THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF

PAKISTAN

By

Zahir Uddin Butt

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES ISLAMABAD

April, 2009

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN NON-

GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF PAKISTAN

By

Zahir Uddin Butt M.A., Punjab University, 1990

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

In Human Resources Development

To

FACULTY OF ADVANCED INTEGRATED STUDIES AND RESEARCH

(Human Resources Development)

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES ISLAMABAD

April, 2009

Zahir Butt, 2009

ii

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MODERN LANGUAGES FACULTY OF ADVANCED INTEGRATED & RESEARCH

THESIS/ DISSERTATION AND DEFENCE APPROVAL FORM

The undersigned certify that they have read the following thesis, examined the defense, are satisfied with overall exam performance and recommended the thesis to the Faculty of Advanced Integrated Studies & Research for acceptance:

Thesis Dissertation Title: The Relationship Between Occupational Stress and Organizational

Commitment in Non-Governmental Organizations of Pakistan.________________

Submitted By: Zahir Uddin Butt___________ Registration #. 310-PhD/ HRD /2005(Jan) Name of Student

Doctor of Philosophy_ Degree Name in Full

Human Resources Development Name of Discipline

Dr. Zahid Mehmood ____________________________ _____________________________

Name of Supervisor Signature of Research Supervisor

Dr. Shazra Munnawer _____________________________ __________________________________

Name of the Dean of (FAIS&R) Signature of Dean of (FAIS&R)

Brig (R) Dr. Aziz Ahmad Khan _____________________________ _________________________________

Name of Rector Signature of Rector

____________________________

Date

iii

CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM

I Zahir Uddin Butt______________________________

Son of Rashid Uddin Butt___________

Registration # 310-PhD/ HRD /2005 (Jan)_____

Discipline Human Resources Development________

Candidate of Doctor of Philosophy______________ at the National University of Modern languages do hereby declare that the thesis The Relationship Between Occupational Stress and Organizational Commitment in Non-Governmental Organizations of

Pakistan.__________________________________________________________________________________________________

submitted by me in partial fulfillment of Ph.D. degree, is my original work, and has not been submitted or published earlier. I also solemnly declare that it shall not, in future, be submitted by me for obtaining any other degree from this or any other university or institution.

I also understand that if evidence of plagiarism is found in my dissertation at any stage, even after the award of a degree, the work may be cancelled and the degree revoked.

March28th 2009 _______________________ ___________________________

Date Signature of Candidate

Zahir Uddin Butt___________________ Name of Candidate

iv

ABSTRACT

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF PAKISTAN

The purpose of this research was to extend the existing body of knowledge on the relationship between occupational stress and employees organizational commitment into the context of non-governmental organizations of Pakistan, as little research have been conducted on this relationship in Pakistan.

It was a descriptive correlational study in which scientific methodology was used to answer the research questions. Based upon the review of the recent literature available on the subject, a conceptual framework was developed to study the relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment in the NGO sector in Pakistan. The framework illustrates three dimensions of occupational stress including occupational role stress, personal strain and coping resources and their hypothesized relationship with organizational commitment, as well as the influence of some major demographic factors including age, experience, job position, gender, qualification, income and marital status on the relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment. Occupational stress inventory-Revised Edition and Organizational Commitment Questionnaire were used to collect data. The overall response rate from the NGO employees was 64%. Several statistical techniques, including arithmetic mean, standard deviation, correlation analysis, percentile analysis and analysis of variance-ANOVA were used to test the hypotheses of the study.

Consistent with prior research, an inverse relationship was found between occupational stress and organizational commitment. The level of occupational stress experienced by NGO employees was found to be high. The occupational roles that employees play were reported as the main source of stress. The level of employees organizational commitment was generally moderate but with a tendency towards high. Normative commitment was reported as the strongest form of commitment. Demographic variables of age, experience, job position and income as well as gender significantly influenced the relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment.

This study is significant because of the insights it provides for the NGO managers to better understand the occupational stressors inherent in the functions of their workforce. Furthermore, this study develops an understanding of the commitment process and its relationship with occupational stress to promote commitment among employees and help them achieve their organizational goals effectively. NGO management can utilize the research findings to formulate appropriate strategies to address the stress related problems of their employees.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Page DISSERTATION AND DEFENSE APPROVAL FORM.............................. ii

CANDIDATE DECLARATION FORM iii ABSTRACT iv-v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi-x LIST OF APPENDIXES x

LIST OF TABLES.... xi-xii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. xiii-xiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.. . xv

DEDICATION. xvi

1 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD OF ENQUIRY 1

1.0 INTRODUCTION.. 1

1.1 BACKGROUND 1 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.. 7

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES... 8 1.4 STUDY QUESTIONS 9 1.5 INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

OF THE STUDY.. 10

1.6 BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE METHODOLOGY.. 11 1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY . 11

1.8 DESCRIPTION OF CONCEPTS USED IN THE STUDY.. 13 1.8.1 Occupational Stress... 13

1.8.2 Organizational Commitment 14 1.8.3 Non-Government Organization-NGO . 14

1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS.. 15 1.10 SUMMARY. 17

vi

2 LITERATURE REVIEW.. 18

2.0 INTRODUCTION 18 2.1 STRESS: THE CONCEPT AND PHENOMENON.. 18

2.2 DEFINITIONS OF STRESS.. 19 2.2.1 Occupational Stress.... 22

2.3 THEORIES OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS. 25 2.3.1 Interactional Theories .... 25 2.3.2 Transactional Theories .... 27 2.4 MODELS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS 29 2.4.1 The Person Environment Fit Model. 29 2.4.2 Beehr and Newmans Facet Model 29 2.4.3 Occupational Stress Inventory Model 30 2.5 CAUSES OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS 37 2.5.1 Organizational Factors .. 38 2.5.2 Job Demands....... 42 2.5.3 Role Stress .... 44 2.5.4 Individual Factors. 47 2.6 EFFECTS OF STRESS .. 49 2.6.1 Effects of Stress on Psychological Functioning. 49 2.6.2 Physiological Effects of Stress 51 2.6.3 Behavioral Effects of Stress . 52 2.6.4 Effects of Occupational Stress on Organization.. 53 2.7 GROWING INTEREST IN ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 57 2.7.1 Background of Organizational Commitment 57 2.7.2 Defining Organizational Commitment 59 2.8 CONTEMPORARY THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMITMENT. 60 2.8.1 The Beckers Side-Bet Theory (1960) 61 2.8.2 The Mowday, Porter, Steers, and Boulian Model (1974) 62 2.8.3 The OReilly and Chatman Model (1986) 62

vii

2.8.4 The Meyer and Allen Three-Component Model (1984, 1990) 63 2.9 RECENT RESEARCH ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 65 2.10 FORMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 73 2.10.1 Affective Commitment .... 73

2.10.2 Continuance Commitment: ...... 80 2.10.3 Normative Commitment .. 86 2.11 MEASURING INSTRUMENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMITMENT. 89 2.12 EFFECTS OF LOW ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 91 2.12.1 Absenteeism.. 91 2.12.2 Turnover Intentions 92 2.12.3 Performance 93 2.13 OCCUPATIONAL STRESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMITMENT IN NGOs..... 95 2.14 COMMENTARY ON THE LITERATURE REVIEW.. 100 2.15 SUMMARY. 105

3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 107

3.0 INTRODUCTION 107 3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE CONCEPTUAL MODEL .. 107

3.2 HYPOTHESIS OF THE STUDY.. 117 3.3 SUMMARY 124

4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 125

4.0 INTRODUCTION 125 4.1 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 125 4.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 126 4.2.1 Unit of Analysis.. 127

4.2.2 Time Frame of the Study 127 4.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND JUSTIFICATION 128

viii

4.3.1 The Qualitative Approach.. 128 4.3.2 The Quantitative Approach 129 4.4 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF VARIABLES 131 4.4.1 Organizational Commitment.. 131

4.4.2 Occupational stress 134 4.4.3 Demographic Variables.. 136 4.5 THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF RESEARCH

