work process increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. O n the basis of research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and He alth and many other organizations, it is widely believed that job stress increas es the risk for development of back and upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorder s. High levels of stress are associated with substantial increases in health ser vice utilization. Workers who report experiencing stress at work also show exces sive health care utilization. In a 1998 study of 46,000 workers, health care cos ts were nearly 50% greater for workers reporting high levels of stress in compar ison to low risk workers. The increment rose to nearly 150%, an increase of more t han $1,700 per person annually, for workers reporting high levels of both stress and depression. Additionally, periods of disability due to job stress tend to b e much longer than disability periods for other occupational injuries and illnes ses. Causes of Workplace Stress Job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work . Views differ on the importance of worker characteristics versus working condit ions as the primary cause of job stress. The differing viewpoints suggest differ ent ways to prevent stress at work. According to one school of thought, differen ces in individual characteristics such as personality and coping skills are most important in predicting whether certain job conditions will result in stress-in other words, what is stressful for one person may not be a problem for someone else. This viewpoint leads to prevention strategies that focus on workers and wa ys to help them cope with demanding job conditions. Although the importance of i ndividual differences cannot be ignored, scientific evidence suggests that certa in working conditions are stressful to most people. Such evidence argues for a g reater emphasis on working conditions as the key source of job stress, and for j ob redesign as a primary prevention strategy. Personal interview surveys of work ing conditions, including conditions recognized as risk factors for job stress, were conducted in Member States of the European Union in 1990, 1995, and 2000. R esults showed a trend across these periods suggestive of increasing work intensi ty. In 1990, the percentage of workers reporting that they worked at high speeds at least one-fourth of their working time was 48%, increasing to 54% in 1995 an d to 56% in 2000. Similarly, 50% of workers reported they work against tight dea dlines at least one-fourth of their working time in 1990, increasing to 56% in 1 995 and 60 % in 2000. However, no change was noted in the period 19952000 (data n ot collected in 1990) in the percentage of workers reporting sufficient time to complete tasks. A substantial percentage of Americans work very long hours. By o ne estimate, more than 26% of men and more than 11% of women worked 50 hours per week or more in 2000. These figures represent a considerable increase over the previous three decades, especially for women. According to the Department of Lab or, there has been an upward trend in hours worked among employed women, an incr ease in extended work weeks (>40 hours) by men, and a considerable increase in c ombined working hours among working couples, particularly couples with young chi ldren. Signs of Workplace Stress Mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headache, and disturbed relations hips with family; friends and girlfriends or boyfriends are examples of stress-r elated problems. The effects of job stress on chronic diseases are more difficul t to see because chronic diseases take a long time to develop and can be influen ced by many factors other than stress. Nonetheless, evidence is rapidly accumula ting to suggest that stress plays an important role in several types of chronic health problems-especially cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, an d psychological disorders. Prevention A combination of organizational change and stress management is often the most u seful approach for preventing stress at work. How to Change the Organization to Prevent Job Stress Ensure that the workload is in line with workers capabilities and resources.

 Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to us e their skills. Clearly define workers roles and responsibilities. Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting the ir jobs. Improve communications-reduce uncertainty about career development and future em ployment prospects. Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers. Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities o utside the job. Discrimination inside the workplace. (e.g. nationality and language ) St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company conducted several studies on the effe cts of stress prevention programs in hospital settings. Program activities inclu ded (1) employee and management education on job stress, (2) changes in hospital policies and procedures to reduce organizational sources of stress, and (3) est ablishment of employee assistance programs. In one study, the frequency of medic ation errors declined by 50% after prevention activities was implemented in a 70 0-bed hospital. In a second study, there was a 70% reduction in malpractice clai ms in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention activities. In contrast, t here was no reduction in claims in a matched group of 22 hospitals that did not implement stress prevention activities.

(1.2.7) Reduce your stress 1. Job analysis: - We have all experienced that appalling sense of having far to o much work to do and too little time to do it in. We can choose to ignore this, and work unreasonably long hours to stay on top of our workload. The risks here are that we become exhausted, that we have so much to do that we do a poor qual ity job and that we neglect other areas of our life. Each of these can lead to i ntense stress. The alternative is to work more intelligently, by focusing on the things that ar e important for job success and reducing the time we spend on low priority tasks . Job Analysis is the first step in doing this. The first of the action-oriented skills that we look at is Job Analysis. Job Ana lysis is a key technique for managing job overload an important source of stress . To do an excellent job, you need to fully understand what is expected of you. Wh ile this may seem obvious, in the hurly-burly of a new, fast-moving, high-pressu re role, it is oftentimes something that is easy to overlook. By understanding the priorities in your job, and what constitutes success within it, you can focus on these activities and minimize work on other tasks as much as possible. This helps you get the greatest return from the work you do, and ke ep your workload under control. Job Analysis is a useful technique for getting a firm grip on what really is imp

