Organizational stress: The cost to employers

Date

2011-04

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Abstract

Organizational stress continues to be a problem in many companies worldwide. This study examined organizational stress and its related costs to employers. Organizational stress was defined as the response from individuals when presented with tasks beyond their ability at work and the cost is that which employers incur in managing stress and as a result of the presence of stress itself. To aid the study, the works of Hoel et al. (2001), Brun (2006) and Tangri (2003) were addressed in the course of the study. Other secondary sources of data such as books, journal articles and research reports were also used in the research. Results obtained were classified both qualitatively and quantitatively; in monetary terms. Employees of two (2) companies filled out the questionnaires and five resource persons were interviewed. Per the findings of the study, it was evident that a positive correlation existed between organizational stress and cost. The health costs identified revealed that a company spent as much as GHC10,800 on stress annually. The qualitative costs were also identified as low productivity, presenteeism, absenteeism and replacement costs. The most dominant causes of stress were additionally identified as work overload and personal factors.

Description

Thesis submitted to the Department of Business Administration, Ashesi University College, in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, April 2011

Keywords

Ghana, stress, productivity, costs

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