INSTRUMENTS... 137

4.5.1 Ensuring Validity 138 4.5.2 Ensuring Reliability 138 4.6 THE PILOT TESTING 139 4.6.1 Validity of the Research Instruments 141 4.6.2 Reliability of the Research Instruments 141 4.7 SAMPLING PROCESS.... 142

4.7.1 Sampling Population 142 4.7.2 Sample Selection... 143

4.8 DATA COLLECTION 143 4.9 STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES . 144 4.10 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY.. 144 4.11 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 145 4.12 SUMMARY 145

5 RESULTS 147

5.0 INTRODUCTION....... 147 5.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESPONDENTS 148 5.2 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

INVENTORY 149 5.2.1 Alpha Reliability Coefficient of OSI-R 148 5.2.2 Inter-Correlation of Subscales of OSI-R.. 150 5.2.3 Items Total Correlation of NGO Employees on Occupational

Stress Inventory .. 151

ix

5.2.4 Percentile Ranks of OSI-R. 153 5.2.5 Levels and Percentages of Stress 154 5.3 DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS OF ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMITMENT QUESTIONNAIRE...... 155 5.3.1 Alpha Reliability Coefficients of OCQ.. 156 5.3.2 Inter-Correlation of Subscales of OCQ.. 156 5.3.3 Items Total Correlations of OCQ 158 5.3.4 Percentile Ranks of NGO Employees on OCQ.. 159 5.3.5 Levels and Percentages of Commitment ... 161 5.4 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DATA RELATED

TO THE RESEARC HHYPOTHESES 161 5.5 RESULTS RELATED TO UNHYPOTHESIZED VARIABLES 178 5.6 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH RESULTS 182 5.7 SUMMARY 184

6 MAJOR FINDINGS, LIMITATIONS, SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND CONCLUSIONS---------------------------- 185

6.0 INTRODUCTION 184 6.1 DISCUSSION. 185 6.1.1 Answers to Research Questions.. 187 6.2 CONCLUSIONS . 200 6.3 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 201 6.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH 202 6.5 APPLIED SIGNIFICANCE 204 6.6 MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR NGO MANAGEMENT 206 6.7 SUMMARY..... 208

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 209

WEB REFERENCES... ...... 243

UNPUBLISHED DISSERTATION REFERENCES...... 246

x

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix Page

APPENDIX A: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE LETTER 249 APPENDIX B: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION.. 251 APPENDIX C: OCCUPATIONAL STRESS INVENTORY . 252 APPENDIX D ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT QUESTIONNAIRE. 260 APPENDIX E LIST OF THE SURVEYED NGOS .. 263 APPENDIX F: DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION OF THE

STUDY SAMPLE.... 265 APPENDIX G: PILOT STUDY REPORT....... 267

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table # Page

1 Alpha Reliability Coefficient of OSI 149 2 Inter-Correlation of Subscales of OSI 150 3 Items Total Correlation of NGO Employees on Occupational

Stress Inventory 151 4 Percentile Ranks of OSI.. 153 5 Levels and Percentages of Stress 155 6 Alpha Reliability Coefficients of OCQ 156 7 Inter-Correlation of Subscales of OCQ 157 8 Items Total Correlations of OCQ.. 158 9 Percentile Ranks of NGO Employees on OCQ. 159 10 Levels and Percentages of Commitment 161 11 Correlation of Subscales and Total Scale of OSI with OCQ. 162 12 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OSI and OCQ for

nature of organization. 163 13 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on ORQ and PSQ 164 14 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OSI

for Qualification ............. 165 15 One-Way Analysis of Variance of NGO Employees Scores on OSI

for the Variable Qualification 166 16 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OSI

Subscales for Experience.. 167 17 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on Coping

strategies for the variable Qualification 168 18 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ

for Qualification 169 19 One-Way Analysis of Variance of NGO Employees Scores

on OCQ for the Variable Qualification. 170

xii

20 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ for Age 171 21 One-Way Analysis Of Variance of NGO Employees Scores On

OCQ for Variable Age. 171 22 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO employees on OSI for Age 172 23 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on

OCQ for Experience .... 173 24 One-Way Analysis of Variance of NGO Employees Scores

on OCQ for the Variable Experience 174 25 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ for Income 174 26 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OSI for Income 175 27 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ

for Job Position ............................................................................... 176 28 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ

and its subscales.. 177 29 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OSI for Gender 178 30 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ for Gender 179 31 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OSI

for Marital Status ........................................................................... 180

32 Comparison of Mean and SD of NGO Employees on OCQ for Marital Status 181

xiii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AC Affective Commitment

AKF Aga Khan Foundation

AKDN Aga Khan Development Network

ANOVA Analysis of Variance

CC Continuance Commitment

CHRP Certified Human Resource Professional

df Degree of Freedom

F F Ratio

H Hypothesis

HRD Human Resources Development

HR Human resources

HRDN Human Resources Development Network

M Mean

NC Normative Commitment

NGO Non Governmental Organization

NGOE Non Governmental Organization Employee

NGORC NGO Resource Centre

n Number of Items

NIOSH National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

OC Organizational Commitment

OCQ Organizational Commitment Questionnaire

xiv

OD Organizational Development

OSI Occupational Stress Inventory

OSI-R Occupational Stress Inventory- Revised Edition

ORQ Occupational Role Questionnaire

ORS Occupational Role Stress

PV Probability Value

PRQ Personal Resource Questionnaire

PR Personal Resource

PSQ Personal Strain Questionnaire

PS Personal Strain

C Correlation

SDPI Sustainable Development Policy Institute

SD Standard Deviation

TVO Trust for Voluntary Organizations

UN United Nations

UNO United Nations Organization

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNICEF United Nations Children Emergency Fund

UNV United Nations Volunteers

WHO World Health Organization

# Number Sign

xv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude to the many people who helped

make this dissertation possible.

I would like to extend my appreciation to Brig (R) Dr. Aziz Ahmad Khan Rector, National

University of Modern Languages and the members of Ph.D. synopsis approval committee, who

kindly reviewed the synopsis of this doctoral research. Special thanks are due to Dr. Shazra

Munnawer Dean of the Faculty of Advanced Integrated Studies and Research, for her guidance

during my research.

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Zahid Mahmood for his precious

time, valuable insight and expert guidance over the past three years. His patience, encouragement

and faith in my abilities have motivated me and allowed me to grow as a researcher.

A special thank is also due to Dr. Zulkaif, Director Academics of Air University, Brig

Mohammad Yasin, Dr. Fauzia Khurshid and Dr. Khurshid Ahmad for their guidance, support and

encouragement during my research. And finally my wife Amina and daughters Mishaal, Faryal and

Sarah, who have been my constant inspiration and comfort over many years which allowed me to

preserve and accomplish my aim despite many difficulties and challenges. Without their support

this would not have been possible.

xvi

DEDICATION

To my parents, for their unconditional love and prayers to make my dreams a reality.

To my wife, Amina and daughters, Mishaal, Faryal and little Sarah for being an endless source

of love and support throughout this journey.

To my admiring sister Fauzia, who has always been a source of inspiration and support for me.

1

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO THE FIELD OF ENQUIRY

INTRODUCTION

This research investigates the relationship between occupational stress and organizational

commitment in the NGO sector in Pakistan. This chapter introduces the concept, relationship

and factors associated with occupational stress and organizational commitment as they

influence the employees and organizations work performance. The chapter further explains

the statement of problem, research objectives, research questions, brief introduction of the

conceptual framework of the study, significance of the study and introduction of the

methodology. The final part of the chapter presents the structure of the investigation as well as

the definition of key terms including occupational stress, organizational commitment and

NGOs.

1.1 BACKGROUND

Occupational stress and organizational commitment have long been concerns for

employees and employers because of the impact and influence they wield on work

performance. In todays world, stress has become a worldwide phenomenon, which is

virtually there, in some form, in every workplace. In todays work life, employees are

generally working for longer hours, as the rising levels of responsibilities require them to exert

themselves even more strenuously to meet rising expectations about work performance.

