Gandhian Way of Managing Stress with Work Load and Facilities

 

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan¹*, Dr. M. Mallammal²

¹Assistant Professor, Centre for Gandhian Studies, Gandhigram Rural Institute (Deemed to be University) Gandhigram

²Professor & Director, Centre for Gandhian Studies, The Gandhigram Rural Institute-Deemed to be University, Gandhigram

 

ABSTRACT:

Stress is the body’s automatic response to any physical or mental demand placed upon it.  Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, a demand, or a resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. A study is conducted to find out the working experience, heavy work load, and lack of facility for stress management in an organization. Face to face interview was conducted with seventy five employees and the result is given. It is found that work load, and lack of facilities are playing important role - in stress management. Based on the result of the study some Gandhian ideas are given to control stress.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

More typically, stress is associated with demands and resources. Demands are responsibilities, pressures, obligations, and even uncertainties that individuals face in the workplace. Resources are things within an individual’s control that can be used to resolve the demands. This demands- resources model has received increasing support in the literature.

 

CONSEQUENCES OF STRESS MANAGEMENT:

Physiological symptoms like some illness due to over work, blood pressure, respiratory illness, headache, body pain.

 

Tension, anxiety, irritability, boredom etc. Behavioural symptoms like change in eating habits increased smoking, consumption of alcohol and sleep disorders.

 

 

The impact of stress is less productivity, less quality and lack of better performance. The result will be found in the prosperity and sustainability of any organization.

 

Hence this study for Managing Stress among the employees in a Transport company.

 

METHODOLOGY:

STUDY DESIGN:

The nature of the study is descriptive and analytical.

 

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

Stress is the general term applied to the pressures people feel in life. It affects the employees both physically and mentally. As a result, the productivity, efficiency, general growth and prosperity of the organization affected. To keep this under control stress management is essential. It is at the level of both individual and organization. Work environment, over work load, personal relation, organizational structure, external pressure, organization targets to be achieved are some of the factors for increasing the stress of the employees.

 

PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION:

It is known that Tamil Nadu Govt. owns the bus transport corporation for doing Transport Service. The Dindigul Transport Corporation is taken for this study purpose. This Dindigul branch is functioning with profit running more numbers of buses by giving employment to more than four hundred men.

 

SAMPLE:

The sample size is less than 20% and selected 75 employees by simple random method.

 

DATA COLLECTION:

Primary data collected with the help of Pre-Tested interview schedule. Face-face interview method was employed. It included interaction, discussions, meeting with workers and managers.

 

ANALYSIS:

(a)     The relationship between working experience (x) and heavy work load (y)

(b)     The relationship between heavy work (x) and lack of facility (y) are analyzed with collected data and given in the following table

 

CORRELATION:

The relationship between working experience (X) and heavy work load(Y)

X	Y	X2	Y2	XY
7	11	49	121	77
9	26	81	676	234
8	18	64	324	144
15	13	225	169	195
36	7	1296	49	252
75	75	1715	1339	902

Formula: X = Working experience

Y= Heavy Workload.

r= 902/ 1515.39 = 0.59. This is positive correlation. So there is relationship between working experience and heavy work load.

 

CORRELATION

The relationship between working experience (X) and heavy work load(Y)

X	Y	X2	Y2	XY
11	7	121	49	77
26	25	676	625	650
18	19	324	361	342
13	19	169	361	247
7	5	49	25	35
75	75	1339	1421	1351

r= 1351/ 1379.40= 0.97.

This is positive correlation. So there is relationship between heavy work load and lack of facility.

 

RESULT:

Positive Correlation reveals that there is relationship between working experience and heavy work load. Again in the case of second variable there is Positive relationship between heavy work   load and lack of facility.

 

It is concluded that reduction of heavy work load and providing more facility will reduce stress among the employees, which will increase the efficiency of the organization.

 

Gandhian way

Stress is mainly relates to mindset of workers. If the workers are committed to their work and felt that. It is for good of the society and not for making money, stress will not come. Work is the opportunity given by God, to do some service to the society besides earning the wages. Detached attachment to the position will Eva pork ego and stress will be reduced. Nishkamaseva and non-possession are the basic concepts of Gandhi for holding any position which will reduce stress.

 

Facilities are also related to mindset. Fatigue and burden are nothing if they feel it is their home and not workplace. Workplace is not a separate place where you need more facilities, which are not available in your home. Manual labour, simple life, serving the humanity through your work are some of the Gandhian concepts to control stress in workplace.

 

As per Factories Act, minimum facilities are provided in all work places, which are not feel enough, as the workers feel that it is insufficient. Over workload is not always exists, it depends on some urgent need, for which compensation is given. It is the mindset of the workers, ‘we’ feeling of them will control stress and increase productivity.

 

REFERENCES:

1.        M.T.Hannan, L.Polos, and G.R.Carroll, “The Fog of Change: Opacity and Asperity in Organizations”, Administrative Science Quarterly, September 2003, Pp.399-432.

2.        T.V. Rao, HRD Audit: Evaluating the Human Resource Function for Business Improvement (New Delhi: Response Books, 1999).

3.        Adapted from R.S. Schuler, “Definition and Conceptualization of Stress in Organizations, Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, April 1980, p.189. For an updated review of definitions, see C.L. Cooper, P.J. Dewe, and M.P. O’ Driscoll, organizational Stress: A Review and Critique of Theory, Research, and Applications (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2002).

4.        C.L. Cooper and J. Marshall, “Occupational Sources of Stress: A Review of the Literature Relating to Coronary Heart Disease and Mental Ill Health, “Journal of Occupational Psychology 49, no. 1 (1976) , pp. 11-28.

5.        H.M Addae and X. Wang, “Stress at Work: Linear and Curvilinear Effects of Psychological -, Job, and Organization – Related Factors: An Exploratory Study of Trinidad and Tobago, “International Journal of Stress Management, November 2006, pp.476-493.

 

 

Received on 12.01.2018          Modified on 24.02.2018

Accepted on 16.03.2018           ©A&V Publications All right reserved