TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO CONTENTS PG. NO.

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF CHARTS

1 INTRODUCTION 8

2 INDUSTRY PROFILE 16

3 SCOPE & OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 20

4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 21

5 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 22

6 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 37

7 RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS 42

8 FINDINGS 66

9 SUGGESTIONS 67

10 CONCLUSION 69

11 BIBLIOGRAPHY 70

12 ANNEXURE 72

1
 LIST OF TABLES & PIE CHARTS

PAGE
NO. TITLE
NO.

1 AGE OF RESPONDENTS 42

2 GENDER OF RESPONDENTS 43

3 WORK EXPERIENCE OF RESPONDENTS 44

4 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF 45
RESPONDENTS

1.1 RESPONDENTS WITH DIFFICULTY IN 46

SLEEPING

1.2 RESPONDENTS WITH DIFFICULTY IN 47

CONCENTRATING
1.3 RESPONDANTS WITH FINANCIAL PROBLEMS 48

1.4 RESPONDENTS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE 49

1.5 RESPONDENTS AND FREQUENCY OF ANGER 50

1.6 RESPONDENTS WITH JOB PESSIMISM 51

1.7 RESPONDENTS WITH SLOW RECOVERY 52

DURING ILLNESS

1.8 RESPONDENTS WHO FEEL ISOLATED 53

1.9 RESPONDENTS WITH NO CONTROL OF LIFE 54

1.10 RESPONDENTS WITH BAD EATING HABITS 55

1.11 RESPONDENTS WHO OVER REACT TO 56

CONFLICTS

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1.12 RESPONDENTS WHOSE WORK EXCEEDS 57
ONE'S CAPACITY

1.13 RESPONDENTS CAUGHT BETWEEN FAMILY 58

AND WORK PRESSURE

1.14 RESPONDENTS WHO FEEL UNDER - PAR AT 59

THE BEGINNING OF A WORK DAY

1.15 RESPONDENTS WHO SHY AWAY FROM 50

SOCIAL CONTACT WITH COLLEAGUES

1.16 RESPONDENTS WHOSE APPEARANCES ARE 61

COMMENTED UPON

1.17 RESPONDENTS WITH NO TIME FOR 62

THEMSELVES

RESPONDENTS WHO FEEL

1.18 MISUNDERSTOOD/ UNAPPRECIATED BY 63
OTHERS
RESPONDENTS WHO ARE COPERS FOR
1.19 FAMILY/ COLLEAGUES WITH NO SUPPORT 64
FOR THEMSELVES
RESPONDENTS WHO TAKE A DAY OFF JUST
1.20 TO RECUPERATE EMOTIONALLY, 65
MENTYALLY & PHYSICALLY

3
 INTRODUCTION
20TH century has been regarded as the period of incredible change in human history.
Philosophers and scientists have been various names to this period. Peter Drucker has called
it “The Age of Discontinuity”, John Galbraith has called it “The Age of Future Shock” and
Hari Albrecht called it “The Age of Anxiety”.

Stress has become the 21 century buzz word, from the high pervading corporate echelons to
the bassinets of teaching infants‟ nurseries we find this world liberally used. Stress is part of
modern life. Various events in life cause stress, starting with the birth of a child and enduring
with the death of a dear one.

Urbanization, industrialization and the increase scale of operations in society are some of the
reasons for rising stress. It is an inevitable consequence of socio-economic complexity and to
some extent, its stimulant as well. People experience stress as they can no longer have
complete control over what happen in their lives. The telephone goes out of order, power is
shut down, water supply is disrupted, children perform poorly at school etc, we feel frustrated
and then stressed.

The word stress is derived from a Latin word “stringere”, meaning to draw tight. From the
view point of physical sciences, the phenomena of stress are evident in all materials when
they are subjected to “force, pressure, strain or strong-front”. Every material steel, rock or
wood has its own limit up to which it can withstand stress without being damaged. Similarly
human beings can tolerate certain level of stress. Stress is highly individualistic in nature.
Some people have high levels of stress tolerance for stress and thrive very well in the face of
several stressors in the environment. In fact, some individuals will not perform well unless
they experience a level of stress which activates and energizes then to put forth their best
results.

For every individual there is an optimum level of stress under which he or she will perform to
full capacity. If the stress experience is below the optimum level, then the individual gets
bored, the motivational level of work reaches a low point and it results to careless mistakes,
forgetting to do things and thinking of things other than work during work hours and also
leads to absenteeism which may ultimately lead to turnover. If on the other hand, stress
experience is above the optimum level, it leads to too many conflicts with the supervisor or

4
leads to increase of errors, bad decisions and the individual may experience insomnia,
stomach problems, and psychosomatic illness.

The present world is fast changing and there are lots of pressures and demands at work.
These pressures at work lead to physical disorders. Stress refers to individual‟s reaction to a
disturbing factor in the environment. It is an adaptive response to certain external factor or
situation or what can be called environmental stimuli as reflected in an opportunity,
constraint, or demand the outcome of which is uncertain but important. In short stress is a
response to an external factor that results in physical, emotional, behavioral deviations in a
person.

