© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link].

org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Impact of job Stress on Employee Performance:

A Study of Software Professionals in Kerala
ANU JOSSY JOY
Assistant Professor and Research Scholar in the Research and PG Department of Commerce, Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha,
Kerala, India.

Dr. G.S. GIREESH KUMAR

Principal, Henry Baker College, Melukavu and Research Guide, Research and PG Department of Commerce, Nirmala College,
Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India.

Abstract
Paradigm shift in the concept and context of work brought about remarkable changes in the work
world of the 21st century. Digital revolution in the form of continuous refinements in the IT world and IT
sector added more to this shift. Work today is no longer ‘result oriented’, it is ‘people oriented’. No place for
personal consideration and relations anywhere. Employees are evaluated on the basis of their performance
and contribution to the organization. In the struggle to prove themselves ‘fit’ for the job, workers are exposed
to magnified levels of stress and strain. Software professionals too are not an exception to the rule. They are
those agile technology workers functioning under dynamic technological environment, where the up
gradations are so fast and unpredictable. The present study evaluates the parameters that contribute to job
stress among software professionals in Kerala and assesses the impact of each of these dimensions on the
performance of the employees from a sample study of 438 software professionals. The study throws light to
the fact that sources of job stress are inversely related to job performance and role ambiguity exerts great
impact on job performance along with salary and rewards, fear of obsolescence and workload. Thus the study
calls for the alarming need to take policy actions from the part of the Government and IT companies to
mitigate the negative impact of job stress on the performance of Software professionals in Kerala.

Key Words: Digital revolution, Job stress, Software Professionals, Agile technology workers, Role
ambiguity, Fear of obsolescence.

Introduction

Acceleration of world trade through the broadening of cross border transactions and also through the
proliferation of digital revolution made continuous refinements in the work culture, work methodologies and
eventually the boundary between work place and home. The traditional ‘work around the clock’ concept has
subjected to a paradigm shift on account of alternative work timings and patterns of the twenty first century
work environment. Work today is ‘result oriented’ rather than ‘people oriented’. It is only the performance
that matters. In the struggle to manifest themselves as appropriate for the work, workers are exposed

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 694
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

to magnified levels of stress and health related problems. When work is denoted as the source of self
fulfillment in the past, it is an originator of stress, dissatisfaction and humiliation (Terkel, 1972 as cited in
Joshi, 1999) nowadays. Vast studies in the area of job stress recognized stress as an alarming
worldwide issue in many organizations, occupations, employees and employers (P. Misra & Srivastava,
2010). Stress is remarked as the ‘health epidemic of this century (Fink, 2016). It is universal, dangerous and
enduring (Parmar, Vyas, & Tapariya, 2011). Even a twenty first century typical worker is exposed to job
stress, then what about the professionals in the IT sector, so called ‘techies’, whose work is fully technology
oriented, requires logical and critical thinking, follows no work timings and adherence to predefined work
schedules?

Work in IT sector is distinctive that it has strong affiliation to the world market and is
commonly performed ‘virtually’ (Abraham, 2005; Ranjit & Mahespriya, 2012; Varghese, 2013). It
functions underneath 24x7 principle. Added to this, work in IT sector is project based and mostly performed
either at the individual level or at team level. Clients in international destinations particularly in America and
European countries, outsource giant chunk of their work with time deadlines to IT corporations in India.
IT industry paved the means for transformation of the Indian economy and changed the perception of
India within the worldwide economy. India's competitive advantage in value, that is three to four fold less
costly than the U.S., keeps its distinctive merchandising position in the international sourcing market. Most
of the ‘techies’ in the sector work for over eight hours per day and forty eight hours per week.
The industry is one amongst the key sectors powering the Kerala economy too. Kerala is one among the
highest Indian states with large pool of technical graduates in information technology and engineering
services. Majority of these graduates are employed in IT firms playing their jobs as software professionals.

Occupational stress and its impact on job performance

According to Selye, stress is “the non specific response of the body to any demand made upon it”
(Selye, 1976a, p.137). Stress refers to all the non specifically induced changes (Selye, 1976b) that may create
physiological, mental and behavioural reactions within a biological system. According to Ross and Altmeir
(1994, p.1) “the term stress is so ubiquitous that it is used as a noun when we talk about being under stress, as
a verb when events are stressing us and as an adjective, when we use the term - modern life has become
stressful”. Thus, the concept of stress is “multidimensional and composite, including emotion and arousal”
(Moal, 2007, p.3). Job stress is denoted as a mismatch between one’s aptitudes, capacities and demands of the
job and needs supplied by the job environment (French, Rogers, & Cobb, 1974). Excessive demands are the
product of individual’s interaction with the surroundings pinpointing that the individual isn't fully equipped
to handle a selected scenario (Jamal & Baba, 2000)

Software professionals are those agile technology workers functioning under dynamic technological
environment, where the upgradations are so fast and unpredictable. Job/work/occupational stress is prevalent

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 695
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

among software professionals in varying degrees (Ajala, 2011; Bhat, Shet, Nayanatara, & Ganaraja, 2014;
Ganesan, Mahalakshmy, & Kalaiselvan, 2011; Gautami & Anupama, 2016; Kumar & Siddique, 2011; A.
Misra, 2015). Review of literature showed that job stress is a growing concern (Altangerel, Ruimei, Elahi, &
Dash, 2015; Bickford, 2005; Damle, 2012; Mirela & Madalina-Adriana, 2011; Ngomani, 2015) for workers
in IT sector particularly those designated as software professionals. Job in IT sector is distinctive in the sense
that it requires high level of cognitive and technical skills (Carayon, Schoepke, Hoonakker, Haims, &
Brunette, 2006; Gallagher, Kaiser, Simon, Beath, & Goles, 2010; McMurtrey, Downey, Zeltmann, &
Friedman, 2008; Young, 2012). As an extreme difficult space of labour requiring high level of technical
skills, software professionals in the IT sector are exposed to several antecedents of stress like workload, time
pressure, demand, role ambiguity, skill variety, role conflict, strained workplace relationships, responsibility
towards the organization, keeping themselves updated with latest technological developments, job insecurity,
unfair reward system etc. (Bamba, 2016; Ibrahim, 2013; Jalagat, 2017; Karunanithy & Ponnampalam, 2013;
Lopes & Kachalia, 2016; Priya, 2016; Shahid, Latif, Sohail, & Ashraf, 1998; Varghese, 2013).

Studies report wide variety of sources through which stress originates. These sources include intrinsic
job stressors (Cooper & Marshall, 1976; Dua, 1994) namely workload (French & Caplan, 1972; Beehr &
Newman, 1978; Hendrix, Spencer & Gibson, 1994; Ivancevich, Matteson, & Preston, 1982; Sutherland &
Cooper, 2000), work pace (Kraan et al., 2014; O’Driscoll, Brough, Timms, & Sawang, 2010; Smith, Conway,
& Karsh, 1999), long working hours (Dhar & Bhagat, 2008; Ibtisam, Gichinga, & Ahmed, 2015; Kavanagh,
2005; Kumari, Joshy, & Pandey, 2014), shift work (Gerber, Hartmann, Brand, Holsboer-Trachsler, & Puhse,
2010; Phillips, Magan, Gerhardstein, & Cecil, 1991), time pressure Babu, Sathyanarayana, Ketharam, Kar,
& Detels, 2015; Ganapathi, 2014; Parasuraman & Alutto, 1981; Iyer, 2011), repetitive work ( Babu, 2012;
Guise, 1988; Johansson & Aronsson, 1984; Kornhauser, 1965; Mda, 2010), lack of autonomy ( Babu et al.,
2015; Hendrickson, 2007; Karasek & Theorell, 1990), poor working environment ( Dhar & Bhagat, 2008;
Mazumdar, Haloi, & Mazumdar, 2011; Routray & Satpathy, 2007; Siu, 2003), technological advancements
(Almanae, 2015; Bickford, 2005; Saidel & Cour, 2003; Tarafdar, Tu, & Ragu-Nathan, 2010), high level of
skills, unchallenging work (Dhar & Bhagat, 2008; Mathi & Malathi, 2016), lack interest and aptitude (Priya,
2016) and insufficient training (Krishnamurthy & Prabakaran, 2015; D. Menon, 2014; Sutherland & Cooper,
2000; ).

