1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
There has been an increasing amount of talk about “employee stress” over the past decade. Quite what it is and how best to combat it are two aspects which are rather less-documented. Stress is a more subjective topic than most we have so far encountered. People may have widely differing views about its causes, impacts and, even, very existence. The workplace of the 21st century is a fast-paced, dynamic, highly stimulating environment which brings a large number of benefits and opportunities to those who work within it. The ever-changing demands of the working world can increase levels of stress, especially for those who are consistently working under pressure such as university workers. Whilst pressure has its positive side in raising performance, if such pressure becomes excessive it can lead to stress which has negative consequences (Santiago, 2003). According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 6th Edition, stress could among other things, refer to pressure, tension or worries arising from problematic situations in an individual’s life. Where the incidence of such stress is traceable to a job or work situation, it is known as work stress (Narayanan et al 1999). As Narayanan et al (1999) further observe work stress could in fact be identified with almost any aspect of a job or work situation such as extremes of heat, noise and light, or too much or too little responsibility etc. According to Irene (2005), Work stress ‘… is a pattern of reactions that occurs when workers are presented with work demands that are not matched to their knowledge, skills or abilities, and which challenge their ability to cope’. It is evident from this Irene’s definition that work stress is mostly associated with under-employment. Stress at work is a relatively new phenomenon of modern lifestyles. The nature of work has gone through drastic changes...