STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED FOOD PRODUCTION COMPANIES IN RIVERS STATE

STRESS MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED FOOD PRODUCTION COMPANIES IN RIVERS STATE

The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between stress management strategies and employee performance of selected food production companies in River State, Port Harcourt.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In today’s world, stress has become a worldwide phenomenon, which occurs in various forms in every workplace. In an increasingly competitive landscape, the food production companies involved in new product development and manufacturers are facing more and more challenges. The manufacturing industry as a whole is preparing for a tough year so as to meet the needs of customers. These conditions require the sector to provide quality services and it’s expected to perform well in serving the numerous needs of customers which are changing every day. Due to working for longer hours; as the rising levels of responsibilities require them to exert themselves even more strenuously to meet rising expectations about work performance (Mark, 2012). Stress is a complex and dynamic concept. An undesirable level of stress affects the overall performance of the employee in the organization. According to Celine Fonkeng,(2018) employee performance can generally be defined as all the behavior employees engage in while at work, as long as the behavior contributes to the attainment of the organization’s goals. Therefore, in order to get the work done effectively, the organization or manager should properly manage the level of stress. To achieve this organizational objective, all the factors which influence stress should be properly identified and measured (Kamalakumati and Ambika, 2013).

Job stress has vital importance and has become a key challenge for organizations because of its strapping impact on the performance of an individual as well as the organization. Employees serve as assets for an organization, but when they are stressed, undesirable circumstances such as increased absenteeism; low productivity, low motivation, and usually legal financial damages (which eventually affect the employee work behavior and leads him/her towards the counter-productive work behavior) emerge. So, for the business operations to be conducted efficiently, it is imperative for the employees to perform at their best to attain the organization’s goals. How ever, it is vital for the organization to make a serious effort to devise robust strategies or mechanisms to keep its employees satisfied and stress-free. Stress management strategies is a set of techniques and programs intended to help employees deal more effectively with stress by analyzing the specific stressors and taking positive actions to minimize their effects (Gale Encyclopedia of medicine, 2008). Stress in organizations affects both the individual and the organization (e.g. increased turnover rates). Individuals can be affected at the physiological, affective, and behavioral levels, and in their leisure time and family life. It is very vital for organizations to develop stress management strategies to curb negative stressors.

According to Lee (2010), counseling services aims at changing the perceptions of stress allowing an individual to cope with the situations that were previously triggering problems.  Flextime programs according to Friedman (2012), flexibility is a way to define how and when work gets done and how careers are organized.  It is a critical ingredient to overall workplace effectiveness. Meditation techniques and mindful prayer help the mind and body to focus.  A relaxation technique is not just a peace of mind or enjoying a hobby, but it is a process that decreases the effects of stress on your mind and body. The strategies of counseling services, flextime programs, meditation techniques, and relaxation techniques can play a very vital role in the organization and can help the performance of employees a great deal. However, so many works have been carried out on stress management strategies and employee performance in Nigeria but it appears that only a few studies were carried out on the relationship between stress management strategies and employee performance. However, literature is scant as it applies to Port Harcourt and in food production companies in particular.

Our point of departure, therefore, is to fill the existing knowledge gap in human resource management by developing a model that will provide evidence on how stress management strategies to influence employee performance in food production companies in Port yees‟ commitment.

1.2 Statement of Problem

When an individual who is also referred to an employee is given an appointment in any work environment, it is with the hope that the employee will discharge his duties as and when due and also bring to the organization his wealth of experience irrespective of the individual being an unskilled, semi-skilled or skilled worker. This effort put in by an employee is expected to contribute to the actualization of the existence of an organization. The organization on the other hand is required to part with an amount which should be commensurate to the services rendered by the individual as a reward. This reward the individual receives is used to provide feeding, shelter, clothing, and maintain the desired lifestyle.

The employee that works in an organization is surrounded by family members, friends, superiors, colleagues, and subordinates at work and the environment at large which he interacts with. These factors surrounding the employee require his attention almost at the same time and sometimes this can be overwhelming. Once the employee is overwhelmed, then stress is setting in and it affects the health condition which sometimes leads to lateness to work and then increased sick leave. This then goes further to affect the discharge of duties leading to low productivity which in general affects the achievement of organizational goals.

Many organizations are witnessing an alarming increase in the negative effects of stress on employee productivity (Mbadou and Mbohwa, 2013). Most organizations with the aim of attaining higher productivity end up saddling employees with an overload of work in order to meet the deadline, and this might have psychological and physical effects on the employees. This may result in something contrary to what these organizations want to achieve.

Empirically, the relationship between stress management and employee performance has not been resolved as some studies indicate a significant positive relationship between stress management and employee performance while others show a significant negative relationship. A study conducted by Bewell, Yakubu, Owotunse, and Ojih (2014) concluded that the concept of work-induced stress and workers’ effectiveness and productivity are relatively inseparable. These empirical findings show that the effect of stress on employee performance is not yet resolved and as a result, the component or dimensions of stress management should be studied to shed light on how stress management could bring about effective employee performance in the study area. Also, not much has been done on the effect of stress management strategies on employee performance of selected food production companies in Rivers state Nigeria.

