MANAGING OCCUPATIONAL STRESS IN THE BANKING SECTOR

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The workplace of the 21st century is a fast-paced, dynamic, highly stimulating environment which brings a large number of benefits and opportunities to those who work within it. The ever-changing demands of the working world can increase levels of stress, especially for those who are consistently working under pressure such as bank workers. Whilst pressure has its positive side in raising performance, if such pressure becomes excessive, it can lead to stress which has negative consequences (Santiago, 2003).

According to the Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary 6th Edition, stress could among other things, refer to pressure, tension or worries arising from problematic situations in an individual’s life. Where the incidence of such stress is traceable to a job or work situation, it is known as job stress (Narayanan et al (2000). According to Narayanan et al (2000) job stress could in fact be identified with almost any aspect of a Job or work situation such as: extremes of heat, noise and light or too much or too little responsibility etc. According to Irene (2005) “job stress is a pattern of reactions that occurs when workers are presented with work demands that are not matched to their knowledge, skills or abilities, and which challenge their ability to cope”. It is evident from this Irene definition that job stress is mostly associated with under employment.

Stress at work is a relatively new phenomenon of modern lifestyles. The nature of work has gone through drastic changes over the last century and it is still changing at whirlwind speed. They have touched almost all professions, starting from an artist to a surgeon, or a commercial pilot to a sales executive. With change comes stress, inevitably. In most cases, occupational stress is attributable to negative situation such as formal reprimand by ones superior for poor performance. Pleasant circumstances could also bring about job stress, such as job promotion and transfer to another location. Job stress has attracted considerable attention in recent times especially within the context or organizational behaviour (Kazmi et al 2008, Shahu and Gole 2008, Nilufar et al 2009).

The Nigerian banking system as a whole has been under serious pressure from internal and external factors in the last few years. Following the National Poverty Eradication Program (NAPEP’s) new policy, the national coordinator of NAPEP Dr. Magnus Kpakol has charged commercial banks to intensify efforts in their support in poverty Eradication.  This means more efforts on the side of the banks employees’. The involvement of commercial banks in the policy has led the management and staffs of the banking sector to work under a great deal of stress to see that the aim and objectives of this policy are achieved.

Bank management must necessarily react to changes if it must remain in business and avoid the pains of distress or outright failure. Management responses to cope with these changes are diverse. It ranges from re-engineering, rationalization of branches and business lines, increased working hours, staff education and retraining or sometimes retrenchment and complete re-organization. Bank workers who are victims of management reactions are equally susceptible to stress. This is perhaps true in that the operational framework of the bank require bank workers to resume early and close very late, the introduction of weekend banking (Saturday banking), while some of them are also required to update themselves academically within a set time, which makes must of category of worker to register for degree/diploma weekend programmes (Giga et al 2002).

The emphasis in the stress management literature has been on individual techniques and practices for reducing levels of stress in the workplace. The individual has been the focus of attention and the psychological dimensions of stress has been the primary focus of research. Cooper (2003) suggests however, that there is a need to counter-balance these social-psychological studies with sociological and critical management research concerned with the wider social and power relations of the workplace. This Empirical study is based in a developing country where contextual socio-political issues and structural-economic conditions impact upon operational practice and workplace stress. Limited telecommunication networks, skill levels and educational attainment of staff, governmental policies and world events, all combine to create a very different business environment to comparable banking organizations in more highly industrialized countries (Mahdi and Dawson, 2007).

 It is therefore important that both bank worker and management should be well acquainted with the

important issue that affect not only workers effectiveness in the work place, but there life in general.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Occupational stress is not a private matter for the employee to deal with alone and in isolation.  Job stress produces negative effects for both the organization and the employee. For the organization, the results are disorganization in the work place, disruption in normal operations, lowered productivity and lower margins of profit. For the employee, the effects are three fold which includes; increased physical health problems, psychological distress and behavioral changes.