ortant in your job so that you are able to perform excellently. It helps you to cut through clutter and distraction to get to the heart of what you need to do. 2. Rational & positive thinking: You are thinking negatively when you fear the future, put yourself down, critici ze yourself for errors, doubt your abilities, or expect failure. Negative thinki ng damages confidence, harms performance and paralyzes mental skills. Unfortunately, negative thoughts tend to flit into our consciousness, do their d amage and flit back out again, with their significance having barely been notice d. Since we barely realize that they were there, we do not challenge them proper ly, which means that they can be completely incorrect and wrong. Thought Awareness is the process by which you observe your thoughts and become a ware of what is going through your head. One approach to it is to observe your "stream of consciousness" as you think abo ut the thing you re trying to achieve which is stressful. Do not suppress any th oughts. Instead, just let them run their course while you watch them, and write them down on our free worksheet as they occur. Then let them go. Another more general approach to Thought Awareness comes with logging stress in your Stress Diary. When you analyze your diary at the end of the period, you sho uld be able to see the most common and the most damaging thoughts. Tackle these as a priority using the techniques below. Here are some typical negative thoughts you might experience when preparing to g ive a major presentation: Fear about the quality of your performance or of problems that may interfere wit h it; Worry about how the audience (especially important people in it like your boss) or the press may react to you; Dwelling on the negative consequences of a poor performance; or Self-criticism over a less-than-perfect rehearsal. Thought awareness is the first step in the process of managing negative thoughts , as you cannot manage thoughts that you are unaware of. Rational Thinking The next step in dealing with negative thinking is to challenge the negative tho ughts that you identified using the Thought Awareness technique. Look at every t hought you wrote down and challenge it rationally. Ask yourself whether the thou ght is reasonable. What evidence is there for and against the thought? Would you r colleagues and mentors agree or disagree with it? Looking at the examples, the following challenges could be made to the negative thoughts we identified earlier: Feelings of inadequacy: Have you trained yourself as well as you reasonably shou ld have? Do you have the experience and resources you need to make the presentat ion? Have you planned, prepared and rehearsed enough? If you have done all of th ese, you ve done as much as you can to give a good performance. Worries about performance during rehearsal: If some of your practice was less th an perfect, then remind yourself that the purpose of the practice is to identify areas for improvement, so that these can be sorted out before the performance. Problems with issues outside your control: Have you identified the risks of thes e things happening, and have you taken steps to reduce the likelihood of them ha ppening or their impact if they do? What will you do if they occur? And what do you need others to do for you? Worry about other people s reactions: If you have prepared well, and you do the best you can, then you should be satisfied. If you perform as well as you reason ably can, then fair people are likely to respond well. If people are not fair, t he best thing to do is ignore their comments and rise above them. Tip: Don t make the mistake of generalizing a single incident. OK, you made a mistake at work, but that doesn t mean you re bad at your job.

Similarly, make sure you take the long view about incidents that you re finding stressful. Just because you re finding these new responsibilities stressful now, doesn t mean that they will ALWAYS be so for you in the future. Tip: If you find it difficult to look at your negative thoughts objectively, imagine that you are your best friend or a respected coach or mentor. Look at the list o f negative thoughts and imagine the negative thoughts were written by someone yo u were giving objective advice to. Then, think how you would challenge these tho ughts. When you challenge negative thoughts rationally, you should be able to see quick ly whether the thoughts are wrong or whether they have some substance to them. W here there is some substance, take appropriate action. However, make sure that y our negative thoughts are genuinely important to achieving your goals, and don t just reflect a lack of experience, which everyone has to go through at some sta ge. Positive Thinking & Opportunity Seeking By now, you should already be feeling more positive. The final step is to prepar e rational, positive thoughts and affirmations to counter any remaining negativi ty. It can also be useful to look at the situation and see if there are any usef ul opportunities that are offered by it. By basing your affirmations on the clear, rational assessments of facts that you made using Rational Thinking, you can use them to undo the damage that negative thinking may have done to your self-confidence. Tip: Your affirmations will be strongest if they are specific, are expressed in the p resent tense and have strong emotional content. Continuing the examples above, positive affirmations might be: Problems during practice: "I have learned from my rehearsals. This has put me in a position where I can deliver a great performance. I am going to perform well and enjoy the event." Worries about performance: "I have prepared well and rehearsed thoroughly. I am well positioned to give an excellent performance." Problems issues outside your control: "I have thought through everything that mi ght reasonably happen and have planned how I can handle all likely contingencies . I am very well placed to react flexibly to events." Worry about other people s reaction: "Fair people will react well to a good perf ormance. I will rise above any unfair criticism in a mature and professional way ." If appropriate, write these affirmations down on your worksheet so that you can use them when you need them. As well as allowing you to structure useful affirmations, part of Positive Think ing is to look at opportunities that the situation might offer to you. In the ex amples above, successfully overcoming the situations causing the original negati ve thinking will open up opportunities. You will acquire new skills, you will be seen as someone who can handle difficult challenges, and you may open up new ca reer opportunities. Make sure that identifying these opportunities and focusing on them is part of y our positive thinking.