Omolara, (2008) described occupational stress as the adverse psychological and physical

2

reactions that occur in an individual as a result of their being unable to cope with the demands

being made on them.

Before embarking on any study regarding the relationship between occupational stress

and organizational commitment in NGOs in Pakistan, it is important to understand the

organizational structure, issues and problems confronting this sector so that any research or

study done may address them appropriately as occupational stress and organizational

commitment are influenced by the ways in which the organizational structure is established.

The non-governmental organizations have a long history of serving marginalized

communities and helping governments toward achieving their national developmental goals.

The work environment in this sector is multidimensional because of the diverse functions

these organizations perform. Most non-governmental organizations, engaged in the promotion

of developmental initiatives function at the grassroots level, essentially working with the

marginalized sections of society: the rural poor, the urban slum dwellers, women, children and

minorities, the tribal, peasants and labor. Their work encompasses a range of services in the

field of education, health, drinking water, irrigation, sanitation and capacity building of the

poor and marginalized to facilitate them to play a more active role in defining and working

towards their own development (UNDP, 2002, p. 191).

In Pakistan, NGOs have evolved in different directions and they present a wide variety of

programmes and structures. By far the most common activity of NGOs relates to charity,

relief and welfare-oriented provision of services in health, education and financial support for

the under-privileged, handicapped, widows, orphans etc. Some of these activities focus on

3

provision of basic services where government facilities are either not available or are

inadequate, with an emphasis on critical needs, not on community participation or long-term

sustainability or empowerment for the beneficiary population (Zia, 1996). Some other

activities of NGOs are more developmental in nature and involve attempts to address longer-

range issues of community mobilization and organization, participation and empowerment,

while dealing with specific community or sectoral problems.

Nevertheless, despite the fact that the NGO sector in Pakistan is a rapidly growing sector,

it is facing numerous challenges both internally and externally (Andrabi, 2002). Externally,

NGOs have to deal with criticism and occasional hostility for a number of reasons including

their inability to manage or deliver according to expectations, and sometimes they face lack of

credibility because of their foreign and domestic affiliations or exclusive groupings. The

negative media publicity about NGOs and the unfortunate functioning of some opportunistic

elements sometimes further aggravate the negative public impressions (Khan, 2005).

On the other hand, internally, the NGOs, particularly the smaller grassroots level

organizations, are facing problems relating to inadequacies in the areas of management,

capacity building, human resource development, institutional strengthening and sustainability.

Thus, all these challenges and expectations create a high stress environment not only for the

organization as a whole but the individual NGO workers as well, who are expected to show

loyalty and organizational commitment in face of all challenges. However, it is important to

understand that promoting organizational commitment is vital for an improved level of

service. This can be achieved by developing a comprehensive organizational strategy that

should address stress reduction elements by investigating the overall function of the

4

organization including its climate and values, its provision of social support and rewards and

the relationship of its workers with the organization.

Organizational commitment is widely illustrated in the human resources management

and organizational behavior literature as a key factor in the relationship between individual

and organization. The level of commitment strongly influences the retention level of

workforce and affects employees work performance.

A search of the extensive literature reveals a long list of factors that are related with the

development of organizational commitment. Keeping in view the phenomenon of

organizational commitment, now when we look at the NGO employees we find that they are

expected to show a high level of commitment to the mission, objectives of organizations and

its activities. The traditional image of an NGO worker is that of a selfless and tireless person

and they themselves tend to expect that because their work is for a good cause, they should be

immune to pressures and occupational stress.

Ironically, in Pakistan the people receive services from NGOs but at the same time

considers them as agents of the west, because they receive funding from western donors

agencies, so sometimes the NGO workers have to face a hostile and life threatening work

environment (Zia, 1996). NGO employees are thus expected to have a high level of

organizational commitment to face such a high degree of occupational stress. However, the

salaries and facilities provided to NGO employees are not that attractive compared to

corporate and for-profit organizations of Pakistan (Andrabi, et al., 2002). As mentioned

earlier also occupational stress and organizational commitment are influenced by the ways in

5

which the organizational structure is established through social support, organizational

policies and relationships at work. Somehow, these factors seem perhaps the most neglected

ones in NGOs in Pakistan. This may be oneof the main reasons for high degree of staff

turnover in the NGO sector of Pakistan (TVO, 2004).

Previous researches have established that occupational stress has a negative relationship

with organizational commitment (Omolara, 2008; Cooper & Bright. 2001), psychological

well-being (Dubinsky, 1998)), and job involvement (Tehrani, 2004). Occupational stress is

positively related to turnover and absenteeism and tension (Van de Ven, 2002). From the

literature, it also seems that the phenomenon of occupational stress directly affects employees

lives and work performance. Although there is an agreement concerning the negative impact

of stress on organizational commitment, there is not enough evidence on the causes and

effects of stress and its influence on employees organizational commitment in the NGO

sector in Pakistan.

It appears that a clear gap exists in the availability of empirical data to understand the

relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment among NGO

employees in Pakistan. The absence of such knowledge may seriously affect NGO managers

ability to develop appropriate strategies for stress management and promotion of

organizational commitment in NGO sector, which is a major contributor to employment in

Pakistan. The focus of this study is to examine the relationship of occupational stress with

NGO employees organizational commitment in Pakistan.

6

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Several studies point out that the relationship between occupational stress and

organizational commitment has remained a topic of interest ever since it was introduced.

These studies point to that the continued interest is the result of the belief that, if properly

managed, employees organizational commitment can lead to valuable consequences such as

organizational success, reduced employee turnover and non-attendance. This quest to harness

the possible organizational pay back has resulted in a number of researches that focus on the

scenery and relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment.

An extensive review of the literature revealed that a great deal has been written about the

causes and adverse effects of occupational stress as well as the importance of organizational

commitment for the realization of organizational and professional goals. However, very few

studies ware found which addressed this relationship in the NGO sector in Pakistan. The

previous research has been conducted mostly in the domain of occupational stress related to

dimensions like job satisfaction (Khan, 2005; Haider et al., 1986; Cochinwala & Imam, 1987),

personality characteristics (Khurshid, 2008) and motivation (Andrabi, 2002; Mufti & Hassan,

1965).

The review of the literature also shows some reports on the state of Pakistani NGO

employees occupational stress (TVO, 2004), job satisfaction (UNDP, 2004) and personnel

management related problems (NGORC, 2000). These reports provide a general description of

the issues faced by the NGO sector in Pakistan. However, these reports do not specifically

highlight the factors that caused or contributed to those problems.

7

In addition, each NGO has its own area of interest and they function in a unique work

environment with their stakeholders. Therefore, such general descriptions about the

employees issues, and problems might not be enough. Empirical evidence is still needed to

unravel the relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment in the

NGO sector.

The problem to be investigated is to, examine the relationship between occupational

stress and organizational commitment in the NGO sector in Pakistan. Further, this study aims

to explore the level, causes and dimensions of occupational stress and the level and forms of

organizational commitment of the NGO employees in Pakistan.

1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of this empirical study was to examine the relationship between

occupational stress and organizational commitment in the NGO sector in Pakistan. The

literature review failed to provide any viable data about the nature and level of occupational

stress and its relationship with the organizational commitment of NGO employees in Pakistan.

Therefore, this study attempts to help fill this vacuum by providing additional information that

might be of interest to the researchers, NGO managers, international donor agencies and

government of Pakistan. The specific objectives of this study are:

1. To determine the relationship between occupational stress and organizational

commitment.

2. To find out the level, causes and dimensions of occupational stress of NGO employees in

Pakistan using appropriate measuring instrument.

8

3. To explore the level and forms of NGO employees organizational commitment.

4. To analyze and ascertain the affects of various demographic variables including, age,

experience, job position, gender, qualification, income and marital status, on the

occupational stress and organizational commitment of NGO employees.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To achieve the specific research objectives, following are the five distinct but related key

research questions:

1. What is the relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment?

2. What is the level and dimensions of NGO employees occupational stress?

3. What is the overall level of NGO employees organizational commitment?

4. What forms of organizational commitment are manifested among the NGO employees

and which one is the most dominant?