Other sources of stress in the organizational context include role stressors (Dobreva-Martinova,
Villeneuve, Strickland, & Matheson, 2002; Sudershan, 2012; Whisler, 2014), career advancement aspects
(David, 2014; Karunanithy & Ponnampalam, 2013; Rao & Chandraiah, 2012), job insecurity (Ashford, Lee,
& Bobko, 1989; Rajeswari & Anantharaman, 2003; Tarafdar, D’Arcy, Turel, & Gupta, 2015; Wilson, Larson,
& Stone, 1993), fear of obsolescence (Amoako, Gyamfi, Emmanuel, & Batola, 2017; Culmer, 2012;
Dwamena, 2012; Rajeswari & Anantharaman, 2003; Routray & Satpathy, 2007), frequent appraisals and
evaluations (Agarwal, Narayanan & Jain, 2014; Bisht, 2010; Defrank & Ivancevich, 1998; Ross & Altmeir,

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 696
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

1994; Sethi, King & Quick, 2004), unreasonable rewards (Chandra & Sharma, 2010; Ali, Raheem, Nawaz, &
Imamuddin, 2014; D. Menon, 2014), poor interpersonal relations (Kang & Singh, 2006; Keshavarz &
Mohammadi, 2011; Yang et al., 2015) and work life conflict (Qureshi, 2006; Ram, Kurpad, & Swaminathan,
2014). In addition organizational structure and climate (Cooper & Marshall, 1976; Kang & Singh, 2006;
Parker & Decotiis, 1983), level of employment (Cope, 2003; Lee, Foo, & Cunningham, 1995; Marinaccio et
al., 2013; Nydegger, 2011; Shah, 2003) and personality characteristics (Patel, 1992; Robbins, 1993) such as
locus of control (Chen & Silverthorne, 2008) and personality type (Batigun & Sahin, 2006; P. Menon &
Natesan, 2012; Sivakumar, 2012) also have a bearing on the magnitude of stress confronted by employees.

Job performance is defined as the execution of a particular activity, the attainment of which is to be
appraised in terms of pre-defined benchmarks of accuracy, completeness, economy and speed (Bierbusse &
Siesfeld, 1997). Job performance can be considered as “an activity in which an individual is able to accomplish
successfully the task/goal assigned to him, subject to the normal constraint of the reasonable utilisation of
available resources” (Jamal, 1984, p.2).

Job stress is often described as closely associated with performance and have serious implications on
individual and organizational performance. Stressed employees are most probably unhealthy, poorly
motivated, less productive and less safe at work (Goswami, 2015; Lopes & Kachalia, 2016; Park, 2007).
Sources of job stress contribute to reduced job satisfaction, reduced quality of labour, high worker’s turnover,
absenteeism, reduced worker overall performance and reduced organizational performance. Too much stress
is clearly evidenced by a substantial decline in performance and organizational effectiveness (Borucki, 1987;
Welford, 1973). The relation of stress to job performance or the impact of occupational stress on performance
is a topic of academic interest over the years. A negative relation between stress and performance was proved
in various sectors of the society such as banking industry (Kakkos & Trivellas, 2011; Shahriari, Meyvand,
Koolivand, & Maleki, 2013; Shaikh, Akram, Rizwan, Kousar, & Malik, 2013), hospital industry (Kazmi,
Amjad, & Khan, 2008; Nabirye, 2010), hotel industry (Olaniyi, 2013), high tech industries (Hsieh, Huang, &
Su,2004), business (Dar, Akmal, Naseem, & Khan, 2011) and educational sector (Riyadi, 2015; Suandi,
Ismail, & Othman, 2014). The result of these studies highlight that too much work stress impairs job
performance. However, some studies observed no impact of sources of job stress on job performance
(Dissanayaka, 2014; Manderson, 2014; Manzoor, Awan , & Mariam, 2012).

Research Gap and Objectives

Though there are plenty of literature that explored the sources of job stress and its impact on job
performance in various sectors of the economy, similar studies among software professionals in the IT
industry are scant in the literature and no such study have been found to be undertaken in the State of Kerala
in India. It is essential that the software companies and the government must understand how job stress
impacts the performance of the professionals in the sector for taking adequate measures to reduce the ill effects

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 697
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

of stress. This study aims to fill the void in the literature by identifying which aspects of job stress impacts
the performance of software professionals and hence the study is quite relevant and timely from the point of
view of both academic and IT industry. The study attempts to address the following research question. What
are the sources of job stress among software professionals in Kerala and whether these dimensions have effect
on job performance. Based on the above research question, the specific objective of the study was to explore
the sources of job stress and to assess the impact of these dimensions on job performance among software
professionals in Kerala.

Materials and Methods

The study is empirical in nature and survey method has been used to collect primary data. Software
professionals working in the IT sector of Kerala form the population of the study. The respondents were
identified in different stages. As the first stage of sample selection, IT parks in Kerala set up by the government
of Kerala such as Technopark (Trivandum - pioneering IT park in India), Infopark (Kochi) and Cyberpark
(Kozhikode) were selected due to the concentration of IT companies in the area and they clearly portray the
IT work environment and culture. So, as a second stage, 56 companies from Kerala, which were registered
with NASSCOM as on 1st March 2017, having offices in the selected IT parks of Kerala were identified. Out
of these 56 companies, 42 companies were selected by simple random sampling method.

In the third stage, software professionals from these companies with minimum one year of experience
were selected as samples. Employees less than one year of experience were excluded because “they may have
additional stress on account of adjusting to a new firm, working fulltime after being a student etc. and they
may not have adequate exposure to the software development process” (Rajeswari & Anantharaman, 2003).
Thus a total of 1,150 questionnaires were distributed and 438 usable responses were received. The
questionnaire was pilot tested on 51 respondents.

Measurement of Sources of Job Stress and Performance

An exploratory qualitative study was made among 25 software professionals in Kerala to gain
insights about the key dimensions of sources of job stress. Professionals evaluated various dimensions framed
on the basis of extensive literature review. Based on the review of literature and qualitative study, 34 items
were finally identified to measure the sources of job stress among software professionals in Kerala and they
are exhibited in Table 1. The responses were observed on a five point Likert scale from “Strongly Agree” (5)
to “Strongly Disagree’’.