2. Research Methodology (2.1) Research Objective: Stress is a dynamic condition in witch an individual is confronted with an oppor tunity, demand or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. This is a complicat

ed definition. Stress is not necessarily bad in and of itself. Although stress is typically dis cussed in a negative context, it also has a positive value. Its an opportunity wh en it offers potential gain. Consider for example, the superior performance that an athlete or stage performer gives in clutch situations. Such individuals often use stress positively to rise to the occasion and perform at or near their maxim um. Similarly, many professionals see the pressures of heavy workloads and deadl ines as positive challenges that enhance the quality of their work and the satis faction the get from their job. But it is different in the case of bank employees. The bank employees are the pe ople who also have to achieve the certain target and so for the non achievement of target the employees remain stressed and tensed. The employees who have the s imple table work also have to face the problem of stress. Due to recession the b anking sector is also facing the problem of employee cut-offs and so the work lo ad of the existing employees increases and the feel stressed. The types of stress are named as eustress and distress. Distress is the most co mmonly-referred to type of stress, having negative implications, whereas eustres s is a positive form of stress, usually related to desirable events in person s life. Both can be equally taxing on the body, and are cumulative in nature, depe nding on a person s way of adapting to a change that has caused it. Stress manag ement is the need of the hour. However hard we try to go beyond a stress situati on, life seems to find new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-body exhaustion or our erring attitu des, we tend to overlook causes of stress and the conditions triggered by those. In such unsettling moments we often forget that stressors, if not escapable, ar e fairly manageable and treatable. Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediat e disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervo usness and muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may als o affect our immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions, which are inter-linked with stress. Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are some of the body s important built-in response systems. As a relaxation res ponse the body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones relea sed during the fight or flight situation prompt the body to replace the lost c arbohydrates and fats, and restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tighten ed muscles and an exhausted mind crave for looseness. Unfortunately, today, we d on t get relaxing and soothing situations without asking. To be relaxed we have to strive to create such situations. This research is to carry out the study that how much stressed the employees of the banks are and how do their stress affect their work life, social life, outpu t etc. so a sample of 14 to 15 employees are selected from all the three banks f or the research of stress among them.

(2.2) Sampling Sample: I have taken the sample of 35 employees from three different banks of Bh avnagar. All the employees were of the same designations. Reason: As we find the employees of the bank to be more stressful as more and mo re employees are taking VRS and are dismissed because of inflation. I have selec

ted only those three banks which are affiliated to the public and are specialize d in consumer needs fulfillment. It is incumbent on the researcher to clearly define the target population. There are no strict rules to follow, and the researcher must rely on logic and judgme nt. The population is defined in keeping with the objectives of the study. Sometimes, the entire population will be sufficiently small, and the researcher can include the entire population in the study. This type of research is called a census study because data is gathered on every member of the population. Usually, the population is too large for the researcher to attempt to survey all of its members. A small, but carefully chosen sample can be used to represent t he population. The sample reflects the characteristics of the population from wh ich it is drawn. Sampling methods are classified as either probability or non probability. In pro bability samples, each member of the population has a known non-zero probability of being selected. Probability methods include random sampling, systematic samp ling, and stratified sampling. In non probability sampling, members are selected from the population in some nonrandom manner. These include convenience samplin g, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling. The advantage of pr obability sampling is that sampling error can be calculated. Sampling error is t he degree to which a sample might differ from the population. When inferring to the population, results are reported plus or minus the sampling error. In non pr obability sampling, the degree to which the sample differs from the population r emains unknown. Random sampling is the purest form opulation has an equal and known chance of arge populations, it is often difficult or f the population, so the pool of available of probability sampling. Each member of the p being selected. When there are very l impossible to identify every member o subjects becomes biased.