Stress is an all pervading modern phenomenon that takes a heavy toll of human life. Different
situations and circumstances in our personal life and in our job produce stress. Those can be
divided into factors related to the organization and factors related to the person which include
his experience and personality traits. Job related factors are work overload, time pressures,
poor quality of supervision, insecure political climate, role conflict and ambiguity, difference
between company values and employee values. Person related factors are death of spouse, or
of a close friend, family problems, change to a different line of work, prolonged illness in the
family, change in social activities, eating habits, etc.,

Personality traits are „Type A‟ personality. They are impatient, ambitious, competitive,
aggressive, and hardworking. They set high goals and demands of themselves and others.
And they are particularly prone to stress inducing anticipatory emotions such as anxiety.

REMEDIES TO REDUCE STRESS

There are two major approaches to reduce stress. They are,

 Individual approaches
 Organizational approaches

INDIVIDUAL APPROACHES

An employee can take individual responsibility to reduce his/her stress level. Individual
strategies that have proven effective include, implementing time management techniques,
increasing physical exercise, relaxation training, and expanding the social support network.

5
  Time management
Many people manage their time very poorly. Some of well known time management
principles include,

o Making daily list of activities to be accomplished

o Scheduling activities according to the priorities set
o Prioritizing activities by importance and urgency
o Knowing your daily cycle and handling the most demanding parts of your job.
 Physical exercise
Practicing physical exercises like aerobics, brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and riding a
bi-cycle.

 Relaxation training
Relaxation techniques such as meditation, hypnosis and bio-feedback. The objective is to
reach in state of deep relaxation, where one feels physically relaxed, somewhat from
detached from the immediate environment. Fifteen or twenty minutes a day of deep
relaxation releases tension and provides a person with a pronounced sense of peacefulness.

 Social support
Having families, friends or work colleagues to talk provides an outlet, when stress levels
become excessive. So expand your social support network that helps you with someone to
hear your problems.

ORGANIZATIONAL APPROACHES

Several of the factors that cause stress particularly task and role demands and organizations
structure are controlled by management. As such they can be modified or changed. Some of
the strategies that management want to consider include improved personal self section and
job placement, use of realistic goal setting, redesigning of jobs, improved organizational
communication and establishment of corporate wellness programmes.

Certain jobs are more stressful than others. Individual with little experience or an external
lower of control tend to be more proven to stress. Selection and placement decisions should
take these facts into consideration. Goal setting helps to reduce stress. It also provides
motivation. Designing jobs to give employees more responsibility, more meaningful work,
more autonomy, and increased feedback can reduce stress, because these factors give the
employee greater control over work activities and lessen dependence on others.

6
Increasingly formal organizational communication with employees reduces uncertainty by
reducing role ambiguity and role conflict. Wellness programs like employee counselling form
on the employee‟s total physical and mental condition. They typically proud work ships to
help people quit smoking, control alcohol usage, eat better and develop a regular exercise
program.

Another remedy for reducing stress is cognitive restructuring. It involves two step
procedures. First irrational or maladaptive thought processes that create stress are identified.
For example Type A individuals may believe that they must be successful at everything they
do. The second step consists of replacing these irrational thoughts with more rational or
reasonable ones.

One important remedy to reduce stress is the maintenance of good sleep. Research conducted
on laboratory specimen to have met with startling discoveries. Sleep starved rats have
developed stress syndrome. The amount of sleep one requires varies from person to person
and is dependent on one‟s lifestyle. The American National Sleep Foundation claims that a
minimum of eight hours of sleep is essential for good health. Generally studies shows that
young adults can manage with about 7-8 hours. After the age of 35, six hours of sleep is
sufficient whereas people over 65 years may just need three or four hours.

TYPES OF STRESSES

The different types of stress are as follows:

Mechanical

 Stress (physics), the average amount of force exerted per unit area.
 Yield stress, the stress at which a material begins to deform plastically.
 Compressive stress, the stress applied to materials resulting in their compaction.

Biological

 Stress (biological), physiological or psychological stress; some types include:

 Chronic stress, persistent stress which can lead to illness and mental disorder
 Eustress, positive stress that can lead to improved long-term functioning
 Workplace stress, stress caused by employment

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Other

 Stress (game), card game

 Stress (linguistics), phonological use of prominence in language

STRESS IN MECHANICAL TERMS :

Stress (physics)

Stress is a measure of the average amount of force exerted per unit area. It is a measure of
the intensity of the total internal forces acting within a body across imaginary internal
surfaces, as a reaction to external applied forces and body forces. It was introduced into the
theory of elasticity by Cauchy around 1822. Stress is a concept that is based on the concept of
continuum. In general, stress is expressed as

Where,

is the average stress, also called engineering or nominal stress, and

is the force acting over the area .

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is stress that lasts a long time or occurs frequently. Chronic stress is
potentially damaging. Symptoms of chronic stress can be:

 upset stomach
 headache
 backache
 insomnia
 anxiety
 depression
 anger

In the most severe cases it can lead to panic attacks or a panic disorder.

8
There are a number of methods to control chronic stress, which include, exercise, healthy
diet, stress management, relaxation techniques, adequate rest, and relaxing hobbies.

Ensuring a healthy diet containing magnesium may help control or eliminate stress, in those
individuals with lower levels of magnesium or those who have a magnesium deficiency.
Chronic stress can also lead to a magnesium deficiency, which can be a factor in continued
chronic stress, and a whole host of other negative medical conditions caused by a magnesium
deficiency.

It has been discovered that there is a huge upsurge in the number of people who suffer from
this condition. A very large number of these new cases suffer from insomnia.