5. What is the influence of demographic factors (age, experience, job position, gender,

qualification, income and marital status) on occupational stress and organizational

commitment of the NGO employees in Pakistan?

1.5 INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY

A conceptual framework is proposed in this chapter, and elaborated in Chapter 3, to

logically explain the interconnection among variables of the study. A number of hypotheses

about the relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment were

formulated while developing the conceptual framework. These hypotheses were then tested in

the empirical phase of the research. The proposed conceptual mode in Chapter 3 (Figure 1)

9

shows three variables including occupational stress, organizational commitment and

demographic variables. It illustrates the stress process including the identification of

occupational role stress, personal strains in the workplace and the coping resources, the three

forms of organizational commitment including affective, normative and continuance

commitment.

To explore the occupational stress of NGO employees, this study treats it as an

independent variable that influences the organizational commitment. An increase in job stress

may lead to augmented strain and decreased organizational commitment, which eventually

results in poor employee work performance. Work experience envelops from a combination of

employees opinions about the work they do; the organization they belong to; and the

interpersonal relations these entities bring together. The employees opinions play an

important role in their decisions to enter, stay with or leave the organization.

In this study, organizational commitment serves as a dependent variable for antecedents

such as age, experience job position, gender, qualification, income and marital status as a

predictor of various outcomes such as turnover, intension to leave, job satisfaction and work

performance. Furthermore, this study aims at investigating how do employees belonging to

different age groups, different experience level, job positions, different genders,

qualifications, income level and different marital status in an organization perceive and

experience occupational stress and how these factors affect employees organizational

commitment.

10

1.6 BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF THE METHODOLOGY

This is a descriptive correlational research in which scientific methodology was used to

answer the research questions. A random sample of 500 men and women NGO employees

was collected from 37 selected NGOs. The units of analysis was subgroups of NGO

employees based on age, gender, qualification, number of years in profession, marital status

and income. For the purpose of this study, the internationally known instruments including

occupational stress inventory (OSI-R), organizational commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) and

the individual data form were used. A pilot study on a sample of 80 NGO employees was

conducted in order to determine the reliability and validity of OSI-R and OCQ.

1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Occupational stress and organizational commitment have long been worry for employees

and employers, and it has been deliberate among varied professional groups. In the available

literature, the work of NGOs is portrayed as challenging and intrinsically stressful, even a

high degree of occupational stress may be measured a part of their job. Besides this, the

workers are expected to show a high level of organizational commitment to their job and

organizations at all times.

Studies on occupational stress and organizational commitment have been at length

carried out by past researchers mainly in the western countries. Due to lack of studies

addressing the issue of NGO employees occupational stress and organizational commitment

in Pakistan, it is questionable whether western findings can be applied in the non-western

context, like Pakistan. For instance, people in the western countries have an individualistic

11

direction toward job whereas people in the South Asian countries in general have a collective

direction. Therefore, more studies are needed to erase the doubton the applicability of western

studies in the Pakistan context. The present study is unique as it is an attempt to describe the

relationship between occupational stress and organizational commitment in the context of

NGOs in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, some studies have addressed the causes of occupational stress, but its

relationship with organizational commitment in the NGO sector has not been studied by the

researchers so far. This research is significant because this relationship is being studied for the

first time in the NGO sector in Pakistan.

This study is significant because of the insights and contributions it provides for the

NGO managers to better understand the occupational stressors inherent in the functions of

their workforce through the antecedents including age, experience, job position, gender,

qualification, income and marital status. Furthermore, this study develops an understanding of

the commitment process and its relationship with occupational stress to endorse commitment

among employees and achieve their organizational goals effectively. NGO management can

utilize the research findings to formulate suitable strategies to address the stress related

problems of their employees. Exploration and understanding of this relationship in the NGO

sector in Pakistan is going to be a unique contribution of this study.

This study will be relevant to not only NGO management, but to all the stakeholders of

development including national and international funding agencies and government of

Pakistan for developing policies and programs for addressing occupational stress reduction

12

effectively and for the promotion of widespread organizational commitment for improved

work performance and quality of life.

1.8 DESCRIPTION OF CONCEPTS USED IN THE STUDY

The following key terms have been defined with the support of the literature to serve the

purpose of the study:

1.8.1 Occupational Stress

Stress that happen due to a persons employment is termed occupational stress.

According to Cooper&Bright (2001), the most widespread definitions of occupational stress

may be classified into three types. The first type of definition is stimulus based. It considers

stress as an environmental based stimulus, forced upon the person. The second type of

definition is response based. It defines stress as an individuals psychological orphysiological

response to the situationalforces. The third definition of stress applies an interactive approach

often called the stressor-strain approach.

Keeping in view all the above definitions, for the purpose of this study, occupational

stress is defined as the harmful emotional (that is anxiety and depression), physical (that is

insomnia, headaches, and infections), and behavioral responses (that is job dissatisfaction, low

commitment and poor work performance) that occurs when work necessities do not match the

capabilities, possessions and needs of the worker. The present study treated occupational

stress as an independent variable that could influence the organizational commitment.

1.8.2 Organizational Commitment

13

The focus of the present study is on organizational commitment as a multifaceted concept

that represents the relationship between an employee and his/her employer. The definition of

organizational commitment adopted is that of Allen & Meyer, (1993) which looks at

commitment as a three component thought, which has an attitudinal aspect, a continuance

aspect and a normative aspect.

This approach is relevant to the current research as like in Siu, (2002) it is argued that

different factor s within the organization influence the development of different factors within

the organization that influenc e the growth of different forms of organizational commitment.

In order to further explore the scenery and forms of organizational commitment of NGO

employees, the present study treated it as a dependent variable that could be inclined by

occupational stress.

1.8.3 Non-Government Organization-NGO

The term NGO is used in a variety of ways all over the world and, depending on the

context in which it is used, can refer to many different types of organizations. Generally, an

NGO is an organization that is not part of the governmental structure. The term NGO came

into use with the establishment of the UNO in 1945 with provisions of the UN Charter for an

advice-giving role for organizations that are neither governments nor member states.

Under the law of Pakistan NGOs can be registered under Societies Registration Act,

1860, Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance.1961, or

Companies Ordinance (Nonprofit Companies: Section 42), 1984. Non-government

14

organization is defined by the Government of Pakistan (2001a: 61) to include privately

owned, charity, trust, foundation or other organization.

1.9 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS

In achieving the aims of the research, the chapters are presented in the following

sequence:

Chapter 1- Introduction to the Field of Enquiry

This chapter explains the concept, relationship and factors associated with

occupational stress and organizational commitment. The chapter further explains the

statement of problem, research objectives, study questions, brief introduction of the

conceptual framework of the study, significance of the study and introduction of the

methodology. The final part of the chapter presents the structure of the investigation as well as

the definition of key terms including occupational stress, organizational commitment and

NGOs.

Chapter 2 Literature Review

This chapter provides a through review of the relevant literature and a detailed

theoretical assessment of the major concepts of occupational stress and organizational

commitment. In this chapter, relationship between occupational stress and organizational

commitment has been defined; the relevant theories, models and research findings specifically

related to occupational stress and organizational commitment are discussed. The chapter also

discusses the viewpoint on occupational stress and commitment in NGO sector of Pakistan.

Chapter 3 Theoretical Framework

15

This chapter discusses the theoretical framework of the study of the relationship

between occupational stress and organizational commitment in the NGO sector in Pakistan.

The chapter also includes discussion on the relationship of variables, testable hypothesis,

demographic characteristics of NGO employees and summary of the chapter.

Chapter 4 Methodology

The research design is discussed in detail. This chapter includes information pertaining

to the population, sample, choice of measuring instrument, research procedure and

delimitations of the study.

Chapter 5 Results

In this chapter, the results of the empirical research are reported. The sample profile of

the target population are elaborated, determinants of reliability, validity and descriptive

statistics of the research instruments are discussed, and statistical analysis of the data related

to the research hypotheses is reported.

