The Relationship Between Work Stress and Performacne Among Accountants Essay Example

demands are high, the individual has low control, and the individual lacks social support. Organizations today are under increasing pressure to improve productivity while simultaneously reducing costs resulting in an epidemic of “Corporate Anorexia” (Hamel 1996).

A new enterprise formula is emerging whereby half as many people are being paid twice as much to produce three times more (Handy 1996). The rapidly changing work conditions and environment now more than ever pose a threat to the health of employees and in turn to the health of the organization. All organizations constantly strive to be the top performers in their industries, a goal that is jeopardized by stress and its effects. It is reported that the psychological, physiological and behavioral changes due to stress are associated with lower job performance; a consistently a negative outcome for the organization.

In managing work stress, organizations are one step closer to excellence. Accountants need to be aware of the current stress statistics in the corporate world and the pressures they are constantly warned of. They should know where these pressures are most likely to stem from, how the pressures will change their behavior and performance and ultimately how to cope with these pressures. Many organizations ignore the possible impact of work stress on performance of their employees.

Other organizations feel at a loss to do anything about the stress levels among their employees therefore leave it to go unchecked.Stress hurts the organization and continued indifference by organizations puts them at risk. The study is intended to identify the main sources of work stress, the signs of work stress, the ways stress affects job performance and how it can be managed.

Statement of the

problem

As organizations grow larger and more competitive, employees are faced with longer work hours, heavier work loads, shrinking pay checks and greater bureaucracy; some of the factors that make it increasingly difficult to perform. In this increasingly complex corporate world, stress is inevitable.

And with stress come the associated evils: health disorders, violence at work, errors, mental disorders, drug abuse, and other stress-related disorders that impair the effectiveness of individuals. The consistently changing work environment has led to demands on professionals that are greater than they can handle. The pressure to deliver has created human time-bombs just waiting to go off and this has to be addressed immediately.

Purpose of the study

The overall objective of the study was to ascertain the presence and direction of a relationship between work stress and performance of accountants.

1. Objectives of the study The study was intended to achieve the following objectives: 1. To identify the major sources of work stress among accountants.

2. To determine the signs of work stress that most commonly present among accountants.

3. To assess the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants.

4. To identify the Coping Mechanisms applied by accountants.

5. To identify other factors which significantly affect the performance of accountants.

Research Questions

The study was designed to answer the following questions:

1. What are the major sources of work stress among accountants?

2.What are the signs of work stress that are common among accountants?

3. How does work stress correlate with performance among accountants?

4. What coping mechanisms do accountants apply in dealing with their stress?

5. What other factors significantly affect the performance of accountants?

Scope of the study

Geographic: The study was carried out among accountants in the central region of Uganda

because of the high density of accountants in this region. Data was collected in Kampala and Jinja.

Subject: The study focused on work stress because it can be managed by organizations by adjusting the various organization variables.The study emphasized the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants as opposed to the other professions and areas stress is believed to affect e.g. health and psychological wellbeing.

Time: The study was cross-sectional and all questionnaires were administered at once.

The overall study took a period of three months.

Significance of the study

The study may positively impact on HRM policies of organizations as they try to attain a favorable organization stress profile in order to boost performance.The study may push accountants to analyze their stress profiles and apply appropriate coping strategies. It may also aid budding accountants to proactively approach the corporate world with set procedures for dealing with stress on a personal level. The study may aid business students appreciate the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants.

Definition of Terms

Absenteeism: This is a situation in which employees develop a habitual pattern of absence from duty or obligation.

Biofeedback: This is a form of alternative medicine in which stress related symptoms are mechanically detected by measuring the quantifiable bodily functions like blood pressure, heart rate, skin temperature, sweat gland activity and muscle tension. Coping Strategies: These are the techniques individuals apply to master conditions of harm, threat or challenge when routine or automatic responses are not readily available.

Presenteeism: This is a situation where employees report to work in spite of illness or where they are present at work and are accomplishing nothing or there is no work available to be

done.Stress Profile: This is a report on the level and complexity of stress in an individual or an organization that is produced by using specific computer software.

Chapter Two Literature Review

Introduction

This chapter presents the analysis of the sources and signs of stress work, the relationship between work stress and performance, the coping strategies applied to deal with work stress and other factors that affect performance as discussed in existing literature.