In a review of the scientific literature on the relationship between stress and disease, the
authors found that stress plays a role in triggering or worsening depression and
cardiovascular disease and in speeding the progression of HIV/AIDS.

Compressive stress:

Compressive stress is the stress applied to materials resulting in their compaction (decrease
of volume). When a material is subjected to compressive stress, then this material is under
compression. Usually, compressive stress applied to bars, columns, etc. leads to shortening.

Loading a structural element or a specimen will increase the compressive stress until the
reach of compressive strength. According to the properties of the material, failure will occur
as yield for materials with ductile behavior (most metals, some soils and plastics) or as
rupture for brittle behavior (geometries, cast iron, glass, etc).

In long, slender structural elements -- such as columns or truss bars -- an increase of

compressive force F leads to structural failure due to buckling at lower stress than the
compressive strength.

Compressive stress has stress units (force per unit area), usually with negative values to
indicate the compaction. However in geotechnical engineering, compressive stress is
represented with positive values.

9
STRESS IN BIOLOGICAL TERMS:

Stress is a biological term which refers to the consequences of the failure of a human or
animal body to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism,
whether actual or imagined. It includes a state of alarm and adrenaline production, short-term
resistance as a coping mechanism, and exhaustion. It refers to the inability of a human or
animal body to respond. Common stress symptoms include irritability, muscular tension,
inability to concentrate and a variety of physical reactions, such as headaches and accelerated
heart rate.

The term "stress" was first used by the endocrinologist Hans Selye in the 1930s to identify
physiological responses in laboratory animals. He later broadened and popularized the
concept to include the perceptions and responses of humans trying to adapt to the challenges
of everyday life. In Selye's terminology, "stress" refers to the reaction of the organism, and
"stressor" to the perceived threat. Stress in certain circumstances may be experienced
positively. Eustress, for example, can be an adaptive response prompting the activation of
internal resources to meet challenges and achieve goals.

The term is commonly used by laypersons in a metaphorical rather than literal or biological
sense, as a catch-all for any perceived difficulties in life. It also became a euphemism, a way
of referring to problems and eliciting sympathy without being explicitly confessional, just
"stressed out". It covers a huge range of phenomena from mild irritation to the kind of severe
problems that might result in a real breakdown of health. In popular usage almost any event
or situation between these extremes could be described as stressful.

GOOD STRESS V/S BAD STRESS:

Stress has often been misunderstood to be negative, with few people acknowledging the
importance and usefulness of positive stress. In our everyday lives, stress is everywhere and
definitely unavoidable; hence our emphasis should be on differentiating between what is
good stress, and what is bad. This will help us to learn to cope with negative stress, and
harness the power of positive stress to help us achieve more.

There are 4 main categories of stress, namely eustress, distress, hyper stress and hypo stress.
Negative stress can cause many physical and psychological problems, whilst positive stress
can be very helpful for us. Here‟s how we differentiate between them.
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EUSTRESS
This is a positive form of stress, which prepares your mind and body for the imminent
challenges that it has perceived. Eustress is a natural physical reaction by your body which
increases blood flow to your muscles, resulting in a higher heart rate. Athletes before a
competition or perhaps a manager before a major presentation would do well with Eustress,
allowing them to derive the inspiration and strength that is needed.

DISTRESS
We are familiar with this word, and know that it is a negative form of stress. This occurs
when the mind and body is unable to cope with changes, and usually occurs when there are
deviations from the norm. They can be categorized into acute stress and chronic stress. Acute
stress is intense, but does not last for long. On the other hand, chronic stress persists over a
long period of time. Trigger events for distress can be a change in job scope or routine that
the person is unable to handle or cope with.

HYPER STRESS
This is another form of negative stress that occurs when the individual is unable to cope with
the workload. Examples include highly stressful jobs, which require longer working hours
than the individual can handle. If you suspect that you are suffering from hyper stress, you
are likely to have sudden emotional breakdowns over insignificant issues, the proverbial
straws that broke the camel‟s back. It is important for you to recognize that your body needs a
break, or you may end up with severe and chronic physical and psychological reactions.

HYPO STRESS
Lastly, hypo stress occurs when a person has nothing to do with his time and feels constantly
bored and unmotivated. This is due to an insufficient amount of stress; hence some stress is
inevitable and helpful to us. Companies should avoid having workers who experience hypo
stress as this will cause productivity and mindfulness to fall. If the job scope is boring and
repetitive, it would be a good idea to implement some form of job rotation so that there is
always something new to learn.

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 SCOPE & SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The world today is fast changing and every individual faces a lot of pressure and demand at
work. These pressures at work lead to mental and physical disorders. Stress refers to an
individual‟s response to a disturbing factor in the environment and the consequences of such
a reaction. This study will help organizations know what causes stress and how to reduce the
same in employees since it is a well known fact that a healthy and sound employee is a
productive employee.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Primary objective:

 To undergo an in-depth study about the existence of stress among the employees of
the BANKING INDUSTRY Post - Recession.

Secondary objective:

 To identify the factors causing stress among the employees.

 To find out the level of stress among the employees of different age groups.
 To study about the effects of stress on employees in BANKING INDUSTRY.
 To identify the coping strategies to manage stress.

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 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In spite of the precautions, vigilance and scrupulousness taken by the investigator to make the
study objective, it cannot be denied that there are certain limitations.

 The
questionnaires were filled be 30 employees working in various bank. So
the scope of sample findings was less.

