University Business Research: Occupational Stress and Motivation

This business research report investigates the critical issue of occupational stress and its profound effects on employee motivation and organizational outcomes. The research aims to determine if occupational stress leads to employee demotivation and reduced productivity, exploring the link between stress and employee turnover rates, and examining how mental and physical illnesses associated with stress impact employee efficiency. The report reviews existing literature on the causes and consequences of occupational stress, including factors like workload, lack of autonomy, and poor working conditions. It highlights the impact of stress on employee well-being, leading to health problems and potential organizational failure due to high absenteeism and turnover. The research methodology involves a mixed-methods approach, combining a review of business journals and management theories with a survey of employees to assess the effects of stress on their motivation and productivity. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of addressing occupational stress to improve employee health, well-being, and overall organizational success.

Running Head: BUSINESS RESEARCH
Business Research
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Introduction:
The issue of occupational stress deserves special mention in today’s workplace, as it has
emerged to be a major health hazard affecting millions of employees. While occupational stress
in employees has stayed an important issue as it results in severe physical illness, depression and
anxiety as well as substance abuse in employees, the crucial role it plays in influencing on
employee motivation has not received much critical attention.
Research Aims and Objectives:
The aim of the research is to examine if the employees suffering from occupational stress
fail to stay motivated and work productively in an organization.
The research questions that the research intends to explore are as follows:
 Does occupational stress can lead to employee de-motivation and lead to low employee
productivity?
 Do the organizations which are unable to eliminate employee occupational stress suffer
from low employee turnover rates?
 Do mental illness such as anxiety and panic attack and physical illness such as back pain,
or indigestion can affect the employee efficiency rate of the employees?
Literature Review:
Common Causes of Occupational Stress:
According to the Person Environment Model of employee health, the health of the
employee is dependent on the job role of the employee and his skills, knowledge and expertise.
In case an employee is continuously assigned tasks outside his professional domain, he may

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suffer from occupational stress in the form of anxiety (Schaufeli et al., 2017). Besides, in
absence of autonomy at workplace, apathy of the employer to understand employee feedback,
low salary and no appraisal can lead to occupational stress (O'Brien & Beehr, 2016). Besides,
poor working conditions, longer working hours than usual, as well as excessive workload are
common causes of occupational stress.
Impact of Occupational Stress on the Well-being of Employees:
With prolonged occupational stress, an employee is exposed to a variety of health
problems. At earlier stage, the affected employee may suffer from minor heath problems such as
headache, muscle pain, fatigue and insomnia (Adriaenssens et al., 2015). However, if an
employee is exposed to stress for a prolonged period, occupational stress can lead to serious
diseases such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Asthma and Spastic colon that can prove to be
fatal. Although it is an underrepresented fact, occupational stress also leads to the development
of suicidal behavior, domestic violence and substance abuse amongst the employees
(Thirumaleswari & Ragothaman, 2015).
Impact of Occupational Stress on Employee Well-being:
Occupational stress is not only harmful to employee well-being, but if not managed well,
can lead to organizational failure. The occupational stress has been identified to be the single
factor contributing to 40% of employee turnover and 50% employee absenteeism (Siegrist,
2016).
Research Gap:

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Although previous researches have shed light on the definition and problem of
occupational stress as well as its impact, no or very little research has discussed about how the
issue of occupational stress can affect employee productivity and leading to organizational
failure. In case an employee is suffering from occupational stress, he will be unwell and as a
result, the company will have to suffer from problems like high absenteeism and high employee
turnover rates.
Research Methodology:
The proposed research intends to adopt both qualitative as well as quantitative research
methods (Flick, 2015). The past business journals and management theories will be critically
evaluated to gain an insight into concepts like employee motivation and occupational safety. On
the other hand, a survey will be conducted on 15 employees of Asux Private Limited to
understand if and how occupational stress affects their motivation.
Conclusion:
Occupational stress not only affects employee health and well-being, but also employee
motivation in a negative way. In case an employee is suffering from illness or is leading an
unhealthy social life, it is quite expected that he will not turn up for work every day, or will not
stay loyal to the organization. Hence, it is imperative to examine to what extent does
occupational safety affect employee motivation and what are the steps an organization can
implement to combat the problem.

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Reference List:
Adriaenssens, J., De Gucht, V., & Maes, S. (2015). Causes and consequences of occupational
stress in emergency nurses, a longitudinal study. Journal of Nursing Management, 23(3),
346-358.
Clough, B. A., March, S., Chan, R. J., Casey, L. M., Phillips, R., & Ireland, M. J. (2017).
Psychosocial interventions for managing occupational stress and burnout among medical
doctors: a systematic review. Systematic Reviews, 6(1), 144.
Flick, U. (2015). Introducing research methodology: A beginner's guide to doing a research
project. Sage.
O'Brien, K. E., & Beehr, T. A. (2016). Managing employees' occupational stress. Stress and
quality of working life: Interpersonal and occupation
‐based stress, 181-198.
Schaufeli, W. B., Maslach, C., & Marek, T. (Eds.). (2017). Professional burnout: Recent
developments in theory and research. Taylor & Francis.
Siegrist, J. (2016). Stress in the workplace. The New Blackwell Companion to Medical
Sociology, 268.
Thirumaleswari, T., & Ragothaman, C. B. (2015). Employeeengagement amediator for
managing occupational stress among women nurses a study with special reference to
selected hospitals in kanchipuram district. Journal on Management Studies, 1(2).
WILMAR, B. S., & Buunk, B. P. (2017). Professional Burnout. Routledge.