Definition of Work Stress and Performance

Stress in general has been defined as “the pressures people feel in life” (Newstrom et al 1997) or an unpleasant emotional state resulting from the perception that a situational demand exceeds one’s capacity and that it is very important to meet that demand (Luthans 1998). Work stress in particular is defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources or needs of the worker (NIOSH). Performance has been defined as the way in which an individual does a job, udged by its effectiveness (wiki dictionary). 2. 2Sources of work stress Paul Froiland cited in Newstrom et al (1997) feels that the basic cause of work stress is a high level of job demands and little control over the work to be done.

The generally accepted causes of work stress as identified by NIOSH include: •Poor job design such that there is heavy work overload, few rest breaks, long work hours, hectic repetitive tasks with little relevance, underutilization of employees’ skills, and little control over work tasks. Poor management style composed of low participation by workers in decision making, poor communication in the organization, and Poor quality of supervision. Kreitner (1998)

cited a research study, carried out at Southern Bell and other companies that showed the biggest source of work stress to be poorly trained and inept supervisors.

Poor interpersonal relationships characterized by a poor social environment, lack of support from work mates and supervisors, harassment and discrimination by coworkers and lack of group cohesiveness. Poorly defined work roles; employees are plagued by conflicting and uncertain job expectations, too much or too little responsibility, and inadequate authority to match responsibility.

Career concerns also contribute to work stress as employees worry about the security of their jobs, lack of opportunities for growth or advancement, and rapid changes in the organization like restructuring.

The researcher, Nathan Podsakoff, said hindrance stressors like job insecurity and red tape had a big negative impact on motivation and performance (NIOSH). Unpleasant and dangerous work conditions such as crowding, noise, air pollution, and ergonomic problems. 2. 3Signs of work stress NIOSH has documented the first signs that indicate employees may be stressed.

This guide on the changes in behavior that may occur is summarized below:

Work Performance

• Declining or inconsistent performance
• Uncharacteristic errors and accidents
• Loss of control over work •Loss of motivation or commitment
• Indecision
• Lapses in memory
• Increased time at work
• Lack of holiday planning and usageRegression
• Crying
• Arguments
• Undue sensitivity Irritability and moodiness
• Over-reaction to problems
• Personality clashes
• Immature behavior Withdrawal
• Arriving late to work
• Leaving early
• Extended lunches
• Absenteeism
• Resigned attitude
• Reduced social contact
• Elusiveness and evasivenessAggressive behavior
• Malicious gossip
• Criticism of others
• Vandalism
• Shouting and bullying
• Poor employee relations
• Temper outbursts Other behaviors
• Difficulty in relaxing
• Increased consumption of alcohol or smoking
• Lack of interest in hygiene
• Accidents at home or work
• Unnecessary
  

risk taking

Acute stress presents with anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, preoccupation, indecisiveness, presenteeism, recurring feelings of hopelessness, fear of disease, low self esteem, migraines, sleep disorders, and depression. Newstrom et al (1997) however caution that these signs may result from other conditions.

The Relationship between Work stress and performance

Creating a high performance organization is the aim of all management teams and it is believed that stress can limit the achievement of this dream.Newstom et al (1997) and Wagner et al (1995) agree that low levels stress enhance job performance.

Mild stress may lead to increased activity, change and overall improvement in performance. Selye (1956) emphasizes that stress is a necessary part of life and that it does not always have negative consequences; at certain moderate levels, stress can actually improve performance.

However, many studies have shown that stress has various adverse effects that can be categorized under psychological, physiological, and behavioral effects.

Psychological effects: The most common psychological effects of stress are poor decision making, loss of concentration, anxiety, loss of self esteem, depression, repression of emotion, displacement of anger, isolation, irritability and forgetfulness.

Physiological effects: The researcher Blyth in 1973 identified a list of diseases with a fairly high causal relationship with stress and these were hypertension, allergies, migraines, intense itching, peptic ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, nervous dyspepsia, skin disorders, overactive thyroid glands, diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis. Even though these ailments could have originated from other causes, it has been suggested that stress aggravates them.

The physical effects create the most costs to the company through medical expenses and absenteeism.

Behavioral effects: Work stress can increase behaviors

like insomnia, drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, aggressive behaviors, over and under reacting, withdrawal, regression and declining performance. At very high levels, stress even leads to burnout and trauma. Most research on stress has emphasized the impact of stress on the physical health of employees (Luthans 1998).