Table 1 Measures on Sources of Job Stress

Code Items
SS1 On account of heavy workload I have to work overtime rather than the normal working hours
SS2 I feel pressure to a certain extent due to heavy workload

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 698
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

SS3 I have to struggle hard to complete the assigned tasks as per specifications
SS4 I do not have enough time to complete the assigned tasks
SS5 Serving clients in different time zones increase my time pressure
SS6 I am confused as to what new technology to learn and not to learn
SS7 My current knowledge and skills will be outdated in the near future
SS8 I am concerned about the present retrenchment policies of the company
SS9 I am afraid of compulsory layoff from my company at any time

SS10 There is a possibility in my company to replace an experienced professional hand with a fresh professional as
a cost reduction strategy
SS11 Communication gaps and chaos hinder better work relations
SS12 Unclear and changing client requirements create unhealthy relation with them
SS13 Frequent modifications as per changing client requirements cause a lot of hardships in the relationship
SS14 I have a clear idea regarding how the work is to be done **
SS15 I know exactly what is expected of me **
SS16 Explanation is clear about what has to be done in my job **
SS17 I do not get enough time to spend with my family members
SS18 I am not able to switch off at home
SS19 My job makes it difficult for me to enjoy free time outside work
SS20 I have no time for my hobbies/personal interests
SS21 My work demands high level of logical skills and expertise
SS22 My job requires continuous guidance, monitoring and evaluation
SS23 I have to exert greater level of attentiveness and patience every moment
SS24 My job compels me to work fast
SS25 I do not get enough appreciation on a work well done
SS26 Prospects for promotion and career growth are not clearly defined within the organization
SS27 There are no standardised procedures in the company to evaluate employee performance
Rivalries and lack of trust among professionals hinder career growth and development
SS28
SS20 Promotions are based on irrational considerations other than performance
SS30 My pay is poor compared to those of people in other companies with similar qualifications
SS31 I am not fairly rewarded according to my performance
SS32 Bonuses and allowances are insufficient to meet my needs
SS33 I will be given a fair hearing when I appeal **
SS34 The management takes prudent action upon grievances reported **

**Reverse coded statements

Performance is a multidimensional construct which forms organizational goal directed behaviours and
actions (Mccloy, Campbell, & Cudeck, 1994). So, multi item measures were used to capture the job
performance of software professionals in Kerala. The employee performance is examined in terms of overall
performance measured through 30 items captured on a five point Likert scale from “Strongly Agree”(5) to
“Strongly Disagree” (1) as given in Table 2.

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 699
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Table 2 Measures of Job Performance

Code Items
JP1 I work overtime to complete my projects
JP2 I acquire new skills and update myself to the latest developments in Technology

JP3 I exhibit punctuality on all job related matters

JP4 I work closely with others in doing in my work
JP5 I voluntarily help new employees to settle in their jobs
JP6 My office hours are not wasted in loose talks
JP7 I do not take unnecessary off from work
JP8 I do not take undeserved work breaks
JP9 I am able to follow a methodical approach in understanding and solving problems
JP10 Prior intimation is given to authorities on absence
JP11 Work done by me is usually free from errors
JP12 I have never been asked to redo the work
JP13 I complete the work within the stipulated time
JP14 Often I fail to attain my targets **
JP15 I am able to get promotions/ salary hike based on my work performance
JP16 I perform the assigned tasks to the best of my abilities
JP17 My response to client requirements is quick
JP18 I am able to understand the specific project demands very fast
JP19 I am able to work with and manage different groups/clients simultaneously

JP20 I am able to win the confidence of my higher ups to discharge whatever tasks assigned
to me
JP21 I am confident to perform any tasks related to my job
JP22 Once the task is assigned, I will perform it without being asked to do
JP23 I always handle tasks with proficiency
JP24 I always apply the best methods for doing work
JP25 I sacrifice important part of my work due to schedule pressure **
JP26 I put forward new ideas and suggestions for improving team performance
JP27 I have never given any excuse in the execution of assigned tasks
JP28 I am updated with new developments in technology to execute any assigned task
JP29 I am able to create solutions which are elegant and simple
JP30 I am able to get top scores on my performance feedback

** Reverse coded statements

Sample Profile

Out of the total sample of 438, 62 per cent were males and 38 per cent were females. This is consistent
with the findings of past studies (Abraham, 2005, M. A. Prasad, et al., 2014; Ramesh, Joseph, Kiran, Kurian
& Babu, 2016; Rashidi & Jalbani, 2009) that males constitute more than ½ of the workforce in the sector.
Representation of unmarried and married employees were 51 and 49 per cent respectively. 42 per cent of the
employees fall in the age group 26 - 30 years. 23 per cent have below 25 years of age and remaining 35 per
cent are of above 30 years of age. Consistent with the findings of Babu et al. (2015) and Ramesh et al. (2016),

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 700
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

the present study also found that large portion of software employees fall in 26 - 30 years of age. Graduates
account for 58 per cent and postgraduates, 42 per cent. Around 70 per cent earn a monthly income up to
Rs.50,000.

Analysis on work characteristics indicates that majority of the professionals are from large (above 500
employees) and medium sized companies (100-500 employees). Respondents from small companies account
for only 19 per cent (below 100 employees). Half of the respondents perform middle level software jobs.
Above 70 per cent, work for more than 8 to 10 hours. Finding of the study corroborates the findings of Bastian
and Vivekanandan (2014) that most of the software professionals work for more than 8 hours per day. Besides,
more than 70 per cent have experience up to 3 and > 3 - 6 years. Very few are working in the
company/industry over a period of 9 years.

Exploratory Factor Analysis

Exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis (PCA) was performed with the
stipulation that the eigen value of each generated factor is more than1. EFA was conducted on 34 measures
of sources of job stress and 30 measures of job performance. Correlation matrix assessed the suitability of the
data for factor analysis, and found enough correlation between the measures. The Kaiser-Meyer-Oklin value
reached 0.891 (sources of job stress) and 0.913 (job performance), which was considered meritorious
according to Kaiser. The significance level of Barlett’s test of sphericity was extremely small (0.000),
supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix. Communalities of the 34 measures on sources of job
stress ranged from 0.511 to 0.722 and 30 measures of job performance, from 0.502 to 0.714.

As presented in Table 3, PCA revealed the presence of 11 components for the sources of job stress
that altogether explained 56.97% of the variance. After compressing the data to eleven components, Varimax
rotation was performed and the rotated factors with their item constituents and factor loadings are also given
in Table 2. Each of the eleven factors were suitably labelled based on the characteristics of the composing
measures.

Table 3 Rotated Component Matrixa - Sources of Job Stress

Dimensions Code Mean SD Factor Eigen Cronbach’s
loadings Value Alpha
SS25 3.14 1.11 0.594
SS26 3.27 1.08 0.621
Appraisal and 3.12 1.15
SS27 0.669 9.07 0.807
Promotion Issues
SS28 3.25 1.04 0.684
SS29 3.08 1.04 0.569
SS17 3.20 1.16 0.676
Work life collision 3.08 0.835
SS18 3.20 1.11 0.624

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 701
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

SS19 3.21 1.17 0.641

SS20 3.09 1.17 0.648
SS1 3.88 1.05 0.700
Workload SS2 3.64 1.13 0.744 2.44 0.719
SS3 4.10 0.85 0.540
SS21 4.27 0.73 0.711
SS22 4.16 0.84 0.735
Cognitive and other
1.96 0.753
demands SS23 4.14 0.73 0.658
SS24 4.01 0.84 0.604
SS8 3.50 0.95 0.753
Job insecurity SS19 3.18 1.13 0.764 1.67 0.699
SS10 3.36 1.14 0.622
SS11 3.96 0.94 0.580
Strained relations SS12 3.66 1.06 0.805 1.45 0.682
SS13 3.82 0.95 0.793
SS14 3.86 0.80 0.805
Role ambiguity SS15 3.89 0.82 0.830 1.39 0.727
SS16 3.63 0.91 0.724
SS6 3.43 1.08 0.656
Fear of obsolescence 1.29 0.667
SS7 3.43 1.14 0.610
SS30 3.43 1.09 0.729
Salary and Rewards SS31 3.34 1.05 0.764 1.19 0.773
SS32 3.50 1.11 0.701
Grievance redressal SS33 3.38 0.89 0.617
1.08 0.756
mechanism SS34 3.37 0.89 0.584
SS4 3.36 1.02 0.548
Time pressure 1.03 0.697
SS5 3.42 1.03 0.632

EFA using PFA was performed on 30 measures of job performance which altogether explained
57.56% of the variance. Rotation revealed the presence of eight components. After reducing the data to eight
components, Varimax rotation was performed and the rotated factors and their item constituents which were
suitably labelled based on the characteristics of the composing measures are given in Table 4.

