Chronic Occupational Stress: Exploring Cognitive and Emotional Symptoms among Employees

Introduction: The human body does not distinguish between physical and psychological threats. If an employee suffers from occupational stress, their interactions with others including friends, relatives, and colleagues, may lead to negative reactions. These reactions can be as intense as those experienced in life-or-death situations. When employees in an organization face numerous responsibilities and worries, their stress response may be repeatedly triggered. Once an employee’s stress response system is activated frequently, it becomes easier to trigger and harder to shut off. Prolonged exposure to occupational stress can lead to serious health problems. Chronic occupational stress disrupts every system in the human body: it can increase blood pressure, suppress the immune system, heighten the risk of heart-related issues, and raise the chances of infertility. It also accelerates the aging process. Materials and Methods: The present study is exploratory and focuses on exploring cognitive and emotional symptoms among Information Technology employees in the workplace. The sample organizations were selected using a random sampling technique, comprising three small-scale IT units from Pune and three from Chandigarh. The total sample size was approximately ۳۰۰ respondents, with ۱۵۰ employees from Pune and ۱۵۰ from Chandigarh. A stratified random sampling technique was employed to select the respondents. Results: A major finding of our study is that Where the effects of stress are concerned we found that due to occupational stress, there are symptoms like moodiness, irritability, short temper, feeling negative about everything, and nervousness. So, the numbers of respondents who have been affected by these symptoms of occupational stress are relatively more in Pune city than in Chandigarh. However, respondents who display symptoms like restlessness, getting confused easily, gain or loss of weight are relatively more in Chandigarh city than in Pune. Also, it has been found that for respondents from both cities (Pune and Chandigarh) worrying and lack of confidence are common effects of stress in the workplace. Conclusion: The present study was conducted to identify cognitive and emotional symptoms among Information Technology employees in Pune and Chandigarh.

کلیدواژه ها:

Chronic occupational stress ، Employees ، Health problems ، Physical and psychological threats ، Workplace