Chapter 6 Discussion, Conclusions, Limitation, Suggestion for Further Research and

Significance of the Study

In the final chapter, discussion on the major findings of the study and related back to

the initial problem statement, hypothesis and findings of previous research, conclusions are

drawn, limitations of the study are explained, the suggestions are made for the future

investigations in this field and finally applied significance of the study is discussed.

16

1.10 SUMMARY

The purpose of this chapter was to provide an overview of this study. The detailed

research objectives, statement of problem and research questions had been delineated in order

to address the problem and the structure of thesis was outlined. In the next chapter, the

findings of the literature review are discussed with the focus on the concept and relationship

of the occupational stress and organizational commitment. Relevant theories, models and

research findings specifically related to the identification of role stressors, personal strains,

and the coping resources and organizational commitment with its three forms including

affective, normative and continuance commitment are discussed.

17

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

In chapter 2 the most relevant research, theories and models pertaining specifically to

occupational stress and organizational commitment are discussed. This literature review will

provide a theoretical assessment of the major concepts of occupational stress and

organizational commitment to understand their relationship in the NGO sector of Pakistan.

2.1 STRESS: THE CONCEPT AND PHENOMENON

In the past two decades, interest in the concept of stress and research on stress has

reached an all time high (Goldberger & Breznitz, 1993). Originally, stress was seen primarily

as a physical ordeal to which humans take action. More lately, it has been linked to physical

measures, as well as the assessment of actions, which is a cognitive occurrence (Jones et al.,

2001). Stress as a conception gained fame from in 1940s after Second World War onwards.

A large number of soldiers out in the open to battle conditions developed indications of stress,

ranging from mild nervousness to more disorder that is unbearable. As research in the field of

psychology development, there was an advancement of considerate the disorders linked with

battle of stress. The emotional problems that developed were supposed to be due to stress

(Lazarus, 1999).

HansSelye, a biologist, had been lively in the popularization of the stress idea. One of

his most significant modern theories of psychological stress was in print in 1956, in his book

18

TheStress ofLife. The literature pursued on stress indicates that Selye was the first researcher

to make use of the termstressto explain physical and psychological answer to respond to

difficult conditions. Selye explained the concept of stress using the conditions distress (bad

stress) and eustress (good stress). The degree of insist is basic in Seyles clarification of

distress. (Le Fevre, et al., 2003). Distress is stand for by either too much or too little insist. A

moderate level of demand is eustress.

Selye investigated the physiological reactions to stress, as a distracted response of the

body to any insist made upon it. He defined stressor as any incentive that reason a stress

response. If the stimulus does not decrease, a stress-response the supposed general-adaptation-

syndrome results, which has three distinct, stages (Selye, 1956):

1. Alarm-reaction - an living being is exposed to a stimulus that it has not modified to. It act

in response by going into a stage dominated by a upset response that finally leads to

another rejoinder in which the organism begins to offset the initial alarmreaction.

2. Stage-of-resistance the organism has made to order to the stressoror stimulus and any

indication improve.

3. Stage-of-tiredness if the stressor has been particularly harsh and long-drawn-out the

symptoms come back and the organism becomes tired.

2.2 DEFINITIONS OF STRESS

Stress is defined as a state of worry that arises from an actual or apparent demand that

calls for an change behavior (Lazarus, 1999). Stress generally has been familiar as an

disagreeable emotional condition, which is said to occur when there have been extended,

19

increasing or new force that are significantly greater than the coping resources (Siegrist,

2001). The penalty of stress include health harms and reduction in work showsuccess.

It pressure negatively on the organization and the individuals physical and mental

system. This could result in summary performance, absenteeism, accidents, unprincipled

behavior, displeasure and sickness.

Physiological responses to stress are referred to as the fight orflight response. The

fight response is the body reacting to the need to cope by reacting. Continued high levels of

stress can direct to serious health circumstances including hypertension cancer, and

psychological illnesses such as sadness or collapse (Palmer, et al., 2003).

Two persons exposed to the similar situation could have dissimilar responses due to

the purpose nature of the variables. The reasons why individuals practice stress differently

may include internal and external factors. The interior factors may be personality, age gender,

and people past experiences. External factors that may influence response to stress include

atmosphere, diet, and drug. Behavioral response to stress also differs, as people choose

behaviors that they think will help them grip stress (Zwickel, 1994).

2.2.1 Occupational Stress

Stress caused due to a persons work or employment is termed as occupational stress. The

job stress, or occupational stress is used interchangeably (Dollard, 2003). McGrath (1970) has

provided one of the most widely accepted definitions of occupational stress: aapparent,

substantial inequity between demand and response ability, under circumstances where failure

to convene the demands has significant, apparent cost (p.20). Occupational Stress is careful

20

to be a person psychological state, which has to do with the persons perception of the work

environment and the moving practice of it (Cox, et al., 2000). In the past decade, effects of

economic globalization and quick echnical changes have resulted in increased workloads and

a faster pace in the work place. Up to date trends such as organizational downsizing, struggle

for funding, and high insist jobs have led to rising occupational stress (Dollard, 2003).

Jones, et al., (2001) consider that the term work-related stress has in the past been used to

contain a variety of environmental stimuli, stress response and other factors that influence the

association between the two. Unmanaged stress for employees can result in shorthand long

term off-putting health effects including tiredness, bodily pain, depression, sleep turbulence,

and even demise (Brock & Grady, 2002; Le Fevre, et al., 2003).

The basis and characteristics of occupational stress have been the subject of much

research. Sutherland & Cooper (2000, pp.3-23) developed five categories of possible sources

of psychosocial and occupational stress.

Other factors that are potential stressors include live events that may cause stress such as

home, family and demands, matrimonial troubles, and conflicts between job and family

demands (Sutherland & Cooper, 2000).

The above definition highlights three important ideas, namely that (a) situational

demands cause individuals to adapt; (b) individuals be probable to react and adapt in different

ways to stressors, and (c) that some form of responses will occur, be it physical andor

psychological. Furthermore, it can also be incidental that there are two distinct types of

21

stressors; those which are found within the individual, which include personal principles,

attitudes and self-concepts, and those that kick off outside the individual, which include

environmental and workrelated stressors (Kinman & Jones, 2001).

The aforementioned definitions clearly reflect that the researchers have viewed the

concept of occupational stress in numerous ways. It is not just an environmental stimulus or

responseto environmental demands, but also a lively relational concept. There is constant

communication between the person and the environment, which is refereed by a complex set

of ongoing cognitive processes.

2.3 THEORIES OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

There are a variety of occupational stress theories. These explanations of occupational

stress differ according to the emphasis for the induction of stress and the different outcomes

for the management of stress (LeFevre et al., 2003; Dollard, 2003). Theories of occupational

stress have been categorized by as either interactional (Cox, Griffiths, & Rial-Gonzalez,

2000).

2.3.1 Interactional Theories

Interactional theories of stress focal point on the structural features of the persons

interface with their work environment (Dollard, 2003). Early researchers used fundamental

input-output or stimulus-response approaches, whereby the scale to which major life events or

features of work design predicted a negative outcome be it, psychological, physsiological or

behavioral ( Jones& Kinman, 2001). In the 1930s and 1940s, Conversely, stimulus-based

definitions of stress deem stress to be an self-regulating variable (generally environmental)

22

that causes an individual to respond. Modern definitions of stress take into account both the

individual and the environment.

More recently, the specific conditions under which stressors lead to nervous tension

have become the predominant focus of research. This focus includes the way in which factors

in the individual or the environmental interact to determine the level of negative effects

practiced as strain (Jones & Kinman, 2001). In the occupational stress literature, the

environmental-stimulus-individual response definition cause what is known as the stressors

and strainapproach. The relationship between stressors and strain is consideration to be causal.

Hence, much of the research focuses on sensing various occupational stressors and examining

their relationship to diverse indices of nervous tension, including measuring individual and

organizational factors that might restrain this relationship (Hart & Cooper, 2001).

