Effect of occupational stress on the work performance of the humanitarian sector workers : in Sri Lankan context

Abstract

Purpose of this research was to study the effects of occupational stress on the performances of humanitarian sector workers in Sri Lanka and to measure the correlation between the occupational stresses with the performance level of such workers. With the current economic upheavals many changes have taken place almost within every organization where some of such changes seem to be on favor of the employees while a majority of them have created negative impacts making a perfect foundation for stresses. Responses of 135 humanitarian workers attached to 17 organizations were analyzed using a self administered questionnaire .Out of the two hypothetical condition that were taken in to consideration it was not possible to verify the hypothesis on the significant percentage of humanitarian sector workers suffering from stress with the collected data. However, the second hypothesis on the significant correlation between the stress and the work performance shows a statistical significance with the Pearson correlation analysis. The findings show that the Humanitarian workers are in a state of managing and controlling their stress level within the contemporary settings. A significant level of relationship between the stress and the performance could also be observed in the correlation analysis. Findings of this research will assist organizations in implementing stress management techniques for their employees and improving the organizational performance. There is scope for further studies based on occupational stress within the Sri Lankan context.