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Research Journal in Organizational Psychology & Educational Studies 1(5) 289-294

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Emerging Academy Resources (2012) (ISSN: 2276-8475)

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OCCUPATIONAL STRESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL BEING AND WORKERS BEHAVIOUR IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES IN SOUTH- WEST NIGERIA Akintayo, D. I. Dept. of Human Resource Development, College of Management and Social Sciences, OsunState University, Okuku Campus, Nigeria. ___________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT The study investigated the impact of occupational stress on psychological well-being and workers` behaviour in manufacturing industries in South-West Nigeria. This was for the purpose of ascertaining the relationship among occupational stress, psychological well-being and workers` behaviour. The bulk of the recent literature used in the study will be useful for researcher while the findings of the study will be an eye opener for policy planners especially in the areas of fulfilling the mission of occupational health and safety of the workers on the job and virtually propel increased organizational productivity. The study adopted survey research design. A total number of 435 respondents were selected for the study using proportionate purposive sampling technique. Three sets of questionnaires titled `Occupational Stress Assessment Scale (OSAS), Psychological Well-Being Scale` (PWBS) and Workers` Behaviour Scale (WBS) were used for data collection. The four hypotheses generated for the study were tested using Person Product Moment Correlation and t test statistical methods. The finding of the study revealed that there was a significant influence of occupational stress on psychological wellbeing of the respondents. Also there was a significant influence of occupational stress on workers` behaviour (job satisfaction, job commitment and compliance to organizational control. A significant difference was not found in the perception of male and female respondents on the influence of occupational stress on their psychological well-being. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that organizational support system that could combat the physical, social and psychological effects of occupational stress on workers` psychological well being and their behaviours should be provided at workplace. Also, industrial counseling services should be introduced in work organizations in order to provide therapeutic services that tend to foster reduction in the effects of occupational stress on workers psychological well being.
Emerging Academy Resources

KEYWORDS: Occupational Stress, Psychological well-being, Workers, Behaviour, Manufacturing Industries, Nigeria _________________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION response to an individual to defiling basic needs of The issues of burnout and occupational stress have life in an environment of competing needs. attracted the attention of the organizational behaviourists in the recent times. Various problems, Smith (2011); Coleman (2012), Famojuro (2004), according to literature, emanate from work place Udoh and Ajala (2003) contend that stress is a very experiences. These have infact affected workers` imprecise term and that it can be explained in terms behaviour as submitted by researchers in terms of of its three related concept, which ate anxiety, organizational commitment, compliance, job conflict and frustration. Adu (2004) asserts that stress satisfaction, job performance effectiveness and is more meaningfully understood by the condition achievement of organizational goals. McGratt and symptoms, which manifest in the victim. He (1998), Bakare (1997) and Abiona (2001) define explains that stress is a response of victim to stress as conflict or disagreement between ideas, environmental demands. Brandy and Cox (2002) in which Freudians described as imbalance between ld, the same vein, submit that occupational stress has Ego and the Duper Ego. It is perceived as a kind of impacted the health and psychological well being of natural equilibrium of the body and include within its workers with the attendant effects on their attitude to reference deprivation and all kinds of diseases and work. The authors suggest that occupational stress emotional disturbances. Olagunju (2010) describes co-relates significantly with life events and daily stress as a chronic complex emotional state with activities such as financial situation, job performance, apprehension and is characteristic of various nervous family conflict, schooling, death and other events. and mental disorders. In essence, stress is a manifest

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Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies (ISSN: 2276-8475) 1(5):289-294
Occupational Stress, Psychological Well Being and Workers Behaviour in Manufacturing Industries in South- West Nigeria