 The
questionnaire was filled by 30 employees of different designations. So the
point of view of employees differs as per their designations.

 The employees
from whom the questionnaires are filled are in a heavy workload so some
of the questionnaires filled by the employees who are in stress cannot be
called reasonable.

 The responses of
the employees cannot be accurate as the problem of language and
understanding arises. (These problems are not in all cases.)

 As the study was done within a limited time, investigator could not select a
sufficiently large sample for the study.

 The employees were reluctant to give correct information.

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 REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A review on the previous studies on stress among the employees is necessary to know
the areas already covered. This will help to find our new areas uncovered and to study them
in depth. The earlier studies made on stress among the employees are briefly reviewed here.

The research study of Jamal. M* finds that job stressors were significantly related to
employees‟ psychosomatic problems, job satisfaction, unproductive time at the job, and
absenteeism. Type A behaviour was found to be an important moderator of the stress
outcome relationship.

Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956 was
that “stress is not necessarily something bad – it all depends on how you take it. The stress of
exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or
infection is detrimental.” Selye believed that the biochemical effects of stress would be
experienced irrespective of whether the situation was positive or negative.

The most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S

Lazarus) is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that
“demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.”
In short, it's what we feel when we think we've lost control of events.

Brief. A. P. and J. M. Atieh*, argues that it is not safe to assume that job conditions
that have an adverse impact on affective reactions to the job will also have a negative impact
on overall subjective well-being.

Fienmann views stress as a psychological response state of negative effect

characterized by a persistent and a high level of experienced anxiety or tension.

Hans Seyle, the endocrinologist, whose research on General Adaptation Syndrome

(GAS), for the first time, revealed how human beings adapt themselves to emotional strives
and strains in their lives. According to him emotional stress occurs in three important stages.
1. Alarm reaction stage 2. Resistance stage 3. Exhaustion stage.

Alarm reaction is caused by physical or psychological stressors. Resistances are

brought about by ACTH hormone of the body. Exhaustion follows when ACTH dwindles as
a result of continual stress. (ACTH-Aprinocorticotropic)

14
 According to Stephen .P. Robbins*, stress related headaches are the leading cause of
loss of work time in U. S. industry.

Cooper and Marshall* visualize stress as characteristics of both the focal individual
and his environment. They designate the internal and external consultive forces as „pressures‟
or „stressors‟ and the resulting stalk of the organism on stress.

Recent research into the interaction between the mind and body show that we may
place our body on stress „alert‟ quite unconsciously, because of our psychological and
emotional attitudes to stress. Anticipatory emotions like impatience, anxiety, and anger can
produce the same nerve impulses and chemical reactions as being faced with a concrete
challenge. So when faced with a stressful situation, we must either use up the energy created
by the body to challenge or learn how to “turn off”, the response using a conscious relaxation
technique.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research is defined as human activity based on intellectual application in the investigation of

matter. The primary purpose for applied research is discovering, interpreting, and the
development of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge on a wide
variety of scientific matters of our world and the universe. Research can use the scientific
method, but need not do so.

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. The research
methodology in the present study deals with research design, data collection methods,
sampling methods, survey, analysis and interpretations.

APPROACHES TO RESEARCH

Descriptive approach is one of the most popular approaches these days. In this approach, a
problem is described by the researcher by using questionnaire or schedule. This approach
enables a researcher to explore new areas of investigation.

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a
manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.

 A well structured questionnaire is framed.

 Data is collected from the employees in the BANKING INDUSTRY.
 Findings are made and necessary suggestions and recommendations are given.

DATA SOURCES

There are two types of data collection namely primary data collection and secondary data
collection.

PRIMARY DATA

The primary data is defined as the data, which is collected for the first time and fresh in
nature, and happen to be original in character through field survey.

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SECONDARY DATA

The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and have
been passed through statistical process.

DATA COLLECTION METHOD

The data collection method used in this research is questionnaire method. Here the data are
systematically recorded from the respondents.

RESEARCH TOOL

A structured questionnaire has been prepared to get the relevant information from the
respondents. The questionnaire consists of a variety of questions presented to the respondents
for their despondence.

SAMPLING

Sampling is that part of statistical practice concerned with the selection of individual
observations intended to yield some knowledge about a population of concern, especially for
the purposes of statistical inference. Each observation measures one or more properties
(weight, location, etc.) of an observable entity enumerated to distinguish objects or
individuals. Survey weights often need to be applied to the data to adjust for the sample
design. Results from probability theory and statistical theory are employed to guide practice.

SAMPLE UNIT

The employees of the BANKING INDUSTRY are the sample unit in the survey.

SAMPLE SIZE

The sample size chosen for this study is 30 .

SAMPLING METHOD

Sampling methods are classified as either probability or non probability. In probability

samples, each member of the population has a known non-zero probability of being selected.
Probability methods include random sampling, systematic sampling, and stratified sampling.
In non probability sampling, members are selected from the population in some nonrandom
manner. These include convenience sampling, judgment sampling, quota sampling, and

17
snowball sampling. The advantage of probability sampling is that sampling error can be
calculated. Sampling error is the degree to which a sample might differ from the population.
When inferring to the population, results are reported plus or minus the sampling error. In
non probability sampling, the degree to which the sample differs from the population remains
unknown.
In this research, the sampling methods used are Random sampling, Convenience sampling and
Snowball sampling

 Random sampling is the purest form of probability sampling. Each member of

the population has an equal and known chance of being selected. When there are
very large populations, it is often difficult or impossible to identify every
member of the population, so the pool of available subjects becomes biased.

