Stress Management Strategies and Employee Performance: An Application of Correlational Research Design on Manufacturing Firms in Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined stress management strategies and employee performance in manufacturing firms in Edo State. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided this research. This study employed the correlational research design and covered all the manufacturing firms in Edo State but five of them were randomly picked for the study and their employees totaled into 1,663, which served as the study’s population, out of which 301 employees were sampled using Taro Yamane’s formula. The instrument for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire. Out of the 301 copies administered, only 264 were found usable for further data analysis and both descriptive and Pearson’s and Spearman’s rank correlation statistics were employed to analyze the study’s data and hypotheses. It was found out that employees in manufacturing firms receive maximum workplace social support and this helps them deal with stressful work situations; and they have high coping competence in handling stress. Also, it was revealed that time management was the most adopted stress management strategy among workers in manufacturing firms and they practice it to a high extent. In addition, it was discovered that mind-body strategy of time management is adopted by the employees, although, not to a very high extent when compared with their adoption of other stress management techniques. More so, the results of the tested hypotheses revealed that there exists a statistically significant correlation between all the stress management strategies outlined in the study and employees’ performance in manufacturing firms. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that the management of manufacturing firms should sensitize their employees in understanding the benefits of mind-body interventions such as massage, yoga, etc. and how to make good use of them for reducing stress levels.