Locus of Control and Stress in Organisations

Abstract

There are numerous possibilities leading to stress at workplace. These include conditions like high expectations from the employees or too much work load which leads to isolation of individual from others. In such cases, the individual feels that his knowledge is insufficient for performing the role. Also, there could be conditions where the resources allocated are not sufficient as per the requirements of the work or when there is a lack of communication among the members of the organization leading to the lack of growth in the job, etc. Additionally, the changing nature of work, in the context of globalization and increased technology, has led to a sharp increase in occupational stress. High rates of mergers, acquisitions, increasing economic interdependence among countries due to globalization, technological development, and restructuring have changed the organizational work culture; which in turn have resulted in time pressure, excessive work demand, role conflicts and problematic customer relationships, all of which are contributing to the accumulated stress. This document attempts to collate various facets of personality factors and organisational factors which contribute to stress in the work environment. Also, described are some coping strategies employed by internals. Although the theories meant originally for western societies are imposed on Asian studies, a concerted effort needs to be made for study of stress with respect to the Indian work environment, especially with stress intensive studies, especially in the IT sector.