 Judgment sampling is a common non-probability method. The researcher

selects the sample based on judgment. This is usually an extension of
convenience sampling. For example, a researcher may decide to draw the entire
sample from one "representative" city, even though the population includes all
cities. When using this method, the researcher must be confident that the chosen
sample is truly representative of the entire population.

STATISTICAL METHODS USED

 Percentage analysis
 Pie diagrams

PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS:

Percentage refers to a special kind of ratio. Percentages are used in making comparison
between two or more series of data. Percentage is used to describe relative terms the
distribution of two or more series of data.

No. of Respondents

Percentage of Respondents = ------------------------ X 100

Total Respondents

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 INDUSTRY PROFILE

CANARA BANK

The Canara Bank is one of the largest public sector banks owned by the Government of
India. It is headquartered in Bengaluru. It was established at Mangalore in 1906 by
Ammembal Subba Rao Pai. It is one of the oldest public sector banks in the country. The
government nationalized the bank in 1969. As of 30 October 2017, the bank had a network of
6639 branches and more than 10600 ATMs spread across all over India. The bank also has
offices abroad in London, Hong Kong, Moscow, Shanghai, Doha, Bahrain, South Africa,
Dubai, Tanzania and New York.

Widely known for customer centricity, Canara Bank was founded by Shri Ammembal Subba
Rao Pai, a great visionary and philanthropist, in July 1906, at Mangalore, then a small port
town in Karnataka. The Bank has gone through the various phases of its growth trajectory
over hundred years of its existence. Growth of Canara Bank was phenomenal, especially after
nationalization in the year 1969, attaining the status of a national level player in terms of
geographical reach and -Bank. In June 2006, the Bank completed a century of operation in
the Indian -banking industry. The eventful journey of the Bank has been characterized by
several memorable milestones.

Ammembal Subba Rao Pai, a philanthropist, established the Canara Hindu Permanent Fund
in Mangalore, India, on 1 July 1906. The bank changed its name to Canara Bank Limited in
1910 when it incorporated.

Canara Bank's first acquisition took place in 1961 when it acquired Bank of Kerala. This had
been founded in September 1944 and at the time of its acquisition on 20 May 1961 had three
branches. The second bank that Canara Bank acquired was Seasia Midland Bank (Alleppey),
which had been established on 26 July 1930 and had seven branches at the time of its
takeover.

19
In 1958, the Reserve Bank of India had ordered Canara Bank to acquire G. Raghumathmul
Bank, in Hyderabad. This bank had been established in 1870, and had converted to a limited
company in 1925. At the time of the acquisition G. Raghumathmul Bank had five branches.
The merger took effect in 1961. Later in 1961, Canara Bank acquired Trivandrum Permanent
Bank. This had been founded on 7 February 1899 and had 14 branches at the time of the
merger.

Next, Canara Bank acquired four banks in 1963: the Sree Poornathrayeesa Vilasam Bank,
Thrippunithura, Arnad Bank, Tiruchirapalli, Cochin Commercial Bank, Cochin, and Pandyan
Bank, Madurai. Sree Poornathrayeesa Vilasam Bank had been established on 21 February
1923 and at the time of its acquisition it had 14 branches. Arnad Bank had been established
on 23 December 1942 and at the time of its acquisition had only one branch. Cochin
Commercial Bank had been established on 3 January 1936, and at the time of its acquisition
had 13 branches.

The Government of India nationalised Canara Bank, along with 13 other major commercial
banks of India, on 19 July 1969. In 1976, Canara Bank inaugurated its 1000th branch. In
1985, Canara Bank acquired Lakshmi Commercial Bank in a rescue. This brought Canara
Bank some 230 branches in northern India.

In 1996, Canara Bank became the first Indian Bank to get ISO certification for "Total Branch
Banking" for its Seshadripuram branch in Bangalore. Canara Bank has now stopped opting
for ISO certification of branches.

Canara Bank established its international division in 1976. In 1983, Canara Bank opened its
first overseas office, a branch in London. Two years later, Canara Bank established a
subsidiary in Hong Kong, Indo Hong Kong International Finance. In 2008-9, Canara Bank
opened its third foreign operation, this one a branch in Shanghai. Later Canara Bank
established a branch each in Leicester and Bahrain, and converted its Hong Kong subsidiary
into a branch. It also has a representative office in Sharjah.

20
 RESULTS & DISCUSSIONS

1.AGE PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS

TABLE 1
AGE

Frequency Percent

Valid 25 – 30 6 20.0

30 – 35 14 46.7

35 – 40 10 33.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:

Maximum respondents were in the age group of 30 – 35.

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2.GENDER PROFILE OF THE RESPONDENTS

TABLE 2
GENDER

Frequency Percent

Valid MALE 15 50.0

FEMALE 15 50.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
There are equal number of male & female respondents.

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3.WORK EXPERIENCE OF RESPONDENTS

TABLE 3
EXPERIENCE

Frequency Percent

Valid < 5 YEARS 9 30.0

5 - 10 YEARS 17 56.7

> 10 YEARS 4 13.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
More than 50% of the respondents had a work experience of about 5 – 10 years.