Whereas the physical ailments have a drastic effect on the individual, they have an equally serious effect on the organization. The largest cost to the organization is reduction in productivity but aside from this are costs related to lost company time in replacing employees, absenteeism, high turnover, increased client complaints and increase in work related accidents that disrupt production. Cole (1997) argues that the symptoms and effects of stress whether triggered by work problems or social problems, will eventually lead to reduced employee performance, loss of motivation and increased absenteeism.Stress interferes with human emotional, intellectual and interpersonal functioning; creativity and innovation which are crucial for excellent performance and the survival of an organization are compromised in the typical high stress workplace.

(David Lee, an article on Employee Stress and Performance). Peter Nixon carried out a study on the relationship between work stress and performance and the results are illustrated below (Stewart 1997).

Coping Mechanisms

The organization and work conditions have to be altered appropriately if stress at the workplace is to be properly managed.Coping Mechanisms are the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize stressful events.

The following methods have been suggested for the reduction of work stress in employees:

• Incorporation of ‘intent to reduce undue stress’ into the organization policies. Management should recognize the positive impact such an amendment would have on productivity. The
  

policy could include factors like frequent counseling sessions and medical exams.The change of policy would automatically lead to change of plans, procedures and systems to ensure that a favorable working environment that protected the wellbeing of the employees was achieved.

The aim is to verify the roles the employee is expected to fulfill and the scope of the position held. Devising a performance-evaluation-feedback system such that each employee is aware his performance based on the feedback received. Employees would then be able to know whether they are meeting management expectations or not, and if not, work towards a resolution. oEnsuring that employees are capable of carrying out work tasks by tightening the recruitment process or training employees.

Job training programs provide employees with broader knowledge and skills to better handle the expectations from their roles.Cole (1997) made general recommendations on how to reduce stress in organizations and they include:

• Designing jobs to permit maximum use of skills, allow employees discretion in carrying out job tasks, to be challenging and have variety.
• Developing participative management styles.
• Encouraging team spirit and inter-departmental communication
• Ensuring delegation of decision making.
• Giving employees authority to match their responsibilities.
• Limiting procedures associated with execution of tasks.
• Allow employees express their feelings to their superiors, colleagues or counselors.
• Provide sports and social facilities.

Provide adequate canteen and restroom facilities. It has been documented that people work more effectively in a participative management style and are better motivated when work tasks meet

their needs (CIPD).

The quality guru, Demming, argued that about 80% of improvement required management effort and major changes in the work place, while only 20% of improvement could be instituted by front line managers (Beardwell et al 1997). On a more personal level, individual employees are advised to use relaxation exercises like yoga or to apply biofeedback and personal wellness (Newstrom et al 1999).

The individual coping and preventive strategies include:

• Exercising to a sweat at least twice a week
• Meditation exercises can be used hand in hand with biofeedback
• Behaviorally conditioning oneself to circumvent stressful situations
• Redefining one’s thoughts about themselves and their ability to cope with stressful situations through self talk. •Getting support from friends, family and colleagues during stressful periods.
• Ensuring one achieves holistic wellness by taking responsibility for oneself, eating well, using relaxation techniques, exercising regularly, and being sensitive to one’s surroundings.

Other factors that affect performance

Results of a 40 year study by Ralph Goldman to explore the relationship between employee performance and the environment showed that factors like good ventilation, lighting, acoustics and indoor air conditioning could increase productivity by 6% (Kreitner 1998). The major factors that affect employee performance are:

• HRM Strategies: A strong causal link has been established between HRM and business performance by Patterson et al (1998).

Compared to other management practices like strategy and investment in research, human resource practices explained 18% of the variation in productivity. Job design: Challenging jobs with adequate levels of authority and responsibility stimulate the performance of employees.

• Employment Benefits and Rewards: Employees are motivated to perform effectively and efficiently to reap various benefits and rewards which include bonuses, medical coverage, recognition at the
  

work place, training and advancement opportunities and allowances.

Chapter Three

Research Methodology

Introduction

This chapter discusses the methods that were used to carry out the study; the research design, study area and population, sources of data, data collection methods, data quality control measures, data presentation and analysis methods, and the problems encountered and limitations of the study.

Research design

The study was co-relational so as to determine the relationship between work stress and performance among accountants.A cross-sectional design was adopted so all tasks and measures were applied on one occasion and not to over a period of time because the study sought to determine conditions as they were and not changes in the relationship between the variables over a period of time.

Study area and population of the study

Study area: The study was carried out in the central region of Uganda; in the districts of Kampala and Jinja.

Population of the study: A sample

of 100 accountants was chosen from organizations across various industries in the public and private sectors.Data collected from 86 respondents was used as 14 respondents did not return their questionnaires.