Systematic sampling is often used instead of random sampling. It is also called an Nth name selection technique. After the required sample size has been calcula ted, every Nth record is selected from a list of population members. As long as the list does not contain any hidden order, this sampling method is as good as t he random sampling method. Its only advantage over the random sampling technique is simplicity. Systematic sampling is frequently used to select a specified num ber of records from a computer file. Stratified sampling is commonly used probability method that is superior to rand om sampling because it reduces sampling error. A stratum is a subset of the popu lation that shares at least one common characteristic. The researcher first iden tifies the relevant stratums and their actual representation in the population. Random sampling is then used to select subjects from each stratum until the numb er of subjects in that stratum is proportional to its frequency in the populatio n. Stratified sampling is often used when one or more of the stratums in the pop ulation have a low incidence relative to the other stratums. Convenience sampling is used in exploratory research where the researcher is int erested in getting an inexpensive approximation of the truth. As the name implie s, the sample is selected because they are convenient. This non-probability meth od is often used during preliminary research efforts to get a gross estimate of the results, without incurring the cost or time required to select a random samp le. Judgment sample based on . For example, a sentative" city, sampling is a common non-probability method. The researcher selects the judgment. This is usually and extension of convenience sampling researcher may decide to draw the entire sample from one "repre even though the population includes all cities. When using this

method, the researcher must be confident that the chosen sample is truly repres entative of the entire population. Quota sampling is the non-probability equivalent of stratified sampling. Like st ratified sampling, the researcher first identifies the stratums and their propor tions as they are represented in the population. Then convenience or judgment sa mpling is used to select the required number of subjects from each stratum. This differs from stratified sampling, where the stratums are filled by random sampl ing. Snowball sampling is a special non-probability method used when the desired samp le characteristic is rare. It may be extremely difficult or cost prohibitive to locate respondents in these situations. Snowball sampling relies on referrals fr om initial subjects to generate additional subjects. While this technique can dr amatically lower search costs, it comes at the expense of introducing bias becau se the technique itself reduces the likelihood that the sample will represent a good cross section from the population. (2.3) Research Instrument: Checking Yourself for Burnout Burnout occurs when passionate, committed people become deeply disillusioned wit h a job or career from which they have previously derived much of their identity and meaning. It comes as the things that inspire passion and enthusiasm are str ipped away, and tedious or unpleasant things crowd in. This tool can help you ch eck yourself for burnout. Introduction: This tool can help you check yourself for burnout. It helps you look at the way you feel about your job and your experiences at work, so that you can get a feel for whether you are at risk of burnout. Using the Tool: Work through the table on paper and calculate values manually. Fill in values appropriately on the sheet. This will automatically calculate sco res for you and interpret these scores, showing the score and interpretation in row 30. If you choose to use the manual method, then calculate the total of the scores a s described in the instructions (note that this uses a slightly different scorin g method from the spreadsheet). Apply the score to the scoring table underneath to get the interpretation. Checking Yourself for Burnout

Questionnaire No Questions Not at all Rarely Sometimes Often Very oft en 1 Do you feel run down and drained of physical or emotional energy? 2 Do you find that you are prone to negative thinking about your job? 3 Do you find that you are harder and less sympathetic with people than pe rhaps they deserve? 4 Do you find yourself getting easily irritated by small problems, or by y our co-workers and team? 5 Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your co-workers? 6 Do you feel that you have no-one to talk to? 7 Do you feel that you are achieving less than you should? 8 Do you feel under an unpleasant level of pressure to succeed? 9 Do you feel that you are not getting what you want out of your job? 10 Do you feel that you are in the wrong organization or the wrong professi on?

11 Are you becoming frustrated with parts of your job? 12 Do you feel that organizational politics or bureaucracy frustrate your a bility to do a good job? 13 Do you feel that there is more work to do than you practically have the ability to do? 14 Do you feel that you do not have time to do many of the things that are important to doing a good quality job? 15 Do you find that you do not have time to plan as much as you would like to? Total Instructions: For each question, put an X in the column that most applies. Put one X only in each row. Please write the total number of x at the space given at the bottom of each column Answer Number Weight Weighted Total Not at all 0 Rarely 1 Sometimes 2 Often 3 Very often 4

>= -1 No sign of burnout here! 5 Little sign of burnout here, unless some factors are particularly severe 18 Be careful - you may be at risk of burnout, particularly if several scor es are high 35 You are at severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgently 45 You are at very severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgentl y No Questions Yes No 1 Are you satisfied with the performance you give at your work? 2 Do you think that you are suffering from depression? 3 Do you worry about your colleague s opinion about you? 4 Do you discuss your problem with your spouse or friend or any other clos e to you? 5 Do you work more than 8 hours? 6 You have an important function at your home and your boss asks to give a 4 hour over time, what will be your response? 7 Do you regularly spend time for entertainment? 8 Is your social life balanced? 9 Do you plan your work before doing? 10 Do you fear about the quality of your performance? 11 Are you a heart patient? 12 Do you get tensed at your non achievement of your target? 13 Do you feeling stress some times? If the answer of the above question is Yes then answer the following: a) Is the reason of your stress your work load? b) Are you stressed because of your family problems? c) Do you get stressed when your boss scolds You? d) Do you try to find any solution for the problem of your stress? e) (IF YES) Do you practice yoga or any other ayurvedic therapy for reducin g stress?