Table 4 Descriptive Statistics on Constructs of Job Performance

Mean Eigen Cronbach’s
Factor label Items SD
Values Values Alpha
JP17, JP18,JP19,
Work Efficiency 3.79 0.55 9.45 0.798
JP20,JP21,JP27
Personal Resourcefulness JP23,JP24, 3.79 0.56 1.93 0.781

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 702
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

JP26,JP28, JP29
JP5,JP7,JP8,
Self Reported Responsibility 3.91 0.56 1.65 0.735
JP10,JP16,JP22
Timeliness JP3, JP6, JP9 3.77 0.62 1.34 0.717
Output Quality JP11,JP12,JP13 3.58 0.66 1.29 0.745
Result Orientation JP1,JP2, JP4 3.88 0.63 1.22 0.725
Professional Competence JP14, JP25 3.05 0.79 1.09 0.689
Performance Feedback JP15, JP30 3.52 0.74 1.01 0.692
Overall Job Performance 30 3.80 0.42 9.45 0.901

In the study, Cronbach’s coefficient of alpha for all factors on sources of job stress except time
pressure, fear of obsolescence, job insecurity and strained relations are well above 0.70 and the alpha
coefficient of time pressure (0.697), fear of obsolescence (0.667), job insecurity (0.699) and strained relations
(0.682) is much higher than 0.60 (Hair, Black, Babin, & Anderson, 2015) and is very close to the required
minimum of 0.70 (Nunnally, 1978). As regards job performance is considered, alpha coefficients for work
efficiency, personal resourcefulness, self reported responsibility, timeliness, output quality and result
orientation are much higher than 0.70, the norm fixed by Nunnally (1978). However, in respect of professional
competence (0.689) and performance feedback (0.692), the values are just below 0.70. Eventhough it is less
than 0.70, it is very close to 0.70 and much higher than 0.60 as indicated by Hair et al. (2015), Loewenthal
(2001) and Sekaran (2003). Reliability score of overall job performance is 0.901.

Regression Analysis

Stepwise multiple regression analysis is performed to assess the degree of impact of various sources
of job stress (predictor variables) on job performance (dependant variable). Multi-collinearity is indicated
when Tolerance value is below 0.20 and VIF is more than 5 in a regression model. Tolerance value ranges
from 0.816 to 0.952 and VIF from 1.096 to 1.226 for all the predictor variables. Therefore, there is no reported
problem of collinearity. Auto correlation is calculated using Durbin-Watson test. As the value lies between
1.5 and 2.5, there is no autocorrelation between the variables and are found to be independent observations.
Summary of the multiple regression analysis along with R2 and adjusted R2 values are indicated in Table 5.

Table 5
Results of Regression Model
Adjusted Collinearity
R2 Beta(β) t-value Sig.
Model R2 Statistics VIF
Tolerance
(Constant) 14.99 0.000*
Role Ambiguity -0.456 -10.58 0.000* 0.952 1.050
Salary and Rewards 0.487 0.237 -0.123 -2.67 0.008* 0.842 1.118
Fear of Obsolescence -0.110 -2.36 0.019* 0.816 1.226
Workload -0.102 -2.32 0.021* 0.912 1.096

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 703
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Predictors (constant): RA, SaR, FO and WL Dependent Variable: Job Performance

(*Significance at 5 per cent level)
As per Table 5, R value is 0.487. R2 value is 0.237 and the adjusted R2 value is 0.230. Adjusted
R2 score indicates the per cent of total variation explained by all the predictor variables. β value for Role
ambiguity -0.456 (t = -10.58), Salary and rewards -0.125 (t = -2.67), Fear of obsolescence -0.110 (t = -2.36)
and Workload -0.102 (t = -2.32) are significant at 5 per cent level (p < 0.05). In respect of other eight sources
of job stress such as appraisal and promotion issues, work-life collision, job insecurity, time pressure, strained
relations, cognitive and other demands and grievance redressal mechanism, t-values are not significant at 5
per cent significance level (p > 0.05). The impact of sources of job stress on the overall job performance of
software professionals in Kerala is given in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Impact of Sources of Job Stress on Job Performance

Role Ambiguity

-0.456
Salary and Rewards
-0.123 Job Performance
-0.110
Fear of Obsolescence
-0.102

Workload

Discussions and Managerial Implications

Out of the eleven sources of job stress, four sources of job stress were emerged as the predictors of
job performance. Considering the impact of each of the predictor variables on job performance, β is highest
for role ambiguity (-0.456). Therefore it is emerged as the strongest predictor of job performance followed by
salary and rewards, fear of obsolescence and workload. All these sources of job stress have significant
negative impact on job performance of software professionals in Kerala. This calls for the need to pay special
attention to these four dimensions of job stress. As a way to enhance the job performance of software
professionals, efforts should be made to reduce the extent of these sources of job stress as far as possible.

Clear definition of the roles and due delegation of authority for executing the same may help to reduce
role ambiguity. There should be proper flow of information from the senior level to the middle and lower
levels. Changes in client requirements and specifications should be communicated in time. If the work is of
sequential in nature, there should also be clarity on what one should do in the absence of the other professional

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 704
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

without delaying the completion time. It is a fact that global economic recession slowed down the IT industry
and that companies are following the strategy of cost advantage. This advantage is usually attained by cutting
down employee benefits or through implementing new retrenchment policies. Even though performance based
appraisal systems are practiced by many companies, appraisals may be either biased or not systematic. Proper
monitoring should be made at all levels to ensure that the professionals are not exploited and are given
reasonable salary and other emoluments. A minimum pay scale and payment structure should be developed
for the entire IT industry considering mode of operations, size of the company and its profitability. Profit
sharing and stock option schemes can be efficiently implemented along with the performance based appraisal
system.

Fear of obsolescence negatively impacts job performance. Companies provide induction or orientation
training at the start of one’s career. After that it is the responsibility of the employee to acquire additional
talents. Skill sets vary from project to project. They are confused about what technology to learn and not to
learn. So, they should be given proper guidance for the timely acquisition of skills and the proper development
of the skills. Assignment of tasks in accordance with the tastes and talents of the employees will make them
proficient in that area. Moreover, job enrichment by changing the job content and providing challenging tasks
and opportunities to the professionals at middle and entry levels with added responsibilities help in eliminating
the fear of obsolescence.