Frese, (1999) believe social support as one variable that intercede the relationship

between stressorsand strain. By providing emotional support in the form of loving;

corroboration of the appropriateness of ones accounts; and instrumental support, coworkers

and supervisors support ones sense of fit in the work group. Moreover, such social support is

thought to serve as a buffer-between occupational stressors and adverse effects on health.

Frese also offer data for the buffer hypothesis. He found that the relationship between

occupational stressors and dysfunction changes as a purpose of difference in social support

when social support is lofty, the association is lesser.

2.3.2 Transactional Theories

23

Transactional theoriesof stress focus on the persons touching response related to their

surroundings. The traditional causal model of stress has been prolonged from a uniidirectional

conceptualization to a transactional explanation, whereby stress is entrenched in an ongoing

procedure that involves individuals handle with their environments, making appraisals of

those encounters, and efforts to cope with the issues that arise (Cooper, et al., 2001, p. 12).

At the transactional analysis, strain occurs because of a perception that environmental

demands go beyond personal possessions (Lazarus & Folkman, 1986). Moreover, causation

can be mutual, whereby the level of nervous tension experienced by an individual may

produce a tendency to meet stressors..

According to Folkman and Lazarus (1991), assessment comprises the successive

processes of primaryappraisal continuous-monitoring of environmental-conditions with a

center on whether there are likely to be consequences for the individuals happiness, and

secondary evaluation, what can be done should such cost occur, that is, the identification of a

possible managing strategy. Coping refers to any effortful attempt to vary environmental

circumstances or manage feeling regardless of outcome (Lazarus & Folkman, 1991).

Following to the operation of a coping plan, reappraisal of the situation, and of the final

effects of the coping response, occurs. The cognitive-nature of the appraisalprocess and the

inevitability of its influence on the success of coping construct evaluation of coping outcomes

largely one-sided and, therefore, very difficult to gauge (Hart & Cooper, 2001).

The discussion on the interactional or transactional theories of occupational stress

exposed that the researchers have conceptualized these theories in more than a few

fundamentally dissimilar ways. The central point of interactional-theories of stress is the

24

structural appearance of the persons communication with their work environment, whereas,

the transactional-theories of stress center on the persons moving reactions and cognitive

development related to their environment.

2.4 MODELS OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

Employers and governments around the world have had an increasing interest about

the occupational stress for the last two decades and therefore, a lot of research has been

undertaken in this field. Some of the more popular and widely used models are discussed

below and an attempt has been made to bring to light the commonalities in the research and to

draw a model suitable for the present research. Stress is multifaceted, requiring that more then

one stressor to be focused on at any one time. All the models discussed below take this

complexity into account.

2.4.1 The Person-Environment Fit Model

A review of the literature suggests that researchers have attempted to find a

clarification regarding the possible relations that exist between stress, an individual and the

environment. It has been theorized that if there is not anprecise fit between the person and the

surroundings, nervous tension will occur (French, Caplan, & Harrison, 1982). More

specifically, a person-environment fit suggest that individuals fit positive occupations based

on the communication of a huge number of variables.

Lazarus and Folkman (1986b) believe that the interaction between how an individual

involve the environment is a compound process that is a result of a diversity of factors and not

any singlevariable. The theory has involved researchers who believe there is relationship to

25

stress (Pithers et al., 1995; Sutherland et al., 2000). This theory was lending some empirical

evidence by Sutherland et al. (2000). Their research supported the idea that stress and strain is

related to events of fit (Sutherland et al., 2000, p. 306).

2.4.2 Beehr and Newmans Facet Model

Beehr and Newmans Facet model (1978) future that occupational stress could be

broken down into a number of facets that stand for categories of variables to be studied.

Personal facet refers to the even characteristics that employees bring with them to the work

place, the time facet, which reveals that the process of individuals acuity of stressor in the

environment is embedding with of time context.

2.4.3 Occupational Stress Inventory Model

The study of occupational stress examines stress-strain-coping, and the impact of the

communication of these three elements on the worker. The Occupational Stress Inventory-

was developed by Dr.SamuelOsipow to assist vocational behavioralcounselors in working-out

programs to address occupational stress (Osipow & Davis, 1998).

Osipow's model regard as how stress is related to the various aspects of work roles that

have been established in the literature. To determine the level of occupational stress, the

individual's slanted negative response to stress must be measured (Osipow & Davis, 1998).

Thus, psychological strain is also measured, as stress-strain interact (Cartwright & Cooper,

1997; Kahn, 1986). Under the category of psychological strain, the OSI-R looks at emotional

and subjective. Sleeping disarray, eating disorder, useof alcohol, and social removal are also

examined (Osipow & Davis, 1998).

26

Researchers have also looked at the OSI-R scores of Australian workers in a variety of

professions, ranging from general whitecollar jobs, topositions in military, and found that

stress-coping predict variance in strain. The best measures to predict interpersonalstrain were

found to be role-overload, role-boundary, and accountability (Osipow & Davis, 1998). The

OSI-R symbolize a comprehensive model of occupational stress-strain-coping, and is based

upon the research in stress management that established association among these three factors

(Spokane & Ferrara, 2001).

The OSI-R (Osipow & Davis, 1998) explores stressstrain-coping through 140

questions, ten in each of the 14 field, which are contained in the following segments:

Occupational Role

1. RoleOverload: toomuch to do; not sufficient training; time limit

2. RoleInsufficiency: underutilization; lack of career advancement

3. RoleAmbiguity: vague expectations; conflicting demands

4. RoleBoundary: vague authority lines; conflicting supervisors

5. Responsibility: bulky decisions; significant results

6. PhysicalEnvironment: high levels of sound

Personal Strain

1. VocationalStrain: dread; boredom; problems concentrating

2. PsychologicalStrain: depression; anxiety; touchiness; lack of comedy

3. InterpersonalStrain: frequent quarrels at work or home; withdrawn

27

4. PhysicalStrain: health worries or symptoms (colds, cardiovascular)

Personal Resources

1. Recreation: regular leisure activities

2. Selfcare: regular- exercise program;

3. SocialSupport: one reliance friend for work; one person who afford love; a feeling of

closeness to someone

4. RationalCognitive: systematic approach to problem-solving; ability to set and follow

priorities; ability to stay on task and get work done

Literature on occupational stress inventory indicates that earlier versions have been at

length critiqued and authenticated in over 60 studies (Osipow & Davis, 1998; Spokane &

Ferrara, 2001). In the development of the OSI-R, based upon the OSI, intercorrelations among

each of the total questionnairescores for each segment, and each of the 14-domains were

calculated.

Osipow&Davis, (1998) examined the reliability of OSI-R through testretest and

internal steadiness analysis with the normative sample. On the testretest analysis, all

correlations between two administrations were significant. Several studies have examined the

effectiveness of specific stress interference, and other instruments as outcome measures, such

as the Emotional Exhaustion Frequently segment from the Maslach Burnout Inventory

(Higgins, 1986; Kagan et al., 1994). These studies suggest that definite types of behavioral or

cognitive interference were effective in reducing stress and that the OSI-R part were

responsive measures of behavior effects (Osipow & Davis, 1998, p 21).

28

The occupational stress models demonstrate the stress procedure. The perceived stress

and resultant strain could, among other things, have an effect on work routine. The difference

between perceived stress and experienced strain is considered critical to any successful model.

In addition to the above build, a definition of coping resources is well thought-out vital for

any model of occupational stress.

The objective of this research is to examine the relationship between occupational

stress and organizational commitment of NGO employees in Pakistan. Such examination

requires exploring the nature and overall level of occupational stress of target population.

Based on the review of literature, Occupational Stress Inventory Revised Edition (OSI-R)

(Osipow & Davis, 1998) was found to be most suitable for this study in gauging the level of

perceived occupational stress of NGO employees. Drawing mainly from Osipow research

model; the hypothesized model of research has been developed for this study shown in

Chapter 3 (Figure # 1). The model illustrates three main dimensions of the OSI-R including

occupational role stress, personal strain and coping resources and their hypothesized

relationship with organizational commitment and the demographic factors including age,

experience, job position, gender, qualification, income and marital status, which were

empirically testing in the NGO sector.