To make the survey report more clear the above questionnaire was also filled. As a result the employees have given proper response and the report of the questio nnaire is presented in the project. (2.4) Data analysis and Interpretation The project report shows the information of the level of stress which the employ ees are facing as the period of recession is going the employee cut-off and turn over ratios are found to be high so the workload for the existing employees are high. So they are facing the problem of work overload and thus they get stressed . Lets have a watch on the basic data of the survey: The report of a bank >= response -1 No sign of burnout here! 0 5 Little sign of burnout here, unless some factors are particularly severe 6 18 Be careful - you may be at risk of burnout, particularly if several scor es are high 8 35 You are at severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgently 0 45 You are at very severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgentl y 0

The Report of a Bank >= response -1 No sign of burnout here! 0 5 Little sign of burnout here, unless some factors are particularly severe 3 18 Be careful - you may be at risk of burnout, particularly if several scor es are high 10 35 You are at severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgently 0 45 You are at very severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgentl y 0 The report of a Bank >= response -1 No sign of burnout here! 0 5 Little sign of burnout here, unless some factors are particularly severe 5 18 Be careful - you may be at risk of burnout, particularly if several scor es are high 3 35 You are at severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgently 0 45 You are at very severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgentl y 0

It is seen from the above data that the employees working in the banks are at th e risk of two levels that is a little sign of burn out and be careful. Taking a look on the data of all the three banks, it is seen that the employees working in SB

S are found less stressed out compared to other banks. This can be because its a public sector. If all the graphs are compared, it is seen that the ratio of stre ssed employees in AXIS banks are high as compared to all the other banks. Lets have a look on the overall result of the survey >= response -1 No sign of burnout here! 0 5 Little sign of burnout here, unless some factors are particularly severe 14 18 Be careful - you may be at risk of burnout, particularly if several scor es are high 21 35 You are at severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgently 0 45 You are at very severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgentl y 0 From the above graph it can be seen that maximum employees of all the banks are at a moderate level of risk of burnout while the employees who were found with a little sign of burnout is less. So the ratio of little sign of burnout and mode rate level of burnout is 2:3.

1. Are you satisfied with the performance you give at your work? Yes No No response 27 8 0

From the diagram it is clear that 77 % of the employees are satisfied with the p erformance they give in the work while 23 % of the employees are not satisfied. 2. Do you think that you are suffering from depression? Yes No No response 7 28 0

20 % of the employee feel that they are suffering from depression while 80 % of the employee feel that that they are free from the depression 3. Do you worry about your colleague s opinion about you? Yes No No response 9 26 0

26% of the employees worry about their colleagues opinion about them while 74% of the employees are not concern with the opinion about their colleague. 4. Do you discuss your problem with your spouse or friend or any other close to you? Yes No No response 32 3 0

91% of the employees of the bank discuss their problem and share their feelings with their spouse or friends or others while 9 % of the employee is not concerne d with it. 5. Do you work more than 8 hours? Yes No No response 31 4 0 89% of the employees work for more than 8 hours which is the starting point of t he stress while 11 % of the employees dont work for more than 8 hours. 6. You have an important function at your home and your boss asks to give a 4 ho ur over time, what will be your response? Yes No No response 14 19 2

40 % of the employees are proved to be work dedicated and they are ready to miss the important function at their house while 54 % of the employees said no and 6 % of the employee did not gave any answer. 7. Do you regularly spend time for entertainment? Yes No No response 20 15 0

57% of the employee spent regular time on entertainment which helps us to remain stress free while 43 % of the employees dont do that. 8. Is your social life balanced?

Yes 19

No 14

No response 2

54 % of the employees find their social life to be balanced while 40 % of the em ployees dont have their social life balanced. 6% of the employees remain silent.

9. Do you plan your work before doing? Yes No No response 31 4 0

It is a good habit to plan the work you do. 89 % of the employees plan their wor k before doing while 11 % of the employees dont plan their work. 10. Do you fear about the quality of your performance? Yes No No response 22 13 0

63% of the employees fear the quality of performance which they give while 37 % of the employees dont fear the quality of their work.

