Relationship between Occupational Stress and Demographic Variables: A Study of Employees in a Commercial Bank in Ghana

Abstract

Occupational stress is inevitable in the workplace and has become a global issue which has attracted much research in recent times. The current study aims at finding the relationship between occupational stress and demographic variables (gender, age, qualification, experience and marital status) in Ghana. A descriptive correlation survey was used in the study. Questionnaire was the main instrument used to gather the data for the current study. A total of 206 employees were randomly selected from 10 branches of a commercial bank in Ghana. The results showed that majority of the employees were moderately and highly stressed with female workers recording the highest level of occupational stress compared to their male counterparts. The study further indicated that, there is evidence of significant relationship between occupational stress and demographic variables (gender, age, qualification, experience and marital status). In conclusion, employers should take note and take the necessary measures to ameliorate occupational stress based on individual differences since individuals differ in their response to stressful situations. Organisations’ stress policies should therefore, only be expected to deal with occupational stress issues anything else would adversely affect employees and the organization as a whole.