2.5 CAUSES OF OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

The causes of occupational stress are many and different for each individual. In

addition, the causesof stress are difficult to analyze. Many studies of stress at work have

29

shown that there is a diversity of organizational factors that are active in causing stress

(Sutherland & Cooper, 2000).

McGrath exposed that there are six possible course of stressors in an organizational

setting including taskbased stress; rolebased stress, stressintrinsic to behavior, stressarising

from the physical environment, stressarising from the social environment, and stresswithin the

person system. Pontage and argue that a shiftneeds to occur in seeing stress from a traditional

point of view as a individual problem positioned in individuals to seeing it as an pointer of the

ineffectiveness of work environments, systems and practices.

2.5.1 Organizational Factors

The following are critical organizational factors which may cause occupation stress:

2.5.1.1 Organizational Structure and Management: Cooper et al., (2001) believes that

psychological damageis often due to the civilization and management style inside an

organization. He highlighted that factors relating to organizational arrangement and climate

that are that allow employees little sharing in decisions touching their work; lack of enough

communication between managerial and non-managerial levels. It indicate that limited chance

for advancement, inadequate performancefeedback, performance appraisal events being too

little and biased be in command of systems and culture within the organization, may be

perceived as stressors.

2.5.1.2 Work Stressors: Warshaw preserve that work stressors can only be fully understand if

the importance of work to the employee is understood. The apparent threat or failure to satisfy

30

these basic needs symbolize a source of stress in the work place. Cheek and Miller conclude

thatnot being concerned in decision-making has been recognized across all occupational

groups to be the most significant source of stress (Steenkamp, 2003).

2.5.1.3 Relationship at work: Sutherland and Cooper (2000, p. 46) preserve poor-work-

relations as low levels of supportiveness and low attention in problem-solving within the

organization. Problems of unsteadiness may occur in situations where the relationship

between a supervisor and subordinate are harmful. Opposition amongst contemporaries and

differences in character clashes amongst members can give riseto stress (Cartwright &

Cooper, 1997).

Jarvis (2002) found that issues such as social-support amongst have an impact on levels

of stress amongst teachers. Negative relations and the nonattendance of support from

colleagues can be major stress for employees. Conversely, having right of entry to social hold

up from other people in the organization can reduce strain and ease emotional-exhaustion.

Employees relationships with their greater are found to be affectedby stress, in those workers

who are under-pressure report that their bosses do not give them helpful disparagement, that

perceived discrimination is established and that seniority is apparent negatively under force

(Kinman & Jones, 2001). In the not for profit sector organizations, particularly civil society

organizations, the management style in general is participatory with flat organizational

structures. As a result, there has been an erosion of the formal managerial role and authority in

some organizations, which may create a stressful situation for some managers (Abdelrahman,

2007).

31

According to Sutherland and Cooper (2000), the quality of interpersonal associations

at work is important in that helpful relationships are less likely to create force associated with

competition. In addition, the relationship can be potentially stressful when the leadership style

is demanding and acknowledgment and praise for effort are valuable for bosssubordinate

association. In combination with this, point to that in situation where the relationship between

supervisor and subordinate is harmful, problems of emotional unsteadiness may occur

(Cartwright and Cooper, 1997).

2.5.1.4 Lack of RewardRecognition: Cooper & Bright, (2001) indicatethat one of the major

causal factors to jobstress is lack of rewards and recognition.

2.5.1.5 Negative Publicity: Ongoingpublic criticism, lack of admiration for workers as

professionals by the people they deal with add to workers burnout as one of the most common

and grave afflictions. The NGOs in Pakistan have to deal with criticism and occasional

hostility for a number of reasons including their inability to manage or deliver according to

expectations, and occasionally because of lack of credibility due to their affiliations or

exclusive groupings, which sometimes results in public rage and attacks. The negative media

publicity about NGOs and the unfortunate functioning of some opportunistic elements also

further aggravate negative public impressions (Khan, 2005).

NGOs themselves are confronted with a number of issues, both internally and

externally. The rapidly growing sector of NGOs in Pakistan is facing numerous challenges

(UNDP, 2002). With the fast changing scenario, NGOs, particularly the smaller grassroots

level organizations, are facing problems relating to inadequacies in the areas of management,

32

capacity building, human resource development, institutional strengthening and sustainability.

Although the organizational structures of most of the NGOs in Pakistan is flat however,

sometimes the decisions are imposed by the international donor agencies without consultation

with the NGO management, which causes them stress. Besides there is a high degree of

uncertainty about the continuance of projects in NGO due to limited funding, which keeps

employees under constant stress of losing jobs (Zia, 1996).

2.5.2 Job Demands

2.5.2.1 Working Conditions: Seyle believes that a positive level of stimulation is needed for

performance, but when the stimulation exceeds overability to meet the demand placed on the

employee, a feeling of suffer exhaustion is experienced. In contrast, when employees are not

confront or stimulatedby a job, or do not believe that their contribution isvalued, and poor

morale are qualified. Working conditions of job have been linked to mental health. It was

found that poor psychological health related directly to disagreeable working conditions,

physical-effort and speed in job performance and extreme, not convenient working hours.

(Osipow & Davis, 1998).

2.5.2.2 Quantitiesand QualitativeOverload: Qualitative excess, as a source of stress, is

linked to low levels of selfesteem, as individualslack the necessary ability to do a new job. In

contrast, qualitative underload is damaging, as the individual is not given the chance to use

acquiredskills and abilities, resulting in feelings of powerlessness to demonstrate talents

(Sutherland & Cooper, 2000). Chaka (1998) point to that a persons physical and

psychological wellness could be adversely exaggerated by work that is dull and repetitive.

33

The above research indicates that the work overload is a possible source of occupational stress

that adversely affects both health and job satisfaction.

2.5.2.3 Work EnvironmentalFactors: Environmental factors reason stress are those

universal factors that are not intrinsic to workers, but depend on the environment of the

organization. NGO employees often complain about the lack of management support, lack of

information regarding changes, constant change and the organizational demands as amongst

their greatest source of stress. (Zia, 1996). Cooper and Bright (2001) stated that along with the

workenvironment, the personrole at work has been identified as the major source of stress

because of role conflict, accountability for people and conflict of role border. Career

development is another area having stress impact and lack of safety.

NGOs perform a variety of functions and the working conditions and job demands in

this sector very high in Pakistan. The workers are mostly deployed in field for tasks such as

disaster relief, emergency aid and community support and mobilization. Once deployed,

however, many workers feel dismayed by the lack of on-site support. However, the financial

resources of many NGOs do not permit them to provide adequate home office support and

supervision for workers in the field (Abdelrahman, 2007).

Workers experience feelings of disconnection during their fieldwork from those in

charge and this adds to their job related stress. Separation from family, friends & home;

intense physical labor; severe living conditions; limited communication; potential for injury;

lack of sanitation; risk of illness and the shock of dealing with the values of a different culture

represent commonly reported ground effects problems (Thomas, 2001).

34

2.5.3 Role Stress

The most greatly researched-dimensions of role stress are role vagueness and role-

conflict. Stress occurs because of role ambiguity (Jones et al., 2001). Role disagreement

strangeness of the prospect linked with a role has been associated with lowered job approval,

higher jobtension, and physiologicalstress (Sutherland & Cooper 2000; Yousef, 2003). The

extra-facets of role stress the shape and power of load, apparent lack of energetic between a

worker's ability and growth and the supplies of the job and answerability for people for the

happiness of subordinates, generation, or the society have also been connected with strong

welfare (Jones et al., 2001). Roleambiguity, roleconflict and level of answerability for others

are often looked upon as the major sources of stess.

2.5.3.1 Role Ambiguity: Role ambiguity refers to the degree to which employees be short of

clarity about their role or the task stress at work (Spector, 2000). It occurs when an employee

does not know or realize the prospect and demands of the job (Kahn & Cooper, 1993).