Workload is also found to have a negative impact on job performance. There is a possibility that
neurological capabilities such as concentration, reflex actions, speed and tolerance level declines with increase
in age. So age can be considered as a decisive factor while assigning duties. Relaxation programmes such as
indoor and outdoor games, yoga and meditation can be recommended to the employees. Further, strict
measures should be taken to ensure that the employees are not working for more than 8 hours per day. The
industry is out of the purview of the Factories Act. Policies should be implemented by the government to
ensure that no one works for more than more than 8 hours per day even on compulsion. Authorities may even
think about developing a separate Act catering to the IT Industry for safeguarding the interests of employees.
They should be provided with sufficient work breaks and off days. Short breaks after every 2 hours of working,
off days after completion of each stage of the project may also be tried to reduce stress and enhance
performance.

Limitations and scope for further research

The study focused on those companies situated at Infopark, Technopark and Cyberpark which were
registered with NASSCOM and was confined to software professionals alone. Other areas in the IT industry
and companies outside the three technology parks have been excluded from the study. Therefore, special care
should be taken while generalising the findings of the study. The low R square reported by the current research
to predict job performance represents an important limitation. Hence, there is a need to search for additional

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 705
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

measures and constructs that will improve the predictive power of the model. The study was more qualitative
in nature. Additional research efforts are needed to evaluate the performance of software professionals
quantitatively which would improve the validity of the findings.

Future research can be made to replicate the present study in the entire IT industry incorporating the
ITeS and Hardware sector also. A holistic study of IT companies in Kerala can also be made by selecting
employees from various IT companies all over Kerala and there is a scope for comparative study among
professionals working at technology parks and outside. It is also possible to make a study of similar type
among professionals from Kerala who work abroad, to understand the influence of culture and the impact of
global economic trends on job stress and employee performance in IT industry. The impact of each of the
sources of job stress on each of the dimensions of job performance can be thought of.

Concluding remarks

The study explored the sources of job stress among software professionals in Kerala and found that
the job performance of the software professionals is dependent on role ambiguity, salary and rewards, fear of
obsolescence and workload. Recent study reports focus on the aggravating problem of occupational stress
among the professionals. In this situation, IT companies cannot afford to under estimate the importance of
keeping an eye on these dimensions of job stress in an attempt to enhance individual and organizational
performance. If it happens so, it will be a great curse to the Indian economy in terms of the overall investment
and return from the blue chip sector, ‘IT sector’.

References

Abraham, V. (2005). Labour Productivity and Employment in the Indian Information and
Communication Technology Sector. (Doctoral Thesis). Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi, India. Retrieved from Proquest Dissertations and Theses Database. (UMI
No.3726620)
Agarwal, M., Narayanan, S., & Jain, A. V. (2014). Career Growth Demands as a Factor of
Stress in Working Women in Delhi-NCR- An empirical study. Asian Journal of Research
in Business Economics and Management, 4(8), 179–193.
Ajala, E. B. (2011). Work-related Stress among Librarians and Information Professionals in
a Nigerian University. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-Journal), 450. Retrieved from
[Link]
Ali, W. U., Raheem, A. R., Nawaz, A., & Imamuddin, K. (2014). Impact of Stress on Job
Performance: An Empirical Study of the Employees of Private Sector Universities of
Karachi, Pakistan. Research Journal of Management Sciences, 3(7), 14–17. Retrieved
from [Link] /document/336138984/12-Impact-of-Stress-on-Job-
Performance-An-Empirical-study-of-the-Employees-printed-pdf
Almanae, M. (2015). Work Stress and its Effect on Performance. American Journal of
Business, Economics and Management, 3(4), 185–192.

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 706
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Altangerel, O., Ruimei, W., Elahi, E., & Dash, B. (2015). Investigating the Effect of Job Stress
on Performance of Employees. International Journal of Scientific & Technology
Research, 4(2), 276–280. Retrieved from [Link]
print/feb2015/Investigating-The-Effect-Of-Job-Stress-On-Performance-Of-
[Link]
Amoako, E. P., Gyamfi, O. A., Emmanuel, A. K., & Batola, D. (2017). The Effect of
Occupational stress on Job performance at ASPET A. Cpmpany Limited. Global Journal
of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(8), 1–17.
Ashford, S., Lee, C., & Bobko, P. (1989). Content, causes and consequences of Job
Insecurity: A theory-based measure and substantive test. Academy of Management
Journal, 32(4), 803–829.
Babu, G. R. (2012). Prevalence of Job Stress, General Health Profile and Hypertension
among Professionals in the Information Technology Sector in Bengaluru, India.
(Doctoral Thesis). University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Retrieved from
[Link] uc/item/3137m5hh%0D
Babu, G. R., Sathyanarayana, T. N., Ketharam, A., Kar, S. B., & Detels, R. (2015). Perceived
Occupational Stressors and the Health Software Professionals in Bengaluru, India. The
Qualitative Report, 20(3), 314–335. Retrieved from
[Link]
=[Link]
Bamba, M. (2016). Stress Management and Job Performance in the Industries Sector of
Mali. Journal of Service Science and Management, 9(6), 189–194.
[Link]
Batigun, A. D., & Sahin, N. H. (2006). Type A Personality and Job Satisfaction : Two Scales
for Job Stress and Health Psychology Research. Turkish Journal of Psychiatry, 17(1),
1–13. Retrieved from [Link]
A_Personality_and_Job_
Satisfaction_Two_Scales_for_Job_Stress_and_Health_Psychology_Research
Beehr, T. A., & Newman, J. E. (1978). Job Stress, Employee Health and Organizational
Effectiveness: A Facet Analysis, Model and Literature Review. Personnel Psychology,
31(4), 665–699. [Link]
Bhat, R., Shet, P., Nayanatara, A., & Ganaraja, B. (2014). Evaluation of Stress in
Professional Life and Other Factors among Young Technology Professionals in South
India. International Journal of Applied Biology and Pharmaceutical Technology, 5(4),
172–177.
Bickford, M. (2005). Stress in the Workplace: A General Overview of the Causes, the Effects
and the Solutions. Newfoundland. Retrieved from [Link]
content/uploads/ 2017/04/[Link]
Bierbusse, P., & Siesfeld, T. (1997). Measures that Matter. Journal of Strategic Performance
Measurement, 1(2), 6–11.
Bisht, N. S. (2010). Trade Unions in Indian IT Industry? An Employee’s Perspective. Indian
Journal of Industrial Relations, 46(2), 220–228. [Link]
Borucki, Z. (1987). Perceived Organizational Stress, Emotions and Negative consequences
of stress: Global Self-esteem and Sense of Interpersonal competence as Moderator
variables. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 18(3), 139–148.