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4.EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF RESPONDENTS

TABLE 4
QUALIFICATION

Frequency Percent

Valid UG 21 70.0

PG 9 30.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
70% of the respondents are PG qualified with an MBA or equivalent degree.

24
Q1. Do you suffer with difficulty in sleeping?

TABLE 1.1
RESPONDENTS WITH DIFFICULTY IN SLEEPING

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT AL 8 26.7

RARELY 8 26.7

SOMETIMES 7 23.3

OFTEN 5 16.7

VERY OFTEN 2 6.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
From the above table, it is understood that 26.7% of the employees rarely have any trouble in
sleeping ,23.3% find it difficult sometimes ,16.7% face the problem very often and 6.7% of
the employees find extreme difficulty in sleeping.
Therefore, it is observed that for most parts,the employees do not have any problems with
sleeping.

25
Q2. Do you find it difficult to concentrate?

TABLE1.2
RESPONDENTS WITH DIFFICULTY IN
CONCENTRATING

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 5 16.7

RARELY 11 36.7

SOMETIMES 10 33.3

OFTEN 4 13.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
It is clear that 16.7% of the employees have absolutely no difficulty in concentrating,36.7%
of them rarely have a problem ,33.3% sometimes and only a small group of 13.3% find it
difficult to concentrate at work.
Therefore, it can be said that mostly the employees have no trouble in concentrating at work.

26
Q3. Do financial problems get you down?

TABLE 1.3
RESPONDANTS WITH FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 10 33.3

SOMETIMES 12 40.0

OFTEN 8 26.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
The table shows that, 40% of the employees feel that financial problems put them down
sometimes, 30% felt that it did not affect them at all and 26.7% of them felt that very often it
caused them problems. Therefore, it is identified that financial trouble does put down people
sometimes.

27
Q4. Do you find yourself 'self-medicating' with additional alcohol, nicotine
or other substances?

Table 1.4
RESPONDENTS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 7 23.3

RARELY 3 10.0

SOMETIMES 5 16.7

OFTEN 8 26.7

VERY OFTEN 7 23.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
This table indicates that 26.7% of the employees „„self medicate‟‟ quite often, 23.3% resort to
alcoholism etc very frequently to relieve stress while 23.3% of them do not resort to
substance abuse at all . It shows that most employees give into excessive alcoholism or some
other forms of self medication most times to reduce stress
28
Q5. Do you get angry quickly?

TABLE 1.5
RESPONDENTS AND FREQUENCY OF ANGER

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 10 33.3

SOMETIMES 12 40.0

VERY OFTEN 8 26.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
40% of the employees claim that they sometimes get angry often while 33.3% feel that they
do not get angry very often. Also 26.7% of them say that they get very angry most of the
time.
Therefore, it is inferred that most of the employees are relatively calm and get angry only
sometimes.

29
Q6. Do you find you are prone to negative thinking about your job?

TABLE 1.6
RESPONDENTS WITH JOB PESSIMISM

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT AL 10 33.3

RARELY 13 43.3

SOMETIMES 7 23.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
The table clearly shows that the employees have no negative thoughts about their job since
40% of them feel that it happens only rarely and 33.3.% say that it never happens.
Therefore, the rate of job pessimism or negative thinking about one‟s job is very low.

30
Q7. When you have been ill with relatively minor illnesses, does it take you
a long time to recover?

Table 1.7
RESPONDENTS WITH SLOW RECOVERY DURING ILLNESS

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 11 36.7

RARELY 11 36.7

SOMETIMES 8 26.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
From the table, it is seen that most of the employees (36.7%) recuperate pretty quickly from
an illness while only 26.7% of them say that sometimes a long slow recovery period is taken.
It is inferred that most of the employees get back to their feet pretty soon after an illness and
do not stay in bed for excessive periods of time.

31
Q8. Do you feel you are isolated, with no-one to talk to?

TABLE 1.8
RESPONDENTS WHO FEEL ISOLATED

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 14 46.7

RARELY 10 33.3

SOMETIMES 6 20.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
This table shows that majority of the people do not feel isolated or lonely. 46.7% of them do
not feel any isolation while 33.3% say it happens rarely.
Therfore,it is seen that most of the employees have someone to talk to and relate with and are
not isolated or alone.

32
Q9. Do you feel out of control and as if you're not in the driving seat of
your life and health?

TABLE1.9
RESPONDENTS WITH NO CONTROL OF LIFE

Frequency Percent

Valid RARELY 12 40.0

SOMETIMES 12 40.0

OFTEN 6 20.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
This table shows that most of the employees have control of their lives and are in the driving
seat of their own lives while only 20% felt that they are being controlled by others and not
themselves.

33
Q10. Do you 'snack' instead of eating 'wholesome' meals?

TABLE 1.10
RESPONDENTS WITH BAD EATING HABITS

Frequency Percent

Valid SOMETIMES 9 30.0

OFTEN 12 40.0

VERY OFTEN 9 30.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
The values in the table clearly indicate that all the employees indulge in snacking rather than
in consumption of wholesome nutritious meals due heavy work pressure ,time constraints
and job demands.

34
Q11. When conflict arises at work or at home, do you tend to over-
react?

TABLE 1.11
RESPONDENTS WHO OVER REACT TO
CONFLICTS

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 9 30.0

RARELY 13 43.3

SOMETIMES 8 26.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
It is seen that most people do not over react to conflicts either at home or at work. Only
26.7% of them tend to over react in some situations.