2.5.3.2 Role Conflict: According to Lopopolo (2002), role conflict happens when an

employee experiences mismatched stress or incompatiblegoals nearby tasks linked with their

job that can persuade negative emotionalresponse due to apparent inability to be effective on

the job. Furthermore, having to do tasks that are not perceived to be part of one's job role can

potentially lead to stress linked with roleconflict (Cooper & Sutherland, 2000).

2.5.3.3 Role Overload: The number of dissimilar roles an individual has to complete can lead

to extreme demands on the individuals time and may create doubt about the ability to do

these roles adequately (Driscoll & Cooper, 2002).

35

Malik, (2003) carried out a study to explore the occupational role stress, psychological

well-being and motivational orientation of Medical profession in Pakistan. He used

occupational role stress scale by Pareek, work motivation inventory by Amabile and scale of

CPI. The study included sample of both private and public sector doctors. Result indicated

highly significant inverse correlation between the occupational role stress and psychological

well being. The scores of extrinsically motivated medical professional have significantly

inverse correlation with psychological well-being. Study found that high occupational role

stress decreases the psychological well-being.

The highly experienced medical professionals reported lesser magnitude of

occupational role stress, whereas, the younger medical professionals showed low level of

psychological well being. The role overload and changing requirements of job roles are

considered main causes of stress in NGOs (Khan, 2005). There is a high degree of multi

tasking as individuals, in most of the cases are expected to perform both office and field

related tasks.

2.5.4 Individual Factors

O Driscoll and Cooper (2002) affirmed that individual dissimilarity may play a major

role in the affiliation between work-relatedstressors and psychologicalstrain. Internal

distinctiveness are found to be one of the most imperative sources of stress, as it not only put

in to a workers vulnerability to stress, but might also dictate how they switch the stress that

they run into and what they are able to endure (Omolara, 2008). Many factors add to theses

difference, ranging from personality, motivation, incapability to deal with problems in an area

of know-how, fluctuations in facility, to insight into personal motivations and increase areas.

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2..5.4.1 Self-Efficacy: Brockner et al., (1993) indicates that persons with low selfefficacy tend

to react more to exterior proceedings because they familiarity more hesitation about the

rightness of their perceptions and emotional reactions. These individuals often seek social

approval by conventionality with others expectation, and tend to allow unenthusiastic

feedback on one area of their behavior.

2.5.4.2 Locus of Control: Situational control refers to the scope to which persons believe

they can exert manage over a specific aspect of their job, such as the pace of work or the

events for task conclusion, scheduling of tasks and decision freedom (ODriscoll & Cooper,

2002).

2.5.4.3 Social Support: Stress can be caused, not only by the weight of relationships, but also

by the lack of plenty social hold up in different condition. This may therefore be both a

stressorand a copingstrategy. In studies cited by Osipow & Davis (1998), socialsupport, the

abilitytodraw on friendsand coworkers, reduced the impact of allstressors with the exception

of physicalenvironment. There is consistentevidence that employees with more support from

others experiencelower straint (Lee & Ashforth, 1996), and where an employee is look with

potentially stressful weight and problems in the work-place may reduce the impact of the

force on the individuals wellbeing.

The literature on the reason of occupationalstress has revealed many complex and

wide ranging reason of occupational stress including organizational factors, job stress and

individual factors. However, NGOs work is considered essentially stressful in Pakistan as

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employees experience it mainly due the complex organizational structures of NGOs, multiple

roles the workers have to play, physical and psychological strains, and lack of security. There

is hardly any focus on the occupational stress of NGO employees as a factor affecting their

work performance, organizational commitment or job satisfaction (Zia, 1996). Since the

complex web of the NGO structures in Pakistan does not seem to consider stress management

an issue to reckon with, therefore minimal professional guidance or support is available to

address this extremely significant factor directly. One of the causes of absence of professional

guidance and support in stress management is mainly due to lack of research in this area in the

NGO sector. Therefore, extensive research is required with focus on identification of various

causes and levels of occupational stress of NGO employees in Pakistan.

2.6 EFFECTS OF STRESS

It has been well-liked in stress writing to categorize the response to stress. There are a

variety of feelings reflecting the individual nature and situationalfactors. These damages are

seen as unwanted consequences of stressors. Apart from their own unwanted nature, some

strains may have additional nega consequences for individual task performance and well-

being (Cooper, et al., 2000). According to Kyriacou (1989), symptoms of stress in workers are

manifested in frustration, damage performance, and split relationships at work and at home.

Researchers agree that a certain extent of stress is a usual part of life, but prolonged stressors

could lead to signs that are physicalpsychological or behavioral (ODriscoll & Beehr, 2002).

2.6.1 Effects of Stress on Psychological Functioning

Everyday workersencounter stress and most of the stresscomes and goes without

leaving any enduring imprints but when stress is severe and piles up the demands then ones

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psychological functioning may be affected. Stress has an obvious crash on an individuals

psycholoogical wellbeing. There is evidence that stress has unenthusiastic implications for

organizations, individual workers. According to Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, (2001) a range

of negative ending are also likely for individual workers exaggerated by stress including

health problems, mental complaints and physical problems.

Spector (2000) described that suffer exhaustion is a upset psychological state; a person

pain from burnout is expressively exhausted, has low workmotivation, it involves being

miserable about work and having littleenergy and keenness for the job. suffer exhaustion

contains emotional tiredness, depersonalization and concentrated personal events. High levels

of suffer exhaustion have been associated with low levels of apparent control and high levels

of roleconflict, healthsymptoms, and meaning of give up the job and work-overload

(Sutherland & Cooper, 2000).

Abdelrahman, (2007) found that 15 to 20 percent of emergency response personnel

working in NGOs suffer from post-traumatic stress disarray, 22 percent of people who

knowledge trauma and don't manage it will still have symptoms up to one year after the event,

two-thirds of NGO employees exposed to trauma have moderate or severe distress.

2.6.2 Physiological Effects of Stress

Cartwright and Cooper (1997) hypothesize that when an individual is faced up to with

a demanding situation, worry or pressure, the anxious system can be triggered to make active

a wide variety of hormonal emission. According to Tucker-Ladd (1996) the hormonal reply

determine the severity of the individualanxiety reactionsmind-set, power level, level of

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hopelessness, and physicalstate of health after knowledge a stressfulevent. Dollard (2002)

maintains that when the test is short term the bodies firstreaction is adaptive, allow the person

to set in action energy capital to combat the stressor.

Some professional staff such as female social organizers and community workers have

to travel to other villages, which can cause stress and may be considered as an inappropriate

or unacceptable behavior in their familys social setup thus increasing conflict and stress.

Some NGOs in Pakistan work on certain complex and often controversial issues in the

society, such as HIV and AIDs awareness and family planning, so their staff becomes the

victim of negative criticism. For example, women health workers and teachers in the rural

areas often suffer from a high occupational stress because of public image of the organization

they work with (TVO, 2007).

2.6.3 Behavioral Effects of Stress

Tucker-Ladd (1996) explained common behavioral-effects ensuing from occupational

stress includinghyperactivity, eruption of emotions, worry with a certain situation, compulsive

thoughts, holding a complaint, excessive perturbing, tetchiness, extreme sleeping, poor

reminiscence, feeling frightened and annoyance with delays. Some workers face problems

such as lack of social hold up, skepticism of the local the public, exposureto lifethreatening

risks. They feel that in the end they themselves are responsible for their own safety and

security, which add to their increased levels of stress.

For NGO relief workers anger, fear, fatigue, despair and physical stress reactions are

common responses to the realities of humanitarian assistance. Without proper mental health

support, NGO employees may unwittingly add to their problems by seeking relief in stress

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management strategies that actually create more stress than they resolve (Abdelrahman,

2007). NGOs make provisions for mental health support and other social support activities

depending on their size and resource availability, however, organizational leadership of many

in the development sector NGOs seems least interested in such activities.

For workers it more likely reflects the fear of being supposed as weak or insufficient,

leading to refutation by contemporaries. It is regrettable that the commitment to others and

high values of behavior that force workers to go into the caring aid area can also leave them

susceptible to feelings of disgrace or failure in the face of perturbing but normal affecting

upsets (Cooper et al., 2001).

Both male and femal