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 707
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Carayon, P., Schoepke, J., Hoonakker, P. L. T., Haims, M. C., & Brunette, M. (2006).
Evaluating Causes and Consequences of Turnover Intention among IT workers: The
Development of a Questionnaire Survey. Behaviour & Information Technology, 25(5),
381–397. [Link]
Chandra, A., & Sharma, B. R. (2010). Predictors of Occupational Stress : An Exploratory
Study. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 46(2), 300–312.
Chen, J., & Silverthorne, C. (2008). The impact of Locus of Control on Job Stress, Job
Performance and Job Satisfaction in Taiwan. Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, 29(7), 572–582. [Link]
Cooper, C. L., & Marshall, J. (1976). Occupational Sources of Stress: A Review of the
Literature Relating to Coronary Heart Disease and Mental Ill Health. Journal of
Occupational Psychology, 49(1), 11–28. [Link]
8325.1976.tb00325.x
Cope, C. M. (2003). Occupational Stress, Strain and Coping in a Professional Accounting
Organization. (Master’s Thesis). University of South Africa, South Africa. Retrieved from
[Link]
Culmer, N. P. (2012). I.T. Changes: An Exploration of the Relationship between Motivation,
Trust and Resistance to Change in Information Technology. (Doctoral Thesis). Lowa
University, Lowa, USA. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database.
(UMI No.3526805)
Damle, R. (2012). Employee Performance A function of Occupational Stress and Coping: A
Study on Central Government Employees. (Doctoral Thesis). Padmashree Dr. D. Y.
Patil University. Retrieved from [Link]
content/uploads/2015/11/ Employee-Performance-a-Function-of-Occupational-Stress-
[Link]
Dar, L., Akmal, A., Naseem, M. A., & Khan, K. U. D. (2011). Impact of Stress on Employee’s
Job Performance in Business Sector of Pakistan. Global Journal of Management and
Business Research, 11(6), 1–5.
David, K. J. (2014). Effects of Occupational Stress on Job Performance among Public
Primary School Teachers in Kuresoi Sub County, Nakuru County. (Master’s Thesis).
Kabarak University, Kenya. Retrieved from
[Link]
Defrank, R. S., & Ivancevich, J. M. (1998). Stress on the job : An Executive Update. The
Academy of Management Executive, 12(3), 55–66. Retrieved from
[Link]
Dhar, R. L., & Bhagat, M. (2008). Job Stress, Coping Process and Intentions to Leave. Delhi
Business Review, 9(1), 41–54.
Dissanayaka, M. C. (2014). The Impact of Occupational Stress on Job Performance of
Trendy Wear(Pvt.) Ltd. (Bachelor’s Thesis). Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Sri
Lanka. Retrieved from [Link]
occupational-stress-and-its-effects-on-job-performance-of-trendy-wear
Dobreva-Martinova, T., Villeneuve, M., Strickland, L., & Matheson, K. (2002). Occupational
Role stress in the Canadian Forces: Its association with Individual and Organizational
well-being. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 34(2), 111–121.

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 708
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Dua, J. K. (1994). Job Stressors and their Effects on Physical health, Emotional health and
job satisfaction in a University. Journal of Educational Administartion, 32(1), 59–78.
Dwamena, M. A. (2012). Stress and its Effects on Employees Productivity-A Case Study of
Ghana Ports and Habours Authority,Takoradi. Retrieved from
[Link] 4835/1/Mark A. [Link]
Fink, G. (2016). Stress, Definitions, Mechanisms and Effects Outlined: Lessons from
Anxiety. In G. Fink (Ed.), Handbook of Stress Series (pp. 3–11). San Diego, USA:
Elsevier Inc.
French, J. R. P. J., & Caplan, R. D. (1972). Organizational Stress and Individual strain. In
A. J. Marrow (Ed.), The Failure of Success. New York: AMACOM.
French, J. R. P. J., Rogers, W., & Cobb, S. (1974). Adjustment as a Person-Environment
Fit. In G. V Coelho, D. A. Hamburg, & J. F. Adams (Eds.), Coping and adaptation:
Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 30–66). New York: Basic Books.
Gallagher, K. P., Kaiser, K. M., Simon, J. C., Beath, C. M., & Goles, T. (2010). The Requisite
Variety of skills for IT professionals. Communications of the ACM, 53(6), 144–148.
[Link] 10.1145/1743546.1743584
Ganapathi, R. (2014). Impact of Stress on Professional Women Entrepreneurs. Journal of
Management Research and Analysis, 1(1), 42–56.
Ganesan, S., Mahalakshmy, T., & Kalaiselvan, G. (2011). Occupation Related Health
Hazards: Online Survey among Software Engineers of South India. Indian Journal of
Medical Specialities, 2(1), 77–78. [Link]
Garson, G. D. (2010). Multiple Regression. Retrieved from
[Link] [Link]
Gautami, S., & Anupama, T. (2016). Organizational Stressors and Occupational Stress of
Software Professionals in India. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 3(3),
83–88.
Gerber, M., Hartmann, T., Brand, S., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Puhse, U. (2010). The
relationship between Shift Work, Perceived Stress, Sleep and Health in Swiss Police
Offi cers. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(6), 1167–1175.
[Link]
Goswami, T. G. (2015). Job Stress and Its Effect on Employee Performance in Banking
Sector. Indian Journal of Commerce & Management Studies, 6(2), 51–57.
Guise, M. T. (1988). Test of Hackman and Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model in a Post
Secondary Educational Setting. (Master’s Thesis). Brock University, Ontarion, Canada.
Retrieved from
[Link]
?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Tatham, R. L. (2015). Multivariate
Data Analysis (7th ed.). Noida, India: Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd
Hendrickson, J. J. (2007). An Analysis of the Relationship between Gender, Job
Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Occupational Stress Levels. (Master’s
Thseis). Emporia State University, Emporia, USA. Retrieved from ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses Database. (UMI No.1446416)
Hendrix, W. H., Spencer, B. A., & Gibson, G. S. (1994). Organizational and

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 709
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

extraorganizational factors affecting stress, employee well-being, and absenteeism for

males and females. Journal of Business and Psychology, 9(2), 103–128.
[Link]
Hsieh, H., Huang, L.-C., & Su, K. (2004). Work Stress and Job Performance in the Hi-Tech
Industry: A Closer View for Vocational Education. World Transactions on Engineering
and Technology Education, 3(1), 147–150.
Ibrahim, N. A. B. (2013). the Effects of Worker Stress on the Job Performance in Electronic
Manufacturing. (Bachelor’s Thesis). University of Malaysia, Pahang. Retrieved from
[Link] %40 [Link]
Ibtisam, M. A., Gichinga, L., & Ahmed A.H. (2015). Effects of Workplace Stress on Employee
Performance in the County Governments in Kenya: A Case Study of Kilifi County
Government. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 5(10), 2250–
3153. Retrieved from [Link]
Ivancevich, J. M., Matteson, M. T., & Preston, C. (1982). Occupational Stress, Type A
Behaviour and Physical Well Being. The Academy of Management Journal, 25(2), 373–
391. [Link] 10.2307/255998
Iyer, V. V. (2011). Understanding Turnover Intentions and Behavior of Indian Information
System’s Professionals: A study of Organizational Justice, Job Satisfaction and Social
Norms. (Doctoral Thesis). University of Missouri – St. Louis. Retrieved from ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses Database. (UMI No. 3489449

Jalagat, R. (2017). Determinants of Job Stress and its Relationship on Employee Job
Performance. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 2(1), 1–10.
[Link] [Link].20170201.11
Jamal, M. (1984). Job Stress and Job Performance Controversy : An Empirical Assessment.
Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 33(1), 1–21.
Jamal, M., & Baba, V. V. (2000). Job Stress and Burnout Among Canadian Managers and
Nurses: An Empirical Examination. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 91(6), 454–458.
Retrieved from [Link]
Johansson, G., & Aronsson, G. (1984). Stress Reactions in Computerised Administrative
Work. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 5(3), 159–181.
Joshi, C. P. (1999). A Study of Stress and Burnout (1st ed.). Jaipur, Rajasthan, India:
Printwell Publishers and Distributors.
Kaiser, H. F. (1974). An Index of Factorial Simplicity. Psychometrika, 39(1), 31–36.
Kakkos, N., & Trivellas, P. (2011). Investigating the Link between Motivation, Work stress
and Job Performance. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Enterprise
Systems, Accounting and Logistics (pp. 408–428). 10-12 July 2011. Thassos, Greece.
Retrieved from
[Link]
_motivation_work_stress_and_job_performance_Evidence_from_the_banking_industr
y
Kang, L. S., & Singh, R. (2006). Stress at Work : An Assessment of the Magnitude of Various
Organizational Stressors. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 42(2), 190–202.
Retrieved from [Link]