11. Are you a heart patient? Yes No No response 1 34 0

Here 3 % of the employees are heart patient which is partially the result of str ess. 12. Do you get tensed at your non achievement of your target? Yes No No response 25 10 0 71% of the employees get tensed at the non achievement of the target while 29 % of the employees work casually.

13. Do you feeling stress some times? Yes No No response 28 6 1 80% of the employees feel stressed sometimes while 17 % of the employees are not feeling stressed. 3 % of the employees did not respond. If the answer of the above question is Yes then answer the following: a) Is the reason of your stress your work load?

Yes 20

No 9

No response 6

57% of the employees find themselves to be stressed by their work over load. 26 % of the employees are not stressed because of the work overload. 17 % of the em ployees did not answer. b) Yes 14 Are you stressed because of your family problems? No No response 14 7

40 % of the employees are stressed because of their family problems 40% by other problems while 20% of the employees did not responded. c) Yes 10 Do you get stressed when your boss scolds you? No 18 No response 7

20% of the employee did not responded when they were asked weather their get str essed because of the scolding of their boss. 51% of the employees dont get stress because of the scolding of their boss. 29 % of the employees get stressed becau se of the scolding of their boss. d) Do you try to find any solution for the problem of your stress? Yes No No response 24 6 5 69 % of the employees try to find the solution of their stress. e) (IF YES) Do you practice yoga or any other ayurvedic therapy for reducin g stress? Yes No No response 11 18 6 31% of the employees try the yoga and other ayurvedic techniques to reduce their stress while 51 % of the employees use other techniques to reduce stress. (2.5) Employees opinion about how to reduce stress This project consist of the information about the employees undergoing from stre ss who working in the banks. So considering this factor this topic becomes one o f the most important part of the project as it consists of the opinion of the em ployees who work in the banks. In short it was a direct interview of the employe es who gave their opinion about how to reduce stress. The response of employees in the major banks of Bhavnagar like State Bank of Saurashtra, The AXIS Bank, an d The HDFC bank was marvelous and they have given their valuable opinion about r educing stress as a result of the last question included in the questionnaire 2. So the opinion if the employees were as follows: Just smile away An employee- HDFC Bank Just believe in your self and just do what your heart wants An employee- HDFC Bank -Talking to family members, - Watching TV or listening good music, - Going f or a walk or long drive An employee- HDFC Bank Believe in God An employee- HDFC Bank

Respect yourself and give time to yourself An employee- HDFC Bank Working in environment welfares, lot of positive attitude. Positive attitude is o nly that reduces stress and achieves success. Most of the people frustrate due t o lack of positivity and stress level climbs up due to that. So get positive att itude about work, about life, and forget the stress An employee- AXIS Bank We should do such activities from which we get happiness and also make others hap py. Pass your time with your close friends and relatives. An employee- AXIS Bank Play and watch cricket An employee- AXIS Bank Listen music and spend time with family An employee- SBS Bank Get adjusted with others, Find and spend time for prayer, Study the scriptures, S ee oneness in all, All are manifested of the supreme GOD An employee- SBS Bank These opinions are seemed to be valuable and effective as one of the effective t hings has been noticed that the employees who have got less than 18 marks in the Burnout test have given their opinions about reducing the stress. It is also noticed that in the AXIS bank Bhavnagar in the time of afternoon slow instrumental music are been played so that the employees can work stress free. This is one of the positive things which are seen in the organization who is car ing for their employees. This will help the organization to boost up the product ivity. From the certain sample of employees selected for the research, only 10 employee s have given their opinion how to reduce stress. So we can understand that how o verloaded the employees of the bank are.

(2.6) Research Flowchart Questionnaire research design proceeds in an orderly and specific manner. Each i tem in the flow chart depends upon the successful completion of all the previous items. Therefore, it is important not to skip a single step. Notice that there are two feedback loops in the flow chart to allow revisions to the methodology a nd instruments. Design Methodology Determine Feasibility Develop Instruments Select Sample Conduct Pilot Test Revise Instruments Conduct Research

Analyze Data Prepare Report

(2.7) Time Considerations Many researchers underestimate the time required to complete a research project. The following form may be used as an initial checklist in developing time estim ates. The best advice is to be generous with your time estimates. Things almost always take longer than we think they should. This checklist contains two time estimates for each task. The first one (Hours) is your best estimate of the actual number of hours required to complete the tas k. The second one (Duration) is the amount of time that will pass until the task is completed. Sometimes these are the same and sometimes they are different. Mo st researchers and business-people have to divide their time among many projects . They simply cannot give all their time to any one project. For example, my est imate of goal clarification may be four hours, but other commitments allow me to spend only two hours a day on this study. My "hours" estimate is four hours, an d my "duration" estimate is two days. To arrive at your final time estimates, add the individual estimates. The hours estimate is used for budget planning and the duration estimate is used to develo p a project time line.

