Causality
The Lahore Journal of Business 1:1 (Summer 2012): pp. 23–36
Organizational Role Stress Among Public and Private Sector Employees: A Comparative Study Bushara Bano and Rajiv Kumar Jha ∗
Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the differences in job-related stress, if any, between public and private sector employees, based on ten role stressors. It also examines the role of demographic variables on the stress levels of both public and private sector groups. Our methodology entails a survey of 182 public and 120 private sector employees in Uttar Pradesh, India, whose responses are measured according to an occupational role stress scale. We also use secondary data provided by the literature review. The sample was collected through convenience sampling. On applying the t-test and ANOVA test to the data, we find that both public and private sector employees face moderate levels of stress. While there is no significant difference overall between public and private sector employees in terms of total stress levels, certain individual stressors—such as work experience and educational qualifications—do yield differences. The major limitation of this study is that it was conducted in Uttar Pradesh alone, while the work culture of organizations other than in Uttar Pradesh may be different. Keywords: Role stress, public sector, private sector. Classification: M10, M12, M14 1. Introduction Stress has become a very common phenomenon of routine life, and an unavoidable consequence of the ways in which society has changed. This change has occurred in terms of science and technology, industrial growth, urbanization, modernization, and automation on one hand; and an expanding population, unemployment, and stress on the other. The term “stress” was first used by Selye (1936) in the literature on life sciences, describing stress as “the force, pressure, or strain exerted upon a material object or person which resist these forces and attempt to maintain its original state.”
Organizational Role Stress Among Public and Private Sector Employees: A Comparative Study Bushara Bano and Rajiv Kumar Jha ∗
Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the differences in job-related stress, if any, between public and private sector employees, based on ten role stressors. It also examines the role of demographic variables on the stress levels of both public and private sector groups. Our methodology entails a survey of 182 public and 120 private sector employees in Uttar Pradesh, India, whose responses are measured according to an occupational role stress scale. We also use secondary data provided by the literature review. The sample was collected through convenience sampling. On applying the t-test and ANOVA test to the data, we find that both public and private sector employees face moderate levels of stress. While there is no significant difference overall between public and private sector employees in terms of total stress levels, certain individual stressors—such as work experience and educational qualifications—do yield differences. The major limitation of this study is that it was conducted in Uttar Pradesh alone, while the work culture of organizations other than in Uttar Pradesh may be different. Keywords: Role stress, public sector, private sector. Classification: M10, M12, M14 1. Introduction Stress has become a very common phenomenon of routine life, and an unavoidable consequence of the ways in which society has changed. This change has occurred in terms of science and technology, industrial growth, urbanization, modernization, and automation on one hand; and an expanding population, unemployment, and stress on the other. The term “stress” was first used by Selye (1936) in the literature on life sciences, describing stress as “the force, pressure, or strain exerted upon a material object or person which resist these forces and attempt to maintain its original state.”