Annexure 1: Questionnaire

Role Stress: A Comparative Study of Public and Private Sector Banks

Dear Respondent, This survey is being carried out to know about the role stress of employees in banks. The information provided by the respondent in the questionnaire shall be used strictly for academic purposes and shall be kept confidential

Questionnaire

NameAge (in yrs.) <=20

21-30

31-40

41-50

>50

Native Place.. Organization. Type: Public Private

(Name)

Total work experience :( in yrs) Gender: Male Female Marital Status: Married Unmarried Spouse working: Yes No Type of Family: Nuclear Joint Education: High School Graduate Post Graduate Other Gross Monthly Salary (in Rs.) <=10,000 11,000-20,000 21,000-30,000 31,000-40,000 >40,000 Number of promotions received: Nil Number of increments received: Number of additional work in-charges: Nil One Two More than two One Two More than two

1. Read each statement and Select the alternative which you personally believe to be more true. Indicate your response by putting a tick mark (): I MORE STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT 1. a) Many of the unhappy things in peoples lives are partly due to bad luck b) Peoples misfortunes result from the mistakes they make 2. a) No matter how hard you try some people just dont like you. b) People who cannot get others to like them do not understand how to get along with others. 3. a) I have often found that what is going to happen will happen. b) Trusting to fate has never been better as making a decision to take a definite course of action.

249

4. a) Becoming a success is a matter of hard work; luck has little or nothing to do with it. b) Getting a good job depends mainly on being in the right place at the right time. 5. a) When I make plans, I am almost certain that I can make them work. b) It is not always wise to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of good or bad fortune any how. 6. a) In my case getting what I want has little or nothing to do with luck. b) Many times we might just as well decide what to do by flipping a coin.

7. a) Who gets to be the boss often depends on who was lucky enough to be in the right place. b) Getting people to do the right thing depends upon ability; luck has little or nothing to do with it. 8. a) One should always be willing to admit his mistakes. b) It is usually best to cover up ones mistakes. 9. a) In the long run the bad things that happen to us are balanced by the good ones. b) Most misfortunes are the results of lack of ability, ignorance, laziness, or all three. 10. a) A good leader expects people to decide for themselves what they should do. b) A good leader makes it clear to everybody what their jobs are. 11. a) Many times I feel that I have little influence over the things happen to me. b) It is impossible for me to believe that chance or luck plays an important role in my life. 12. a) What happens to me is my own doing. b) Sometimes I feel that I dont have enough control over the direction my life is taking. 2. Number of rewards you received for your job performance

250

Nil One Two More than two 3. Assume that you have received a new challenging assignment to be completed within a given time frame. Keeping into consideration what prevails in your organization rate each of the following statements on a scale of 1 to 5. Rate 1 is to be given if you feel that the statement highly applies to your organization, Rate 2 if it applies most of the times, Rate 3 if it applies sometimes, Rate 4 if it applies occasionally & 5 which indicates that the statement does not apply to your organization. If I complete it, I will become eligible for reward (promotion, appreciation, increment etc.) as achieving goals is the main concern here

The help of experts will be sought in completing the assignment and preventing the mistakes It will be very difficult to complete the assignment as excessive rules & administrative details are followed here Organization emphasizes that the completion of assignment should take care of the needs of employees as well as society Getting information will not be a problem as the main concern of people here is to help each other

4. Read each statement and indicate how often you have the feeling expressed in the statement in relation to your role in the organization. The statements are designed to know the level of role stress faced by an employee in an organization. Do not leave any item unanswered. Answer the items in the following order:
Tick never if you never feel this way; Tick occasionally if you occasionally feel this way; Tick sometimes if you sometimes feel this way; Tick frequently if you frequently feel this way; Tick always if you always feel this way.

Statement I am not able to give time to my family because of work I am afraid I am not learning enough in my present role for taking up higher responsibility. I am able to satisfy the

never

occasionally

sometimes

frequently

always

251

conflicting demands of various people above me. I feel that the amount of work I have to do is more than it should be. I receive help from others at work whenever needed. I have adequate knowledge to handle the responsibilities in my role. I am not clear on the scope and responsibilities of my role (job). I get the information needed to carry out responsibilities assigned to me. I have various other interests (social, religious, etc.) which remain neglected because I do not get time to attend to these. Many functions that should be a part of my role have been assigned to some other role. I have so much work that I do not have time to think about maintaining quality I should have given more attention to the development of skills which I need. I am able to use my training and expertise in my role. I know what the people I work with expect of me.