Dunhem (1992) and Parkes (2002) submit that occupational stress can be anything that threatens to damage the organism, which could be germ or noise pollution. The authors concluded that when the working environment is perceived to be conducive, there is less stress and job performance is greatly enhanced. Studies have shown that occupational stress has significant effect on workers health and job performance. Buchans (2009); Cole (2010), Mojoyinola (2001), Zajons (2005) and Bakare (1998) assert that he who feel observed and evaluated tends to perform better on simple or previously acquired task. The authors contend further that stress in the relationship with individual could result particularly from anxiety. This has led some researchers to view stress with boss as the most promising variable that affect interpersonal relations at workplace with implication on workers efficiency and productivity at workplace (Fielder, Porter, Mitchell and Knarton, 2000, Borden 2002 and Davies (2012). Lester and Brower (2001) and Perdine, Bill and Clement (1997) found that stressors combine in a multiplicative way and tend to produce strain for workers. Also, the combined and interacting presence of non-work stress and work stress create strain in workers, which are capable of influencing their morale and job performance negatively. The effects are more felt by workers above 45 years than those below forty year of age. Furthermore, Stein, Mayer and Roger (1998) found that sex or social class did not affect black American womens adjustment to job-induced stress. Johnson (2011), Dohremwell and Dohremwell (2003) Welsman and Werman (1997) and Philips and Segal (1996) also reported that women showed high scores on psychological symptoms such as neurosis and depression while men had consistently higher personality disorder and were more aware of cultural expectations regarding expressive control. Lester (2002) explored which of fifteen sources contributed most to the subjective feeling of stress by senior police officers (SPO) and found that for municipal police officers (MPO), the subjective level of stress was positively associated with the work environmental factors than stress from home; especially the problem of favouritism in the police department and having to intervene in crises. Thus, for the MPO, the level of stress seems to be related to normal police work and problem with peer and family. For the SPO, the subjective level of stress was positively associated with the officers rating as more important than the stress from lack of support from courts and prosecution, interference from local politicians. Thus, for SPO, the lack of support from the people seems to be related to their level of stress. Lester thus concluded that while MPO and SPO did not differ in their overall levels of stress on the
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Wechsler test, he however submitted that sources of stress are very different for the two groups. Decker and Webb (1994), Felton and Cole (2010), and Albridge (2005) reported that stressful work life were related to receiving psychiatric care, and that in the United Kingdom, the sum of incapacity for men suffering from psychoneurotic and personality disorder, nervousness, migraine headaches, and smoking accounted for 22.8 million work days loss alone. Kahn and Quinn (1979); Margolis, Kroes and Quinn (1994) and Smith (2011) pointed out that occupational stress is a strong factor behind various diseases experienced by industrial workers, which tend to manifest during active work life and on retirement. The present study differs significantly from above reviewed studies. The reviewed studies investigated stress as it impacted workers health, morale, job satisfaction and performance effectiveness at work place in isolation. This study investigated the relationship among occupational stress, psychological well-being and workers behaviour in manufacturing industries in Nigeria. This was for the purpose of ascertaining the relationship among occupational stress, psychological well-being and workers` behaviour. Also, the effects of age and gender differences on workers reaction to occupational stress were determined in the study. However, workers` behaviour in this study is limited to job satisfaction, commitment and compliance among the workers in selected manufacturing industries in Nigeria. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study are to: Determine the influence of occupational stress on psychological well- being of the respondents. Examine the impact of occupational stress on workers` behaviour {job satisfaction, commitment and compliance}. Ascertain the relationship between age and reaction of the respondents to occupational stress. Determine variations in the male and female response or reaction to occupational stress in terms of their levels of job satisfaction, commitment and compliance. Make plausible recommendations on the effective ways of ameliorating the psychological effects of occupational stress in work organizations in Nigeria. HYPOTHESES FOR THE STUDY The following four hypotheses were generated from the literature and tested for the purpose of the study:

Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies (ISSN: 2276-8475) 1(5):289-294
Occupational Stress, Psychological Well Being and Workers Behaviour in Manufacturing Industries in South- West Nigeria

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

There is no significant relationship between occupational stress and psychological wellbeing of the respondents. There is no significant relationship between occupational stress and workers` behaviours {job satisfaction, commitment and compliance} of the respondents. There is no significant difference between male and female respondents perception of the impact of occupational stress on their psychological well-being. There is no significant difference between the perception of the old and young respondents on impact of occupational stress on their working behaviour.

manufacturing industries in South-West Nigeria. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation and t-test statistical methods were used to test the four research hypotheses generated for the study at 0.05 alpha levels. RESULTS The results of the analyzed data were presented on the basis of the hypotheses generated for the study. Table 1: Pearson Product Moment Correlation Showing the Relationship among Occupational Stress, Psychological Well-Being and Workers` Behaviour.
Variable Occupational stress Psychological well-being Job satisfaction Job commitment Compliance N 435 435 435 435 435 Mean 26.34 21.68 18.11 26.32 23.73 SD 12.21 11.56 9.42 10.23 11.12 .332 .344 .217 .003 .000 .002 Significant (P < .05) Significant (P < .05) Significant (P < .05) r .381 P .000 Remark Significant (P < .05)