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 710
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Karasek, R. A., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy Work: Stress Productivity and the
Reconstruction of Working Life. New York: Basic Books.
Karunanithy, K., & Ponnampalam, A. (2013). A Study on the Effect of Stress on Performance
of Employees in Commercial Bank of Ceylon in the Eastern Province. European Journal
of Business and Management, 5(2), 87–96. [Link]
Kavanagh, J. (2005). Stress and performance. A review of the literature and its applicability
to the military. Santa Monica, Canada. Retrieved from
[Link] monographs/2011/RAND_MG996.pdf
Kazmi, R., Amjad, S., & Khan, D. (2008). Occupational Stress and its Effect on Job
Performance: A Case Study of Medical House Officers of District Abbottabad. Journal
of Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, 20(3), 135–139. Retrieved from
[Link]
Keshavarz, M., & Mohammadi, R. (2011). Occupational Stress and Organizational
Performance, Case study: Iran. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 390–
394. [Link] [Link].2011.10.077
Kornhauser, A. (1965). Mental Health of The Industrial Worker. New York: John Wiley.
Kraan, K. O., Dhondt, S., Houtman, I. L. D., Batenburg, R. S., Kompier, M. A. J., & Taris, T.
W. (2014). Computers and Types of Control in relation to Work Stress and Learning.
Behaviour & Information Technology, 33(10), 1013–1026.
[Link]
Krishnamurthy, K., & Prabakaran, S. (2015). Work Stress among the Employees in
Information Technology (IT) Sectors in Chennai City. Asia Pacific Journal of Research,
1(27), 32–43.
Kumar, M. S., & Siddique, A. M. (2011). A Study on Occupational Stress among IT
Professionals Chennai. International Journal of Enterprise Innovation Management
Studies, 2(2), 119–124.
Kumari, G., Joshi, G., & Pandey, K. M. (2014). Job Stress in Software Companies : A Case
Study of HCL Bangalore, India. Global Journal of Computer Science and Technology:
Software and Data Engineering, 14(7), 23–30. Retrieved from
[Link]
Lee, T. S., Foo, C. T., & Cunningham, B. (1995). Role of Organizational demographics in
Managing Technology-Induced Stress. In Proceedings of the 1995 Enginerring
Management Conference (pp. 38–43). 28-30 June 1995, Singapore: IEEE.
[Link]
Loewenthal, K. M. (2001). An Introduction to Psychological Tests and Scales (2nd ed.).
Hove,East Sussex: Psychology Press Ltd.
Lopes, C., & Kachalia, D. (2016). Impact of Job Stress on Job Satisfaction of Employees
Working in Banking Sector. International Journal of Science Technology and
Management, 5(3), 103–115. Retrieved from
[Link]
Manderson, C. C.-G. (2014). Life Stress, Work stress and Job Performance: Does
Conscientiousness make a Difference? (Master’s Thesis). California State University,
Long Beach, California. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database.
(UMI No.1567953)

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 711
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Manzoor, A., Awan, H., & Mariam, S. (2012). Investigating the Impact of Work Stress on Job
Performance: A Study on Textile Sector of Faisalabad. Asian Journal of Business and
Management Sciences, 2(1), 20–28.
Marinaccio, A., Ferrante, P., Corfiati, M., Di Tecco, C., Rondinone, B. M., Bonafede, M., …
Iavicoli, S. (2013). The Relevance of Socio-demographic and Occupational variables for
the Assessment of Work-related Stress risk. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1157–1165.
[Link]
Mathi, K. M., & Malathi, G. (2016). Analysing the Causes of Attrition in IT Industries - Opinion
of Employee and Employer. Asia Pacific Journal of Research, 1(4), 1–20. Retrieved
from [Link]
Mazumdar, H., Haloi, N., & Mazumdar, M. (2011). Impact of Job Stress on Urban and Rural
Employees in Kamrup district, Assam (India): A Physiological and Psychological study.
Archives of Applied Science Research, 3(6), 377–382.
Mccloy, R. A., Campbell, J. P., & Cudeck, R. (1994). A Confirmatory Test of a Model of
Performance Determinants. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79(4), 493–505.
McMurtrey, M. E., Downey, J. P., Zeltmann, S. M., & Friedman, W. H. (2008). Critical Skill
Sets of Entry-Level IT Professionals: An Empirical Examination of Perceptions from
Field Personnel. Journal of Information Technology Education, 7, 101–120. Retrieved
from [Link] documents/Vol7/[Link]
Mda, A. M. (2010). Staff Turnover in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Sector in South Africa. (Doctoral Thesis). Ohio University, Athgens,South Africa.
Retrieved from [Link]
Menon, D. (2014). Effect of Stress on the Productivity of Employees Working In IT Sector in
Nagpur. Journal of Commerce & Management Thought, 5(4), 594–603
Menon, P., & Natesan, H. (2012). Personality Type and Stress of IT Professionals.
International Journal of Current Research, 4(8), 195–196
Mirela, B., & Madalina-Adriana, C. (2011). Organizational Stress and its Impact on Work
Performance. The Annals of the University of Oradea Economic Sciences, 1(1), 333–
337. Retrieved from [Link]
Misra, A. (2015). Globalisation and Stress among Computer Professionals. International
Journal of Multidiscilinary Research and Development, 2(2), 288–291.
Misra, P., & Srivastava, S. (2010). Moderating Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Stress-
Effectiveness Relationship. IMS Manthan, 5(1), 89–97.
Moal, M. L. (2007). Historical Approach and Evolution of the Stress Concept: A Personal
Account. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 32(Suppl 1), S3–S9.
[Link]
Nabirye, R. C. (2010). Occupational Stress, Job Satisfaction and Job Performance among
Hospital Nurses in Kampala Uganda. (Doctoral Thesis). University of Alabama,
Birmingham, South Africa. Retrieved from
[Link]
Ngomani, S. (2015). Occupational Stress and its Management in the Pole Treatment
Industries of Zimbabwe: A case study of Border Timbers Limited Pole Treatment Yard,
Mutare. (Bachelor’s Thesis). Midlands State University. Retrieved from
[Link] 11408/671/1/Sharon Ngomani dissertation

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 712
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