10

11

12

13 14

15 I have enough time and opportunities to prepare myself for the future challenges of my role.

252

16 I am not able to satisfy the demands of clients and others, since these are conflicting with one another. 17 I have been given too much responsibility 18 I feel isolated at work. 19 I have to work under vague and unclear directions. 20 I see many growth opportunities for myself. 21 I can not do much more than what I have been assigned. 22 If I had full freedom to define my role, I would be doing some things differently from the way I do them now. 23 I do not lack the necessary facilities needed to carry out different varieties of tasks in my role. 24 My family and friends complain that I do not spend time with them due to the heavy demands of my work role. 25 I often do things that are acceptable to one person but not acceptable to another. 26 I want more challenging tasks to do. 27 Other employees do not give time and attention to my role requirements. 28 I need more training and preparation to do my work properly. 29 My values match with what I have to do at work.

253

30 I am assigned tasks without much resource to complete it.

5. Read each statement and indicate how often you have the feeling expressed in the statement. Indicate your response by putting a tick mark (): Always Sometimes Never Statement

1.

I am comfortable in completing the tasks when there are no deadlines Close supervision by my boss makes me comfortable on work Setting time limit puts me under pressure to complete the task I remain relax and calm under a lot of work I feel comfortable when there is less work to be done Frequently changing situations are irritating Difficult tasks disturb my peace of mind I feel contented when I get simple, easy to do tasks

2.

3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

9.

When my boss closely supervises my work, I feel interrupted 10. I can work under predictable situations only 11. Conflicting situations are difficult to handle
6. Check the number of times you exhibit the behavior stated, in a day: Statement
Never Sometime in a day Always

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Angry Relaxed
Irritable

Exhausted Satisfied Depressed Worthless

254

8. 9. 10. 11. 12 13. 14. 15.

Charged with energy Argumentative Focused Impatient Challenged Worried Calm Bored

7. Listed below are four sections describing the coping strategies to cope with role stress. In each section, you are requested to rate the statements with respect to your use. Check Highly used if you feel that the statement highly applies to your use, Mostly used if it applies most of the times and so on till Never used which indicates that the strategy is not being used by you. Indicate your response by putting a tick mark ():
Coping Strategy
Highly used Mostly used Sometimes used Occasionally Never used used

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Seek professional help Manage time Set goals daily and prioritize the work Prepare an action plan for the work Delegate responsibility instead of carrying it alone Planned break from work Write stress diary Complain Quit the Job

10. Try to look at things differently 11. Engage in Physical exercises 12. Indulge in meditation or yoga

255

13. Use entertainment sources like T.V., Music 14. Engage in a hobby like reading, painting, etc. 15. Talk with Friends/Family 16. Sleep more 17. Day dream 18. Smoke/ Drink alcohol 19. Coffee, Tea etc 20. Leave the Tension at work

8. Mention the number of times you have been appreciated by your senior for your good. Indicate your response by putting a tick mark (): Never thrice Once Twice Thrice More than

9. Read each statement and indicate how often your colleagues at work have the feeling expressed in the statement. Answer the items in the order given below. Indicate your response by putting a tick mark (). Tick never if you never feel this way; Tick occasionally if you occasionally feel this way; Tick sometimes if you sometimes feel this way; Tick frequently if you frequently feel this way; Tick always if you always feel this way.

Statement 1 My colleagues family complains that they bring work tensions at home and thus are not able to give them attention. 2 My colleagues table is full of files, reminders for targets, client requests that by the time he clears them another pile has already been created 3 My colleagues tell that the training and development sessions arranged by the

never

Occasionally

sometimes

frequently

always

256

organization are of great help in satisfying the job needs. 4 My colleagues say that they want to join something of their interests because the work here is boring. 5 My colleagues do not know how to understand the unclear aspects of their jobs.

257