METHODOLOGY The survey research design was adopted to investigate the relationship among occupational stress, psychological well being and workers` behaviour. A total of 435 respondents were selected for the purpose of the study using proportionate purposive sampling techniques based on population of workers, who had spent at least three years in the selected manufacturing industries in Nigeria. The researcher utilized three sets of questionnaire for data collection. The Occupational Stress Assessment Scale`` (OSAS) was developed by Dunhem (1992) with reliability coefficient of 0.78. However, for the present study, a Cronbach alpha of 0.88 was obtained. The measures was assessed on a five-point scale (ranging from 1 = very dissatisfied, to 5 = very satisfied). The ``Job Satisfaction Scale`` (JSS) with a 6-items scale was developed and validated by Tsui, Thomas and Edward (1992) with Cronbachs alpha value of 0.68. For the present study, the researcher reported Cronbach reliability co-efficient of 0.72. Also, the ``Psychological Well-Being Scale`` (PWBS) was developed by Welsman and Werman (1997) with reliability coefficient of 0.78. However, for the present study, a Cronbach alpha of 0.88 was obtained. The ``Organizational Commitment Scale`` (OCS) was developed and validated by Allen and Meyer (1990) with Cronbachs alpha value of 0.73. For the present study, the researcher reported Cronbach reliability co-efficient of 0.76. The fivepoint Likert rating scale of Strongly Agree (5 points) to Strongly Disagree (1 point) was adopted for the study. The measures was assessed on a five-point scale (ranging from 1 = strong disagree, to 5= strongly agree). The ``Workers` Compliance Scale`` (WCS) was developed by Akintayo (2008) with reliability coefficient of 0.86. The five-point Likert rating scale of Strongly Agree (5 points) to Strongly Disagree (1 point) was adopted for the study. The questionnaires were administered with cooperation and assistance of the human resources Managers at the premises of the selected
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The results in table one indicated that occupational stress had a significant negative relationship with psychological well-being of the respondents, r = 381, P < .05 as postulated in hypothesis one. This implies that the psychological well-being of the workers has been affected by the stress they experienced on the job. Thus hypothesis one was not confirmed. The second hypothesis showed that occupational stress has had significantly negative influence on workers` behaviour (job satisfaction). The hypothesis was confirmed, r = -332, P < .05. Also, table 1 showed that a significant relationship exist between occupational stress and job commitment, r = .344, P > .05. Moreover, table 1 revealed that there is a significant relationship between occupational stress and workers` compliance to organizational control, r = .217, P > .05. This implies that the level of job satisfaction, commitment and compliance of the workers had been affected by the stress encountered on the job. Table 2: Relationship between Age, Gender and SelfReported Workers` Behaviour
Variables Age Gender Groups < 40 yrs. > 40 yrs. Male Female N 248 187 231 204 X 38.54 45.61 37.87 36.23 SD 9.65 9.11 8.34 8.61 Df 433 433 T 11.65 10.11 Sig. .000 .034

* Sig. at .05 Alpha levels. The result presented in table 3 revealed that there was no significant difference between male and female respondents in their perception on the effect of occupational stress on their psychological well being t (433) = 11.65;P < 0.05). This implies that both male

Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies (ISSN: 2276-8475) 1(5):289-294
Occupational Stress, Psychological Well Being and Workers Behaviour in Manufacturing Industries in South- West Nigeria