(2.8) Limitation of the survey The questionnaires were filled be 35 employees working in the three major Banks of Bhavnagar i.e. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and SBS Bank. So the scope of sample find ings was less. The questionnaire was filled by 35 employees of different designations. So the p oint of view of employees differs as per their designations. The employees from whom the questionnaires are filled are in a heavy workload so some of the questionnaires filled by the employees who are in stress cannot be called reasonable. The responses of the employees cannot be accurate as the problem of language and

understanding arises. (These problems are not in all cases.) One of the other problems of questionnaire is the cost. Some times it may be pos sible that even by spending so much the result may not be reasonable. Many a times the employees may not be really conscious or may not be bothered ab out the questionnaire. This may create a problem in the research. (2.8.1) Advantages of Written Questionnaires Questionnaires are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews. This is especially true for studies involving large sample sizes and large geog raphic areas. Written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the numb er of research questions increases. Questionnaires are easy to analyze. Data entry and tabulation for nearly all sur veys can be easily done with many computer software packages. Questionnaires are familiar to most people. Nearly everyone has had some experie nce completing questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive . Questionnaires reduce bias. There is uniform question presentation and no middle -man bias. The researcher s own opinions will not influence the respondent to an swer questions in a certain manner. There are no verbal or visual clues to influ ence the respondent. Questionnaires are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys. When a respondent receives a questionnaire in the mail, he is free to complete the que stionnaire on his own time-table. Unlike other research methods, the respondent is not interrupted by the research instrument. (2.8.2) Disadvantages of Written Questionnaires One major disadvantage of written questionnaires is the possibility of low respo nse rates. Low response is the curse of statistical analysis. It can dramaticall y lower our confidence in the results. Response rates vary widely from one quest ionnaire to another (10% - 90%), however, well-designed studies consistently pro duce high response rates. Another disadvantage of questionnaires is the inability to probe responses. Ques tionnaires are structured instruments. They allow little flexibility to the resp ondent with respect to response format. In essence, they often lose the "flavor of the response" (i.e., respondents often want to qualify their answers). By all owing frequent space for comments, the researcher can partially overcome this di sadvantage. Comments are among the most helpful of all the information on the qu estionnaire, and they usually provide insightful information that would have oth erwise been lost. Nearly ninety percent of all communication is visual. Gestures and other visual cues are not available with written questionnaires. The lack of personal contact will have different effects depending on the type of information being requeste d. A questionnaire requesting factual information will probably not be affected by the lack of personal contact. A questionnaire probing sensitive issues or att itudes may be severely affected. When returned questionnaires arrive in the mail, it s natural to assume that the respondent is the same person you sent the questionnaire to. This may not actua lly be the case. Many times business questionnaires get handed to other employee s for completion. Housewives sometimes respond for their husbands. Kids respond as a prank. For a variety of reasons, the respondent may not be who you think it is. It is a confounding error inherent in questionnaires.

Finally, questionnaires are simply not suited for some people. For example, a wr itten survey to a group of poorly educated people might not work because of read ing skill problems. More frequently, people are turned off by written questionna ires because of misuse.

(2.9) Findings It is analyzed from the questionnaire filled by the employees that the employees who have scored more than 20 marks in the burnout test are not satisfied with t he performance which they give in the organization. Thus it is proved that the e mployees who are desired to give better performance than their original performa nce are found more stressful than the others. While at the same time the employ that have scored less than 20 marks in the burnout test are satisfied with the p erformance. From the sample of 35 bank employees who have been surveyed, one is found to be a heart patient. This can be because of high level of stress. Very rare of the employee are to be found suffering from depression. It is prove d from the survey that the employees who have scored more than 25 marks in the b urnout test are concern about the opinion of their colleagues. And the employees who got less than 25 marks do not mind about their colleagues opinion. Thus it i s proved that the colleagues opinion also play a lead role in the increase and d ecrease of the stress level. Those who mind about their colleagues opinion are fo und to be more stressful. The employees who have scored 28-29 marks in the burnout test dont believe in sha ring their problems with their spouse or friend or any closed one. Thus we can s ay that sharing your problems with your spouse or close friends is a better idea to reduce stress. In the second questionnaire one of the question was You have an important functio n at your home and your boss asks to give a 4 hour over time what will be your r esponse Yes or No? the employees have given their opinion as per their mood. While considering the point of view of entertainment it depends upon the mood of the employees. The entertainment is considered one of the most ultimate solutio ns to reduce stress. Most of the employees do not spend regular time in entertai nment. This may be because they may not be getting time for entertainment or the y may not be interested in the same. One of the questions was asked that were their social life balanced? It is obser ved that the employees who have scored above 20 marks in the burnout test did no t have their social life balanced. Thus we can conclude that the employees who a re above 20 dont have their social life balanced. Thus it is proved that stress m ay affect our social life also. The employees were asked weather they plan their work or not, moderate answers w ere given. The employees scoring more than 25 marks were not found their work pl anned. Thus the employees who plan their work have scored below 25 marks in the burnout test except some cases as there are always some drawbacks in making plan . Failure of a plan may also lead a person to stress. Thus we can conclude that planning of the work may help to reduce stress level. Most of the employees who have scored more than 20 marks fear about their qualit