35
Q12. Do you feel that there is more work to do than you
realistically have the capacity to do?

TABLE 1.12
RESPONDENTS WHOSE WORK EXCEEDS
ONE'S CAPACITY

Frequency Percent

Valid RARELY 2 6.7

SOMETIMES 11 36.7

OFTEN 12 40.0

VERY OFTEN 5 16.7

Total 30 100.0

:
INFERENCE:
The table shows that most of the employees feel that their job demands and requires more
than what they are actually capable of doing. In most cases, their workload exceeds their
capacity. Only a small group (6.7%) felt that it was not so.

36
Q13. Do you feel caught between the pressures of responsibility
for family and work life?

TABLE 1.13
RESPONDENTS CAUGHT BETWEEN FAMILY
AND WORK PRESSURE

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 3 10.0

RARELY 5 16.7

SOMETIMES 14 46.7

OFTEN 6 20.0

VERY OFTEN 2 6.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
From the table it is seen that 46.7% of the employees feel that sometimes they are trapped
between the pressures of home and work ,20% feel caught often and 16.7% felt that it
happened very rarely.

37
Q14. Do you feel under – par at the beginning of the day?

TABLE 1.14
RESPONDENTS WHO FEEL UNDER - PAR AT
THE BEGINNING OF A WORK DAY

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 4 13.3

RARELY 16 53.3

SOMETIMES 8 26.7

OFTEN 1 3.3

VERY OFTEN 1 3.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
The table clearly shows that 53.3% of the employees rarely feel under-par even at the
beginning of a working day and only a handful of employees (3.3%) actually feel under-par
on working days.
38
Q15. Do you shy away from social contact with colleagues and
friends?

TABLE 1.15
RESPONDENTS WHO SHY AWAY FROM
SOCIAL CONTACT WITH COLLEAGUES

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 18 60.0

RARELY 9 30.0

SOMETIMES 3 10.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE :
It clearly shows that majority of the employees are actively sociable and do not shy away
from social contact especially with colleagues.

39
Q16. Do other people comment on your not taking care of your
appearance?

TABLE 1.16
RESPONDENTS WHOSE APPEARANCES ARE
COMMENTED UPON

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 16 53.3

RARELY 12 40.0

SOMETIMES 1 3.3

OFTEN 1 3.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
From the table and the pie chart, it is clearly understood that most of the employees are well
dressed and maintain a certain level of grooming and therefore are not commented upon for
shabby appearances by their colleagues.

40
Q17. Do you claim you have no time for hobbies and interests?

TABLE 1.17
RESPONDENTS WITH NO TIME FOR
THEMSELVES

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 1 3.3

RARELY 1 3.3

SOMETIMES 11 36.7

OFTEN 10 33.3

VERY OFTEN 7 23.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
The pie chart and table values clearly indicate that most of the employees are so busy and
caught up with work pressure that they barely have any time for themselves. They have
almost no time for their hobbies and self interests.
41
Q18. Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your
colleagues, friends or family members?

TABLE 1.18
RESPONDENTS WHO FEEL MISUNDERSTOOD/
UNAPPRECIATED BY OTHERS

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT AL 17 56.7

RARELY 7 23.3

SOMETIMES 6 20.0

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
Here again, most of the employees are satisfied and not misunderstood or unappreciated by
their colleagues or family members. Only 20% feel that at certain times they are
misunderstood.

42
Q19. Do you feel you have to be the 'coper' for the family or for colleagues,
with no option for seeking support for yourself?

TABLE 1.19
RESPONDENTS WHO ARE COPERS FOR
FAMILY/ COLLEAGUES WITH NO SUPPORT
FOR THEMSELVES

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 1 3.3

RARELY 12 40.0

SOMETIMES 12 40.0

OFTEN 5 16.7

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
Here there are 2 strong groups- one group(40%) feel that very rarely do they have to be
copers for everyone else with no support for themselves while the other group also of 40%
feel that sometimes they have no one to seek support from.

43
Q20. Would you take a sick day, not because you feel ill but
overwhelmed, just to keep your 'head above water' emotionally,
mentally and physically?
TABLE 1.20
RESPONDENTS WHO TAKE A DAY OFF JUST
TO RECUPERATE EMOTIONALLY, MENTYALLY
& PHYSICALLY

Frequency Percent

Valid NOT AT ALL 6 20.0

RARELY 1 3.3

SOMETIMES 12 40.0

OFTEN 10 33.3

VERY OFTEN 1 3.3

Total 30 100.0

INFERENCE:
The chart and table indicate that many employees call in a sick day at work not because they
are really sick but because they are too overwhelmed and need time to recuperate
physically,mentally and emotionally.
44
 FINDINGS

1. Most of the respondents have many years of long association with the
organisation
2. Most of the employees feel that they have no time for themselves and
their personal lives because of work overload.
3. The respondents are sociable and have no problems interacting with their
colleagues.
4. Employees‟ are satisfied with the working conditions.
5. Role overload is the major cause of stress.
6. The respondents face a moderate level of stress

45
 SUGGESTIONS

 The employees must give importance to time management techniques there by they
can complete their work within the specified time.
 Many tasks can be delegated to subordinates without losing effectiveness so that we
can reduce the overload of work.
 Introduce Flexi time
 Organisations must introduce recreational zones within the premises for the
employees to unwind.
 Adopt the work to home transition strategy. It means instead of carrying the pressures
of the work to home, the suggestion is to start the unwinding process during the work
day and enter the home in a relaxed and peaceful mind.
 Counseling the employees when they face problems, because counseling is the
discussion of a problem that usually has emotional content with an employee in order
to help the employee cope better.
 The organization must introduce Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and stress
control workshops accordingly to the level of employees, because there is a strong
relation between the level of stress and level of employees. EAP includes counseling
employees who seek assistance on how to deal with alcohol and drug abuse,
managing personal finances, handling conflicts at the work place, dealing with marital
and other family problems, and coping with health problems.
 Engaging the bored employee in aerobic exercise, because it stimulates the brain and
the body. Also the employee must practice meditation and yoga regularly.