Sources of data Both primary and secondary sources of data were used

Primary: The chosen sample of accountants provided data in the form of self administered questionnaires that were distributed to them.

Secondary: Data was also obtained from existing literature i.e. pamphlets, journals, text books and the internet.

Data collection methods Two methods were applied in the collection of data: sampling and questionnaires.

Sampling: Accidental sampling was used for the purposes of this study.The time frame in which the study was conducted did not give allowance for random sampling techniques to be used and only respondents who were available were served questionnaires.

Questionnaires: Self administered questionnaires were used to gather data critical to the study.

The standardized questionnaire contained 50 close-ended questions and 5 open-ended questions in 3 categories to be answered on a four point scale i. e. ranging from Never to Sometimes to Often to Always. The categories explored were; work related stress, performance, and coping mechanisms. Questionnaires were delivered to and collected from selected respondents.

Data quality control Standardized questionnaires were used to ensure uniformity of possible responses and this was further enhanced by the use of primarily close-ended questions. A four point scale was used to maximize simplicity as a wider scale would have created ambiguity and confusion among respondents. Questions were weighted according to the significance of the factor under consideration.

This ensured that critical factors got appropriate recognition therefore giving more reliable results. 3. 6Data presentation and analysisData was presented in tables by frequency counts or scores and

percentages. It was then analyzed using correlation analysis and in particular, a combination of the CORREL and Pearson’s Rank Correlation Coefficient. The results of the study are presented and discussed in Chapter 5.

Problems and limitations

There was a non-response rate of 14%. It is possible that the results are biased away from respondents that did not return the questionnaires. The public sector contributed 55% of the respondents while the private sector provided 45%. The results may be biased toward the public sector.Cost constraints necessitated the reduction of the number of respondents from 200 which was the desired sample size to 100 which eventually became the sample size.

It may not be practical to extrapolate the results to all accountants in the region. Non-random sampling was used and the results are to a degree biased.

Chapter Four Discussion

Conclusion And Recommendation

Introduction

This chapter discusses the findings in relation to the objectives and existing literature. It also includes the conclusion and recommendations.

Bio data Of the 86 respondents, the majority was male, 30 to 40 years old, and married.

The respondents were from various organizations in both the public and private sectors and were accountants and accounting officers by virtue of their positions and their tasks and duties. Majority of the respondents worked for 30 to 60 hours a week.

Work Stress and Performance

The results showed that majority of the respondents felt that their jobs were boring, did not get adequate pay to match the work they did, their working conditions were poor, and they had many people at the workplace make excessive demands of them. These factors have been identified as some of the most significant organizational stressors (Luthans 1998).The respondents claimed to be

exhausted and indicated that they did not maintain social contact with their friends and colleagues, found difficulty relaxing, and were irritable and moody.

These signs have been associated with stress by many authors and researchers. The results showed that there was a moderately high correlation between work stress and performance among the respondents. This suggests that an increase in stress levels will lead to a significant drop in performance. These findings agree with Sanders (1983) who found that performance was optimal at moderate levels but reduced when stress levels were too low or too high.Jamal (1985) and Vroom (1964) also support the idea that “stress at any level reduces task performance by draining an individual’s energy, concentration and time. ” Work stress in moderately high and high levels among employees, as some respondents showed, is not the productive type that organizations desire; it does not improve the use of resources or enhance performance.

This type of stress disrupts relationships both at work and outside work, damages mental and physical health, and tarnishes one’s outlook on life. It is near impossible to be productive under such conditions.Up to 50% of the respondents were suffering from various stress related ailments and disorders like hypertension, ulcers, allergies, depression and anxiety. Newstrom et al (1997) has however cautioned that the signs and effects associated with stress may result from other conditions.

Work stress and Coping Mechanisms

The main coping strategies respondents used were exercise, relaxation and pursuit of spiritual and religious interests. These are both proactive and reactive and probably served to protect the respondents from very high stress levels.The results showed an insignificantly low negative correlation between work stress and coping mechanisms.

This might be attributed to personality factors like a hardy personality, a strong sense of commitment, an internal locus of control or the need to meet challenges in life.

McGuigan (1999) said that a stressor is an event that can be perceived as stressful by an individual; and therefore what is distressful for one individual may not be so for another. Majority of the respondents had moderate work stress results but they did not cope with their stress the same way, probably because their personalities differed.While some could have been suffering under the pressure, others may have considered conditions to be normal or simply challenging. Dennis Warren in an article in the Montana Lawyer said “it’s our attitude toward what we do and how we do it. It’s out perspective- how we see and experience the challenges and difficulties in our lives.

