A STUDY OF THE OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND MANAGEMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AMONG UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Every human being entitles only one life to live and therefore, he or she needs to manage that life very carefully without getting stressed. The intention of the current research is to study regarding occupational stress, causes, consequences and management of occupational stress among university employees in Sri Lanka. The current study was conducted among the university employees. Both academics and administrative staff were represented the sample. 50 university employees in Sri Lanka representing the whole country have contributed to this study by providing data. The study employed the mixed research approach using the survey questionnaire as its instruments and utilized convenience sampling to obtain the sample. Two focus group discussions were also conducted with 8 university employees. Gathered data has been analyzed following the mixed method. As per the findings of this study, internal factors which contribute to the work stress of university employees were identified as poor fitness levels due to lack of physical exercise, lack of emotional well-being, individuals’ inability to control stress and the less volume of sleep and rest. Other factors contribute to the work stress of university employees were the imbalance between demands and the individual’s abilities, having to work under time pressure to meet deadlines, red tape bureaucracy and lack of flexibility. Consequences among the university employees due to the stress were recognized as being frustrated, arguments with colleagues, experiencing bad health conditions, missing some works, demotivated towards the work and decreasing the work recognition among themselves. Moreover, suggestions for manage the stress among university employees also provided.