EMPLOYEES’ SUGGESTION TO REDUCE STRESS

This project consists of the information about the employees, working in the banking
industry, who are undergoing stress. So considering this factor, the topic becomes one of the
most important part of the project as it consists of the opinion of the employees who work in
the banks. The response of employees from major banks in the city was marvellous as they
gave their valuable opinion about reducing stress as a result of the last question included in
the questionnaire. The opinion of the employees were as follows:
46
 “Just smile away” An employee- HDFC Bank
 “Just believe in yourself and just do what your heart wants” An employee-
HDFC Bank
 -“Talking to family member “- Watching TV or listening good music, -
Going for a walk or long drive” An employee- HDFC Bank
 “Believe in God” An employee- Bank of Baroda
 “Respect yourself and give time to yourself” An employee- CitiBank
 “Working in environment welfares, lot of positive attitude. Positive attitude is
only that reduces stress and achieves success. Most of the people frustrate due to
lack of positivity and stress level climbs up due to that. So get positive attitude about
work, about life, and forget the stress” An employee- CitiBank
 “We should do such activities from which we get happiness and also make
others happy. Pass your time with your close friends and relatives.” An employee-
ICICI Bank
 “Play and watch cricket” An employee- ICICI Bank
 “Listen music and spend time with family” An employee- Deutsche Bank
 “Get adjusted with others, Find and spend time for prayer, Study the
scriptures, See oneness in all, All are manifested of the supreme GOD” An
employee- Deutsche Bank

47
 CONCLUSION

Stress in the work place has become the black plague of the present century. Much of the
stress at work is caused not only by work overload and time pressure but also by lack of
rewards and praise, and more importantly, by not providing individuals with the autonomy to
do their work as they would like.

Organization must begin to manage people at work differently,improve physical work

environment, treat them with respect and value their contribution. If we enhance the
psychological well being and health of the employees,the organizational revenue increases
and there is employee retention as well.. Because it is said that,

“A Healthy Employee is a Productive Employee”

48
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1. Jamal M. “Job stress-prone Type A behaviour, personal and organizational

consequences”, Canadian Journal Administration Sciences, 1985. pp 360-74.
2. A. P and J. M. Atieh, “Studying job stress: Are we making mountains out of molehills?”
Journal of occupational behavior, 1987 pp115-26.
3. PaulHersey, Kenneth H. Blanchard, Dewey E. Johnson –“Organizational Behavior”,
Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd, 1998.
4. Stephen P. Robbins, “Organizational Behavior”, Prentice Hall, U .K. 1999.
5. Cooper. C. L. and Marshall. J, “Understanding Executive Stress”, The McMillan Press
Ltd, 1978 p 4.
6. K. Aswathappa, “Organizational Behavior”,Himalaya Publishing House

WEBSITES

1. http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/psychology/stress/stress.asp
2. http://www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.htm
3. http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
4. http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm
5. http://stress.about.com/
6. http://www.studygs.net/stress.htm
7. www.wikipedia.com
8. www.finance.indiamart.com

49
50
 QUESTIONNAIRE

NAME: AGE:

GENDER: QUALIFICATION:

1 Do you suffer with difficulty in sleeping?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

2 Do you find it difficult to concentrate?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

3 Do financial problems get you down?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

4 Do you find yourself 'self-medicating' with additional alcohol, nicotine

or other substances?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

\ 5 Do you get angry quickly?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

6 Do you find you are prone to negative thinking about your job?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

51
 When you have been ill with relatively minor illnesses, does it take you a long time
7
to recover?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

8 Do you feel you are isolated, with no one to talk to?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

Do you feel out of control, as if you are not in the driving seat of your life and
9
health?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

10 Do you snack instead of eating “wholesome meals”?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

11 When conflict arises at work or at home, do you tend to over-react?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

Do you feel that there is more work to do than you realistically have the capacity to
12
do?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

52
 Do you feel caught between the pressures of responsibility for family and for
13
work?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

14 Do you feel 'under par' even at the beginning of a working day?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

15 Do you shy away from social contact with colleagues and friends?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

16 Do other people comment on your not taking care of your appearance?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

17 Do you claim you have no time for hobbies and interests?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your colleagues, friends or family

18
members?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

53
 Do you feel you have to be the “coper” for your family or colleagues with no option
19
for seeking support for yourself?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

Would you take a sick day not because you feel ill but overwhelmed, just to keep
20
your “head above water” emotionally, mentally & physically?

a. Not at all b. Rarely c. Sometimes d. Often

e. Very Often

21 Kindly give us your suggestions, if any, to manage stress _____________

54