y of work they give. This aspect is not dependent of the burnout level. This asp ect depends upon the dedication of work. So it is meaningless to compare this qu estion with the burnout test. A question was asked that weather you get stressed at the non-achievement of the ir target? All the employees have responded positively. But this is not concern with the burnout score. From this we can conclude that all the employees are giv en achievable target and naturally by the non-achievement of the target all the employees may get stressed. One of the other possibilities is that the employees have responded positively to show themselves to be good. The employees having more than 10 marks in the burnout test says that they are u nder stress. Out of 35 employees of the sample 20 of the employees accepted that the reason for their stress is workload. 10 employees are not stressed because of the workload but because of their family problem. 5 of the employees are not suffering from stress. 14 employees out of 30 employees who are stressed feel st ressful when their boss scolds them while 16 employees refused that they are not stressed because their boss scolds them. All the 30 employees have accepted tha t they try to find the solution of their stress. 10 employees out of 30 employee s practice yoga to reduce their stress and the other 20 employees dont practice y oga. The burnout scores of the employees who practice yoga are either more than 25 or less than 20. Thus we can conclude that the employees have reduced their s tress by yoga therapy and other employees have just started the yoga because of high level of burnout The above analysis is done by the data received from the questionnaire. So the a ccuracy of data depends upon the response of the employees.

3. BIBILIOGRAPHY

o o o o

www.mindtool.com Organizational Behavior Stephen P. Robbins Burn Out tool Questionnaire Self analysis of questionnaire

4. ANNEXURE Questionnaire

No Questions Not at all Rarely Sometimes Often Very oft en 1 Do you feel run down and drained of physical or emotional energy? 2 Do you find that you are prone to negative thinking about your job? 3 Do you find that you are harder and less sympathetic with people than pe rhaps they deserve? 4 Do you find yourself getting easily irritated by small problems, or by y our co-workers and team? 5 Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your co-workers? 6 Do you feel that you have no-one to talk to? 7 Do you feel that you are achieving less than you should? 8 Do you feel under an unpleasant level of pressure to succeed? 9 Do you feel that you are not getting what you want out of your job? 10 Do you feel that you are in the wrong organization or the wrong professi on? 11 Are you becoming frustrated with parts of your job? 12 Do you feel that organizational politics or bureaucracy frustrate your a bility to do a good job? 13 Do you feel that there is more work to do than you practically have the ability to do? 14 Do you feel that you do not have time to do many of the things that are important to doing a good quality job? 15 Do you find that you do not have time to plan as much as you would like to? Total Instructions: For each question, put an X in the column that most applies. Put one X only in each row. Please write the total number of x at the space given at the bottom of each column Answer Number Weight Weighted Total Not at all 0 Rarely 1 Sometimes 2 Often 3 Very often 4 >= -1 No sign of burnout here! 5 Little sign of burnout here, unless some factors are particularly severe 18 Be careful - you may be at risk of burnout, particularly if several scor es are high 35 You are at severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgently 45 You are at very severe risk of burnout - do something about this urgentl y No Questions Yes No 1 Are you satisfied with the performance you give at your work? 2 Do you think that you are suffering from depression? 3 Do you worry about your colleague s opinion about you? 4 Do you discuss your problem with your spouse or friend or any other clos e to you? 5 Do you work more than 8 hours? 6 You have an important function at your home and your boss asks to give a 4 hour over time, what will be your response? 7 Do you regularly spend time for entertainment? 8 Is your social life balanced? 9 Do you plan your work before doing? 10 Do you fear about the quality of your performance? 11 Are you a heart patient? 12 Do you get tensed at your non achievement of your target? 13 Do you feeling stress some times?

If the answer of the above question is Yes then answer the following: a) Is the reason of your stress your work load? b) Are you stressed because of your family problems? c) Do you get stressed when your boss scolds You? d) Do you try to find any solution for the problem of your stress? e) (IF YES) Do you practice yoga or any other ayurvedic therapy for reducin g stress?