” Adults are believed to apply coping strategies at different levels as was suggested by Lazarus et al (1984) when they stated that “coping is constantly changing; involving cognitive and behavioral efforts applied to handle specific external and internal demands appraised as stressful. 5. 4Other Factors that affect Performance The results showed that financial constraints were the leading disincentives to accountants’ performance, followed by technology, Human Resource policies, and lastly organization culture. These have been cited by Kreitner (1998) as the major factors that affect employee performance.

Conclusion

In regard to the findings of the study, a conclusion can be drawn that;

1. There is a significantly moderate relationship between work stress and performance.Though some people may perform highly as they undergo moderately high and high levels of stress while others perform poorly in conditions of low stress,

it is more common for highly stressed people to perform poorly and vice versa.

2. There is no significant relationship between stress and coping mechanisms. Most accountants do not apply coping mechanisms basing on their stress levels or as a way of dealing with stress; they do it as part of their way of life.

Recommendation

Stress is a descriptive term used to cover conditions of a physical, biological, or psychological nature that typically cannot be controlled by people and therefore strain them beyond their powers to adapt (Gaillard et al 1994). Although majority of the respondents showed medium stress levels, accountants rarely recognize and admit that they are stressed until irreparable damage has been done. Wagner et al (1995) support this observation and mentioned that employees were afraid to admit that they could not overcome some of problems with their work tasks for fear of being labeled chronic complainers.

It is important for accountants to try and minimize work stress and its effects, and more so to be proactive rather than reactive in dealing with their stress. It has been found that performance suffers where stress exists and stress should therefore be checked to counter its effects and in particular, loss of productivity or poor performance. This should concern management of the organization as they strive for increased performance and employee productivity. Organization structure, culture and policies should be evaluated and restructured so as to be supportive to employees and the duties they have to undertake. Management should also evaluate the design of jobs, pay structures, HR policies and practices, the working environment and organization stress profile, and take appropriate steps to bring the organization to a stress

free state.

References:

1. Brian White, 2003. Dissertation Skills for Business and Management Students; Continuum.
2. Fred Luthans, 1998. Organizational Behavior, 8th Edition; Irwin/McGraw Hill.
3. G. A. Cole, 1997. Personnel Management, 4th Edition; Letts Educational, Aldine Place, London.
4. Gaillard A. W. K. and J. M. Seyvers, 1989. Sleep Loss and Sustained Performance; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Gareth Morgan, 1997. Images of Organization, 2nd Edition; Sage.
5. Ian Beardwell & Len Holden, 1997. Human Resource Management; A Contemporary Perspective, 2nd Edition; Pitman Publishing. •Jacques Barzun & Henry F. Graft, 1957. The Modern Researcher; Jacques Barzun.
6. Jamal M. , 1985. An article on “Relationship of Work stress to Job Performance: A Study of Managers and Blue-Collar Workers” published in Human Relations Vol. 38.
7. John A. Wagner III & John R. Hollenbeck, 1995. Management of Organizational Behavior, 2nd Edition; Prentice Hall Inc.
8. John W. Newstrom & Keith Davis, 1997.Organizational Behavior; Human Behavior at Work, 10th Edition; McGraw Hill.
9. Paul Hersey, Kenneth H. Blanchard & Dewey E. Johnson, 1969.
10. Management of Organizational Behavior; Utilizing Human Resources, 7th Edition; Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
11. Peter F. Drucker, 1999. Management Challenges of the 21st Century; Butterworth Heinemann.
12. Robert Kreitner, 1998. Management, 10th Edition; Houghton Mifflin Company, New York.
13. Rosemary Stewart, 1997. The Reality of Management, 3rd Edition; Butterworth Heinemann.
14. Selye H. , 1956. The Stress of Life; Mc-Graw Hill, New York.
15. Stephen P.Robbins & Mary Coulter, 1999. Management, 6th Edition; Prentice Hall Inc, New Jersey.
16. Laurie J. Mullins, 1996. Management and Organizational Behavior, 4th Edition; Pitman Publishing.
17. Vroom V. H. 1964. Work and Motivation; Wiley Press, New York.
18. Kworoba Elly, 2006/2007. Lecture Notes; Organizational Behavior; Faculty of Vocational Studies, Kyambogo University.
19. Mwasa Patrick, 2004/2005. Lecture Notes; Stress
    

and Stress Management; Faculty of Community Psychology, Makerere University.