ACADEMIC STRESS FOR MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

Author : R. Latha Department of Management Studies,

Sapthagiri College of Engineering, Periyanahalli.

INTRODUCTIONStudents have to cross many obstacles to

achieve their optimal academic performance.The incidence of stress takes at the level of

management, faculty, students, environment, etc.

Few instances of stress are admission process, fee structure, climate in the campus, nature of faculty, the behaviour of students, etc.

MBA is one of the most common career choices amongst the youth in India today.

Stress in academic institutions can have both positive and negative consequences if not well managed.

Also Express India, on Jan 10 2010 reported that Crime Records Bureau figures show India’s suicide rate has risen 8 per cent a year for 10 years.

WHO lists suicide among the top three causes of death in the age group 15-35.

STRESSStress can refer to experiencing events

perceived as endangering one’s physiological, physical or psychological wellbeing or a combination of these and when there is excessive pressure its intensity and chronic nature can lead to mental and physical ill health including depression, nervous breakdown and heart disease (Quick, Nelson and Hurrel, 1997).

STRESS AMONG MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

STRESS AMONG MANAGEMENT STUDENTSThe management education is an important

medium that facilitates improvement of leadership qualities and turns out excellent future managers.

Students entering into the professional education needs to face many challenges to which they have never been exposed earlier.

The pressure to earn good grades and to earn a degree is very high .

The Stress caused by other factors such as Management, Faculties, Students and Placement is also holding a significant phase among the Management Students.

AIM & OBJECTIVES The main objective of this research is to

understand the “Impact of academic stress upon performance and mental health of MBA students.”

In this study it was attempt to identify the stressors which affect the performance of students, to analyze the impact due to Management, Faculties, Students and Placement on the stress level of students.

METHODOLOGYRespondents were 100 students who are

taken from the District of Dharmapuri of Anna University, Chennai affiliated MBA Colleges.

In the following Research the procedure which is adopted is quantitative approach.

And with the help of literature review the various hypotheses to examine the relation between dependent and independent variable are also used.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS INCLUDESCorrelation Mean analysis

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TOOLS

• Excel• SPSS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

From the study it was found that there are academic stressors as well as psychological stressors which affect the performance of students. Due to stress the students were facing the problems like suffer from headache, sleeplessness, nervousness and moodiness

Management related issues causing stress among MBA studentsIt was found from the research that out of

total respondents there are 68.7% of the students who were of the opinion that they are always stressful because of Management.

Faculty related issues causing stress among MBA studentsIt was found from the research that out of

total respondents there are 71.08% of the students who were of the opinion that they are always stressful because of Faculties.

Co-Students related issues causing stress among MBA studentsIt was found from the research that out of

total respondents there are 69.06% of the students who were of the opinion that they are always stressful because of Co - Students.

Placement related issues causing stress among MBA studentsIt was found from the research that out of

total respondents there are 74.52% of the students who were of the opinion that they are always stressful because of Placement.

TOP 10 CAUSES FOR STRESSRANK INFERENCE

1.5 Fear about criticism by Family, Friends and Society causes Stress to Students.

1.5 Lack of Guidance to Placement Process develops Stress to Students.

3 Showing Partiality among Students develops Stress to Students.

4 Non Co-operative Attitude of Faculties cause Stress to Students.

5 Competition in Placements develops Stress to Students.

6 Non Preparation for Placement develops Stress to Students.

7 Exam results develop Stress to Students.

8 Too many Examinations create Stress to Students.

9.5 Lack of Communication of information from Management to Students may cause Stress to Students.

9.5 Immoral Activities (Drug/ Alcohol/ Cigarette Smoking) develop Stress to Students.

RANKING OF STRESSORS S. No. STRESSOR RANK

1 Placement I

2 Faculties II

3 Co - students III

4 Management IV

CORRELATION ANALYSISAnalysis of Karl Pearson’s Correlation of

Co-efficient Egoistic attitude of co - students develop Stress to Students and Ragging gives Stress to Students.

Interpretation: r = +0.77 Hence there exist Positive Correlation

between Egoistic attitudes of co - students develop Stress to Students and Ragging gives Stress to Students.

TIPS TO MANAGE YOUR STRESS

Students can get run down with so much going on. These tips can help you beat the stress.

-Create a routine. If you get yourself in the habit of studying, working out, and sleeping at certain hours, it will be easier to fit in all the things you need to do in a day without feeling too stressed out.

-Put limits on work hours. You can't work all the time-fun and relaxation have to be part of your routine as well. Limit the times when you will work to give yourself time to sleep and rest up so you won't get sick.

-Give yourself a break. If you've been working steadily for hours, give your eyes and mind a chance for a rest by taking a break. You can come back feeling more refreshed and ready to go.

-Be realistic. Sometimes there's just no way are you going to get done everything you'd like to in one day. Be realistic about your goals and understand that you can only do so much.

-Understand you can't do everything. While you might want to go to class, work, play a sport, and participate in clubs and social activities, the reality is that sooner or later you're going to get run down by trying to do so much. Focus on doing the things you truly love and forget about the rest.

-Get help. Ask for help from professors and friends. They may be able to give you more time or help you to complete projects and studying more quickly.

-Take advantage of campus meditation and yoga programs.Many campuses are equipped with programs that can help students get a release from their stresses through a relaxing session of meditation.

-Relax with hobbies. Whether you like to paint or to destroy aliens with your friends in video games, making time for the things you love is an important part of keeping yourself from getting too stressed out.

-Give yourself plenty of time. It's easy to put off starting on a big project or studying for a test until the last minute. You'll be much less stressed out, however, and will likely do better if you give yourself more time to work on it.

-Don't let yourself get run down. If you feel yourself getting stretched too thin, take a step back and evaluate everything you've got going on to determine what's really important.

-Spend time with friends. There are few things that can cheer you up like being around the people you like most. Eat dinner with friends or just hang out and watch TV or take a walk to get away from the stress of homework.

-Learn time management skills. Time management skills will make everything from getting assignments done to managing work a lot easier. Read a book or check out advice on the internet to help you better manages the hours of your day.

-Don’t self-medicate. Some students drink, take drugs, smoke and use other unhealthy behaviours to cope with stress, these behaviours can exacerbate stress by negatively affecting your mood and health.

CONCLUSIONStress in academic institutions can have both

positive and negative consequences if not well managed.

Academic institutions have different work settings compared to non-academic and therefore one would expect the difference in symptoms, causes, and consequences of stress.

By identifying the sub issues of each component of academic stress among the MBA students of Anna University affiliated colleges in Dharmapuri, the study could provide better insights to the academic administrators for initiating efforts to reduce the intensity of academic stress.