Job Stress, Coping Process and Intentions to Leave

Abstract

Introduction Generally, for a company, it is believed that employees are their key assets, but nowadays, companies are realising that employees are their most important assets. This is because in a world where technologies, processes, and products are quickly duplicated by competitors, and the pace of change and level of competition are constantly increasing, people are the key to the most reliable sources of advantage-better service, increased responsiveness, stronger customer relationships, and the creativity and innovation that keep a company one step ahead. At the same time, however, it's getting tougher to hold on to those employees. Retention is becoming a major issue, as; unemployment is at its lowest point in a quarter of a century. Living in an "information society", we are bombarded with information technology, especially at work environment, whether or not we actually want to. Software organisations are growing both vertically and horizontally throughout the globe. For organisations, the adverse effects of stress may act as an impediment to performance and to the change process. The effects may be seen in poor job performance, high levels of absenteeism, discontent among the workforce, high turnover of labor with the loss of "good" employees, and a large increase in recruitment and retraining costs (McHugh and Brennan, 1992). Although having undeniable effects on organisational performance, stress at work has been understood mainly from the perspective of the individual. Although information on the costs of work-related stress is scarce, where available, costs appear to be high. The main portion of the costs is determined by the absence and by disability resulting from psychological (health) problems.