Assessing Organizational Role Stress of Employees in Public and Private Sectors

Introduction Work plays a vital role in most people’s lives, and thus the impact of stress in the workplace is a significant issue. Since organisational role stress (ORS) has detrimental effects on both the organisation and employee, managing role pressures has greater importance. Objective This study analysed the comparative organisational role stress between India’s public sector and private sector workers. It also fulfilled its objective of ranking stressors to contribute to total ORS. Materials and Methods This descriptive-comparative analytical study selected 92 employees (41 private sectors and 51 public sectors) from different organisations in India. The study administered the organisational role stress scale developed by Udai Pareek to employees of both groups. For analysis independent sample t-test were used in the study. Results The study reveals that public sector employees score higher than private-sector employees in almost all scale dimensions other than role stagnation. Data analysis also inferred that inter-role stressor was the maximum contributor to overall organisational role stress, and the two groups differed most in the dimension of role overload. Conclusion These have important implications in policy-making to ensure enhanced well-being and productivity.