1.3 Conceptualization of study variables

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Fig 1.1 conceptual framework of stress management strategies and employee performance.

The figure above is an operational framework of stress management strategies and employee performance of selected food production companies in River State. Stress management strategies here are the independent variable while employee performance is the dependent variable. The dimensions of stress management strategies in this study are counseling services, flextime programs meditation techniques and relaxation techniques. This was drawn from the work of the strategic journal of business and Change management, (2018).

1.4 Aim and Objective of the Study

The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between stress management strategies and employee performance of selected food production companies in River State, Port Harcourt. The specific objectives of the study include:

1. To ascertain the relationship between counseling services and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.
2. To ascertain the relationship between flextime programs and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.
3. To identify the relationship between meditation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.
4. To identify the relationship between relaxation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

1.5 Research Questions

The following research questions are raised to help shape the direction of this study:

1. What is the relationship between counseling services and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt?
2. What is the relationship between flextime programs and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt?
3. What is the relationship between meditation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt?
4. What is the relationship between relaxation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt?

1.6 Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses have been formulated to help guide the study:

Ho₁: There is no significant relationship between counseling services and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

H_1i: There is a significant relationship between counseling services and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

Ho₂: There is no significant relationship between flextime programs and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

H_2i: There is a significant relationship between flextime programs and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

Ho₃: There is no significant relationship between meditation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

H_3i: There is a significant relationship between meditation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

Ho₄: There is no significant relationship between relaxation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

H_4i: There is a significant relationship between relaxation techniques and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt.

1.7 Significance of the Study

The study is designed to examine the relationship between stress management strategies and employee performance in food production companies in Port Harcourt. Thus, the significance of this study is divided into two aspects: theoretical and practical aspect.

Organizations: First, it will provide a deeper understanding of stress management strategies and how it influences employee performance. The study will reveal to organizations strategies on how to manage stress in an organization   to avoid  negative  stressors

Management Practitioners: To the management practitioners, the findings of this study are expected to provide answers to the fundamental question of why employees stay and what would cause them to leave and to help the organization to structure better politics that will keep employees committed.

Management: Management of food production companies will learn how best to apply stress management strategies that is, the study becomes necessary because it will point out ways through which managements will maintain and communicate with their workers so as to encourage employee performance among them.

Human Resource Teams: Human resource teams will use the findings of this study to formulate viable policy documents that will effectively boost employee confidence and organizational performance as well as operational effectiveness.

Policy Maker: The study will be of great benefit to policymakers as it will re-emphasize the adverse effect and importance of Stress management strategies and the need to make appropriate policies that will help improve the employee performance in general.

Researchers and Students: Researchers and students who may wish to carry out similar studies will benefit using this study as it offers a reference for future research that might examine the relationship between stress management strategies and employee performance or related topics.

1.8    Scope of the Study

The scope considered in this study includes content scope, geographical scope, and unit of analysis.

Content Scope: The elements covered in the independent variable stress management strategies having its dimension as counseling services, flextime programs,  meditation techniques, and relaxation techniques while that of the dependent variable employee performance was measured as employee performance.

Geographical Scope: The study is centered on food production companies in Port Harcourt.

Study Unit Scope: The unit of analysis for this study is at the micro-level. Due to the type of primary data needed for this research, respondents will comprise of managers and employees of food production companies in Port Harcourt.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

Every research work comes with a number of limitations. For the purpose of achieving the stated objectives of the study, the following limitations are inevitable and are classified into two aspects: theoretical and methodological aspects.

This study is limited to selected food production companies in Port Harcourt. This is because not all food production companies in River State can be covered given the short duration of the study. The study is also limited to primary data which involves the design and administration of the questionnaire. Lastly, this study is limited to food production companies. This excludes other sectors such as hospitality, banking sector, health sector, the insurance industry, and other service sectors.

The study is also limited based on the sample size and the significance level used to derive it. Lastly, Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to test the hypothesis that was stated, this tool was used based on the nature of data that will be needed because the tool is limited to primary data that is ranked.

However, these limitations will not in any way invalidate the results of the study.

1.10 Operational Definition of Terms

Stress management: these are a set of techniques and programs intended to help employees deal more effectively with stress in their lives by analyzing the specific stressors and taking positive actions to minimize their effects.

Counseling services: Counseling is a collaborative process that involves the development of a confidential professional relationship that focuses on personal problems.

Flextime programs: is a flexible schedule that allows workers to alter workday start and finish times.

Meditation techniques: Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness or focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.

Relaxation techniques:  relaxation technique is any method, process, procedure, or activity that helps a person to relax, increased calmness, or otherwise reduce levels of pain, anxiety, or stress.

Employee performance: performance can generally be defined as all the behavior employees engage in while at work.