[Link]
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Nydegger, R. (2011). Occupational Stress and Job Satisfaction in White - and Blue - Collar
Workers. International Business & Economics Research Journal, 1(12), 35–44.
[Link] iber.v1i12.4006
O’Driscoll, M. P., Brough, P., Timms, C., & Sawang, S. (2010). Engagement with Information
and Communication Technology and Psychological Well-being. In New Developments
in Theoretical and Conceptual Approaches to Job Stress (Vol. 8, pp. 269–316). Emrald
Insight. [Link]
Olaniyi, A. A. (2013). Effects of Job Stress and Motivation on Performance of Employees in
Hotel Industry (Hotels at Dublin Airport). (Bachelor’s Thesis). National College of
Ireland, London. Retrieved from [Link]
Parasuraman, S., & Alutto, J. A. (1981). An Examination of the organizational Antecedents
of Stressors at Work. The Academy of Management Journal, 24(1), 48–67.
Park, J. (2007). Work Stress and Job Performance. Perspectives on Labour and Income,
8(12), 5–17.
Parker, D. F., & Decotiis, T. A. (1983). Organizational Determinants of Job Stress.
Organizational Behaviour and Human Performance, 32(2), 160–177.
[Link]
Parmar, R. G., Vyas, V. K., & Tapariya, J. (2011). Stress Management (A Handbook of
Knowledge Improvement). Jaipur, India: Paradise Publishers.
Patel, C. (1992). Understanding Stress (2nd ed.). London: Consumers Association Ltd.
Phillips, B., Magan, L., Gerhardstein, C., & Cecil, B. (1991). Shift work, Sleep quality and
Worker Health: A Study of Police Officers. Southern Medical Journal, 84(10), 1176–
1184.
Priya, V. B. S. (2016). A Study on Job Stress and its impact on Employee Performance.
International Journal of Management, 7(2), 166–176.
Qureshi, I. (2006). Stress Management and Information Technology (Seminar No. B7404).
San Francisco, California, USA. Retrieved from
[Link]
Stress_Management_and_IT_by_Ijaz.pdf
Rajeswari, K. S., & Anantharaman, R. N. (2003). Development of an Instrument to Measure
Stress among Software Professionals. In Proceedings of the 2003 SIGMIS conference
on Computer personnel research: Freedom in Philadelphia - leveraging differences and
diversity in the IT workforce (pp. 34–43). April 10-12, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA:
ACM. [Link]
Ram, A., Kurpad, A., & Swaminathan, S. (2014). Understanding the Health Behaviors of
India’s Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing Employees.
International Journal of Workplace Health Management, 7(4), 213–228.
[Link]
Ranjit, L., & Mahespriya, L. (2012). Study on Job Stress and Quality of Life of Women
Software Employees. International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, 2(2), 276–
291.

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 713
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Rao, J., & Chandraiah, K. (2012). Occupational Stress, Mental Health and Coping among
Information Technology Professionals. Indian Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, 16(1), 22. [Link]
Riyadi, S. (2015). Effect of Work Motivation, Work Stress and Job Satisfaction onTeacher
Performance at Senior High School (SMA) Throughout The State Central Tapanuli,
Sumatera. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 20(2), 52–57.
[Link]
Robbins, S. P. (1993). Organizational Behaviour, Concepts, Controversies and Applications
(6th ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall.
Ross, R. R., & Altmeir, E. M. (1994). Intervention in Occupational Stress (Reprint 19).
London: Sage publications

Routray, B., & Satpathy, S. K. (2007). Stress Management of Library & Information Science
Professionals in Digital Environment. In Librarianship in 21st Century. 16-17 February
[Link] University, Burla, Orissa,. Retrieved from
[Link]
Saidel, J. R., & Cour, S. (2003). Information Technology and the Voluntary Sector
Workplace. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.
[Link]
Sekaran, U. (2003). Research Methods for Business, A Skill Building Approach (4th ed.).
NewYork: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Selye, H. (1976a). Stress without Distress. In G. Serban (Ed.), Psychopathology of Human
Adaptation (pp. 137–146). Boston, MA: Springer. [Link]
2238-2_9
Selye, H. (1976b). The stress of life (Revised). New York: McGraw Hill.
Sethi, V., King, R. C., & Quick, J. C. (2004). What Causes Stress in Information System
Professionals? Communications of the ACM, 47(3), 99–102.
Shah, F. A. (2003). Role Stress in the Indian Industry: A Study of Banking Organizations.
Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 38(3), 281–296. Retrieved from
[Link] stable/27767849
Shahid, M. N., Latif, K., Sohail, N., & Ashraf, M. A. (1998). Work Stress and Employee
Performance in Banking Sector Evidence from District Faisalabad, Pakistan. Asian
Journal of Business and Management Sciences, 1(7), 38–47.
Shahriari, J. E., Meyvand, M., Koolivand, P., & Maleki, J. (2013). Influential Factors on Job
Stress and its Effect on the Employee’s Performance Among Bank Sepah Branches in
Tehran. Indian Journal of Fundamental and Applied Life Sciences, 3(3), 446–451.
Shaikh, A. A., Akram, M., Rizwan, M., Kousar, S., & Malik, M. (2013). The Impact of Job
Stress : An Imperative Insight into the Banking sector. Journal of Public Administration
and Governance, 3(3), 294–316. [Link]
Siu, O. (2003). Job Stress and Job performance among Employees in Hong Kong: The role
of Chinese Work values and Organizational Commitment. International Journal of
Psychology, 38(6), 337–347. [Link]
Sivakumar, M. (2012). A Study of Occupational Stress among the IT Professionals in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu. (Doctoral Thesis). Bharathidasan University, Tamilnadu, India.

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 714
© 2018 IJRAR October 2018, Volume 5, Issue 4 [Link] (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138)

Retrieved from [Link]

Smith, M. J., Conway, F. T., & Karsh, B. T. (1999). Occupational Stress in Human Computer
Interaction. Industrial Health, 37(2), 157–173.
Suandi, T., Ismail, I. A., & Othman, Z. (2014). Relationship Between Organizational Climate,
Job Stress and Job Performance Officer at State Education Department. International
Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 2(1), 17–28. Retrieved from
[Link] [Link]/IJELS/article/view/234/223
Sudershan, G. A. (2012). A Study on Organizational Role Stress and its impact on Job
Performance of Employees of IT Companies in Bangalore. (Doctoral Thesis). Periyar
university, Tamilnadu, India. Retrieved from
[Link]
Sutherland, V., & Cooper, C. L. (2000). Strategic Stress Management: An organizational
Approach (1st ed.). Hampshire: Macmillian Press Ltd.
Tarafdar, M., D’Arcy, J., Turel, O., & Gupta, A. (2015). The Dark Side of Information
Technology. MIT Sloan Management Review, 8(4), 395–402.
Tarafdar, M., Tu, Q., & Ragu-Nathan, T. S. (2010). Impact of Technostress on End-User
Satisfaction and Performance. Journal of Management Information Systems, 27(3),
303–334. [Link]
Varghese, G. (2013). Socio Economic Analysis of IT Professionals in Kerala. (Doctoral
Thesis). Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala, India. Retrieved from
[Link]
Welford, A. T. (1973). Stress and Performance. Ergonomics, 16(5), 567–580.
[Link]
Whisler, R. D. (2014). The Antecedents of Burnout in the Profession of Information
Technology Support. (Doctoral Thesis). Anderson University, Anderson, Indiana, USA.
Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database. (UMI No.3662861)
Wilson, S. M., Larson, J. H., & Stone, K. L. (1993). Stress among Job Insecure Workers and
their Spouses. Family Relations, 42(1), 74–80. Retrieved from
[Link]
Yang, T., Shen, Y. M., Zhu, M., Liu, Y., Deng, J., Chen, Q., & See, L. C. (2015). Effects of
Co-worker and Supervisor Support on Job Stress and Presenteeism in an Aging
Workforce: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach. International Journal of
Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(1), 1–15.
[Link]
Young, J. A. (2012). Forecasting Twenty-First Century Information Technology Skills : A
Delphi Study. (Doctoral Thesis). Spalding university, Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved
from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Database. (UMI No.3509864)

IJRAR1904488 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) [Link] 715