and female respondents perceived occupational stress as having deleterious effects on their psychological well- being with corresponding effects on their working behaviour. In essence the third hypothesis is upheld. The result presented in table 2 shows that the fourth hypothesis is rejected t (433) = 10.11; P > 0.05. The old respondents perceived the effect of the occupational stress as deleterious to their working behaviour (X = 37.87) than the young respondents (X = 36.23). This implies that the effects of occupational stress were more pronounced on old respondents than the young respondents. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS The first hypothesis, which postulated that there is no significant relationship between occupational stress and workers` behaviour was confirmed. The finding indicates that the pressure emanated from the job has considerably influenced the perceived level of job satisfaction, commitment, and compliance of the workers. The finding of the study corroborates Olagunju (2010); Dunhem (1992) and Parkes (2002) who reported that stress tend to cause damage that could make working environment to be less conducive for workers, the result which could jeopardize the workers performance and productivity at workplace. Thus the interacting effect of occupational stress on work-relationship tends to cause gradual loss in role interaction vis--vis the output of the workplace (Scully, 2000; Johnson (2011) and Davies (2012). The second hypothesis predicted that there is no significant relationship between occupational stress and psychological well being of workers. The hypothesis was confirmed. The findings of the study revealed that occupational stress has had a deleterious effect on the psychological well-being of the workers. The finding of the study supports Smith (2011); Coleman (2012), Brandy and Cole (2010) Adu (2004), Udo and Ajala (2003) who submit that work related stress has impacted the health and psychological well-being of the workers. Thus the impact of occupational stress tends to manifest in various psychopathological symptoms, which causes headache, dizziness, mental disorder fatigue, and other related health problems. This assertion corroborates Cole (2010) and Mojoyinola (2001) who reported a significant effect of work related stress on health of the workers. The third hypothesis also predicted that there is no significant difference between male and female respondents perception of the effect of occupational stress on their psychological well-being. The hypothesis was confirmed. This implies that both male and female respondents have been affected by occupational stress with its corresponding effects on
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their attitude to work. The finding of the study disagrees with Dohremwell and Dohremwell (2003) Welsman and Werman (1997) and Phillips and Segal (1996) who found out that women showed high scores on psychological symptoms such as neurosis and depression while men had consistently higher personality disorder and were more aware of cultural expectation regarding drug expressive control. The finding of the study however tallies with Davies (2012); Coleman (2012), Smith (2011), and Olagunju (2010) who assert that stress is a manifest of both male and female individuals to defiling basic needs of life in an environment of competing needs. This implies that work related stress tends to have deleterious effects on workers attitude to work as well as their condition of health. The fourth hypothesis predicted that there is no significant difference between the perception of the old and young respondents on the effect of occupational stress on their attitude to work. The hypothesis was not confirmed. The finding of the study revealed that there was a significant difference in the perception of old and young respondents on the effect of occupational stress on their level of satisfaction on the job, commitment and compliance at workplace. This indicates that the old respondents were highly affected by occupational stress in terms of their health and attitude to work, than the young respondents. This suggests that young respondents have vigour to accommodate pressures emanating from the job than the old respondents. The finding of the study corroborates the findings of Akintayo (2008); Lester and Brower (2001) and Perdine et al (1997) who investigated the effects of personality and age on reaction to stress at workplace. They found out that workers above forty-five years were mostly affected by work-induced stress than the workers below forty years of age in terms of their health performance and productivity at workplace. The implication of the finding is that work-induced stress tends to affect the workers health, attitude to work, morale, job satisfaction and productivity at work place. Also, the uncontrolled occupational stress could have a far-reaching effect on organizational effectiveness. CONCLUSION The problem of occupational stress has become an important issue upon which organizational goals achievement rotates. The study therefore established that there was a significant relationship among occupational stress, attitude to work and psychological well being of the workers. It has been established further that both male and female workers felt equally the effect of occupational stress on their psychological well being and perceived job satisfaction, commitment and compliance at workplace.

Research Journal in Organizational Psychology and Educational Studies (ISSN: 2276-8475) 1(5):289-294
Occupational Stress, Psychological Well Being and Workers Behaviour in Manufacturing Industries in South- West Nigeria

CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE This study submits that occupational stress has become a psychological phenomenon that tends to work against enhancement of workers performance effectiveness and organizational output. Management of occupational stress therefore require effective organizational support system which need to be provided in order to reduce the effect of occupational stress on well being, job commitment, compliance, and satisfaction of the workers at workplace. RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made. The organization support system that tend to combat the physical, social and psychological effects of work-induced stress on workers and their attitude to work should be organized at workplace in order to foster job commitment satisfaction and compliance mode of operation on the part of workers. Besides, industrial counseling services need be introduced in all work organizations in order to provide therapeutic services that tend to reduce the effect of work-related stress on workers health and welfare. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY A study of this kind supposes to cover all the manufacturing industries operating in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, but was limited by financial and time constraints. However, the study covered the South-West Nigeria, where manufacturing industries were mostly concentrated. Besides, most of the respondents felt reluctant to provide objective information in the course of collecting data for the study but later cooperate with the researcher after due persuasion and promise of confidentiality of information being supplied. However, the aforementioned limitations did not have any effect whatsoever on the objectivity of the findings of the study. REFERENCES Abiona, K. (2001). Stress management and labour relations in Nigeria. The African Journal of Labour Studies, 4(1), 101-108. Adu, A. R. (2004). Work stress and efficiency of labour. Unpublished MPP Project, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye. Akinboye, J. O. (2003): The psychology of Nigerian adolescent. Ibadan: University Press. Akintayo, D.I. (2008). Some psychological factors as predictors of perceived workers` productivity in work organizations in Nigeria. Journal of Educational Focus, vol.8 (2), 56-66.

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Occupational Stress, Psychological Well Being and Workers Behaviour in Manufacturing Industries in South- West Nigeria

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