Taking into account the changes that are currently taking place in our country, it is clear that these changes, which occur in almost all companies, lead to new stress factors for both employees and the organization. Occupational stress is a major problem for employees and managers, but also for the whole society. The issue of stress in organizations has given birth to many debates and studies. It is a common theme that is addressed by managers, employees and consultants from different perspectives. According to a study by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, in the European Union, work-related stress is the second work-related health issue after dorsal disorders. It affects 28% of EU employees. The European Parliament is fully involved in addressing issues related to the psychological support of the staff. Preventing work-related stress is one of the objectives set out in the Communique of the European Commission for Employment and Social Affairs regarding their new health and safety at work strategy. Manifestations of stress in organizations are easily observable, being manifested by behaviors such as: difficulties in adapting to the changes required to work or the dramatic drop in labor productivity. Also a double action is met: both the person who passes through the stressful situation and at the organization level on which it is reflected the existence of a stressful environment. This paper aims to address the implications of workplace stress, symptoms of stress in the workplace and strategies to eliminate and prevent stress at work This paper represents an exploratory research based on qualitative methods, being consulted various sources of information: the literature, case studies, media articles, reports of relevant organizations, etc.

Stress in organizations

Job Attitudes: Review of Research and Opinion.

The Changing Nature of Performance: Implications for Staff, Motivation, and Development

The 2010 Journal of Information Technology (JIT) article, ‘A Review of the IT Outsourcing Empirical Literature and Future Research Directions,’ analyzed 741 findings on the determinants of Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) decisions and outcomes from 164 empirical articles published between 1992 and 2010. Using the same coding method, the 2011 JIT article, ‘Business Process Outsourcing Studies: A Critical Review and Research Directions,’ analyzed 615 findings on the determinants of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) decisions and outcomes from 67 empirical articles published between 1996 and 2011. Taken together, these two reviews found that the preponderance of evidence from both ITO and BPO research streams produced largely consistent results pertaining to the categories of independent variables that affected outsourcing decisions and outcomes. To investigate the most current research findings on business services, which comprise ITO and BPO, and to compare the results with the prior JIT reviews, we replicated the method used in the prior JIT reviews. In this update, we examined 174 newly published articles across 78 academic journals published between 2010 and 2014. We found that researchers have significantly expanded the variables of interest in the last 4 years. In all, researchers investigated 69 new variables. Compared with earlier research, this review of recent articles found a deeper exploration of the direct effects of transaction attributes, sourcing motivations, client and provider capabilities, and governance on sourcing decisions and outcomes. Researchers have also studied a broader variety of sourcing decisions, including shared services, captive centers, rural sourcing and backsourcing. This update also found a more nuanced understanding of relational governance and its interaction with contractual governance. We assessed the research progress that has been made on ten previously identified gaps in knowledge. We proposed a future research agenda that includes continued, incremental progress on ‘normal science’ research questions, as well as more ambitious research goals. We challenged researchers to investigate how sourcing clients, providers, and advisors can protect jobs, protect the environment, and ensure security in an increasingly automated world.

Review of the Empirical Business Services Sourcing Literature: An Update and Future Directions

In recent years there has been a discernible trend towards the outsourcing and subcontracting of work. However, there has been very little empirical research on employees' attitudes to work in outsourced firms. This study is conducted in the area of call centre services where there has been a substantial growth in the provision of external market suppliers. It examines employees' perceptions of their work and employment arrangements in both an in-house producer and an external service provider and identifies and compares the factors that shape their organizational commitment and intentions to quit. The research found that the character of the internal labour market and the nature of the work regime were more important explanations of organizational commitment and intentions to quit in the external market supplier than in the in-house producer. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for the quality of customer service provided under subcontracting arrangements.

Refashioning organizational boundaries: Outsourcing customer service work

Business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in India is progressing with an unparalleled velocity. Despite the momentous growth and brilliant future, the BPO industry has experienced high attrition rates since inception. There are many factors that lead to attrition in BPOs and much research has taken place time and again. In this study, we have made a comprehensive attempt to explore the dimensions of attrition by identifying the factors that lead to it, assessing the contribution of the factors toward attrition, and comparing the dimensions across the various demographic variables. Data have been collected from 500 BPO employees and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Science 17.0. Factor analysis, correlation, regression, t-test, and Duncan's mean test have been done to empirically interpret the result. The paper not only identifies the significant dimensions of attrition but also provides scope for further studies in the field of employee retention in the BPO industry.

Exploring the dimensions of attrition in Indian BPOs

The present research tested a mediation model where mindfulness is indirectly related to happiness through emotional stability and self-esteem. 302 undergraduate students from a university in India participated in the study. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires of mindfulness, emotional stability, self-esteem, and happiness. Structural Equation Modeling results showed that mindfulness was associated with happiness through the mediation of emotional stability and self-esteem. Emotional stability and self-esteem fully mediated the relationship of mindfulness with happiness. In addition, emotional stability partially mediated the relationship of mindfulness with self-esteem. The results of the study shed light on how emotional stability and self-esteem are associated with the process of mindfulness-happiness relationship. Based on the findings, implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Emotional Stability and Self-Esteem as Mediators Between Mindfulness and Happiness

Purpose – The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in India has always been characterized by ungodly hours, monotonous job, low perceived value, dispirited efficiency resulting to high attrition level. Notwithstanding the ever rising attrition rate, it has become critical for the companies to satisfy their employees in order to retain them. The purpose of this paper is to determine what and how job‐related and demographic variables are associated with employee satisfaction of the BPO employees.Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from 500 middle level BPO employees was analyzed using SPSS 16.0. T‐tests and Duncan's post hoc tests were done to compare the various dimensions of employee satisfaction across selected demographic variables such as gender, marital status, education, age and tenure. Correlation was done to find out the relationship between employee satisfaction and various job characteristics as well as demographic variables and finally, regression was done to find out the actual ...

An exploratory study on job and demographic attributes affecting employee satisfaction in the Indian BPO industry

How does Work Engagement vary with Employee Demography?: —Revelations from the Indian IT industry

The success of software projects is quite subjective in nature and is fettered by many risks, the perception of which varies from individual to individual and largely depends on the demographic cha...

Santoshi Sengupta

Papers

Exploring the dimensions of attrition in Indian BPOs

Emotional Stability and Self-Esteem as Mediators Between Mindfulness and Happiness

An exploratory study on job and demographic attributes affecting employee satisfaction in the Indian BPO industry

How does Work Engagement vary with Employee Demography?: —Revelations from the Indian IT industry

Exploring Risk Dimensions in the Indian Software Industry