Abstract
Work-related stress is the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and challenge their ability to cope. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines quality of life (QOL) as individuals’ perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns. This study aimed to determine the pattern of perceived work stress and its impact on the QOL of bankers in Ado-Ekiti, Southwest Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among three hundred and two bankers in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The single-stage study obtained data on the socio-demographics, work history, and medical history of respondents with the socio-demographic questionnaire. The perception of work stress by the respondents was assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the QOL was assessed with the WHO QOL Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF). Fifty-seven (18.9%) had a low perception of stress, 233 (77.1%) had a moderate perception of stress, and 12 (4.0%) had a high perception of stress. In this study, an association was found between perceived work stress and social relationship domain of QOL. This study showed that there is a high prevalence of moderately perceived work stress among bankers. It also showed a significant association between perceived work stress and QOL.
Keywords: Perception, quality of life, work stress
INTRODUCTION
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines work stress as the response people may have when presented with work demands and pressures that are not matched to their knowledge and abilities and challenge their ability to cope.[1]
Quality of life (QOL), according to the WHO, is an individuals’ perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards, and concerns.[2] It is a broad-ranging concept affected in a complex way by the person’s physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, personal beliefs, and their relationship with salient features of their environment.[2]
The quality of working life could be defined as the synthesis of workplace strategies, processes, and environment, which together stimulate the employee’s job satisfaction.[3] The concept of the quality of working life encompasses the following factors: job satisfaction, involvement in performance at work, motivation, efficiency, productivity, health, safety and welfare at work, stress, workload, burnout, etc.[4] The high value of the quality of working life directly influences the higher QOL.[3] In a study conducted in India, it was found that factors of role stagnation such as insecurity, uncertainty, and instability have greater impacts on the physical domain of the QOL of teachers and that low potential, lack of self-confidence, and poor internal motivation severely affect their social QOL.[5] Aspects such as lack of sufficient information, technology, and poor communication affected the teachers’ social QOL.[5] In another study conducted among male automotive assembly workers in Malaysia, it was found that social support was the most directly associated job factor with all domains of QOL; hence, an increase in social support at work enhances a high-level QOL.[6]
In Nigeria, married schoolteachers who have spent the longest number of years in the profession had the overall best QOL among their colleagues.[7] Besides, the report expresses that flexible working schedules and good interprofessional relationships can have positive effects on the QOL of bank workers in Nigeria. Studies have also shown that work stress from work overload and working overtime was a major reason for self-medication by Nigerian bankers, hence affecting their overall QOL.[8]
In a study conducted in Nigeria, increased job demands, long and irregular working hours, poor interprofessional support, and communication were stressful factors at work that affected the QOL of bank workers.[5]
This study is premised on the fact that there is a progressive pattern of downsizing in the Nigerian banking sector because of the recent advancement in information and communication technology. This has resulted in an increase in work stress from workload among the available bank workers. Also, no study has been conducted in this environment evaluating the QOL from work stress among bank workers. This will improve upon previous research studies and shed more light in this area.
AIM OF THE STUDY
To determine the prevalence and pattern of perceived work stress among the bankers.
To determine the association between perceived work stress and QOL among the bankers.
METHODOLOGY
Study design and setting
The study was conducted as a descriptive cross-sectional study and set among commercial bankers in Ado-Ekiti.
Inclusion criteria
Must be a contract, core, or management staff whose job description is within the banking hall.
Must have a non-shift schedule.
Exclusion criteria
Being on leave at the time of recruitment period: Whoever was on leave at the time of the study was not recruited as such individuals were absent for the exercise.
Previous history of psychiatric disorder.
Study instruments
A semi-structured questionnaire was designed to obtain data on the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10) was used to assess the perception of work stress, while the WHO QOL Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) was used to assess the QOL of workers.
Sample size, sampling technique, and study procedure
A sample size of 312 was arrived at after making allowance for the nonresponse rate.
Leslie Fisher’s formula was utilized to calculate the sample size (n) for a study population of less than 10000.
n = nf/(1+nf/N)[9].
n = desired sample size when the study population is less than 10000.
nf = desired sample size when the study population is greater than 10000.
N = estimate of the population size. (This is the total population of bank workers in Ado-Ekiti.).
From the literature review, the prevalence of work-related morbidity among bank workers is 18%.[10]
However, a total of 302 respondents were eventually recruited for the study as four of the questionnaires were incompletely filled, and six of the questionnaires were not returned (i.e., 10 questionnaires) and these could not be used for the study. A cluster sampling technique was used in establishing the study sample. This was used because it is more practical than some other sampling methods for this research. All the branches of the commercial banks are in three main locations (clusters) in Ado-Ekiti, and these are along Bank Road, Ekiti State University, and along Afe Babalola University, and the population of the bankers in all the clusters is heterogeneous. There are six hundred and thirty bankers in Ado-Ekiti who are evenly distributed in branches in these three locations (clusters). This number was obtained by approaching all the managers of each branch along Bank Road who volunteered the staff strengths of other branches in other locations, after the ethical approval of the research was presented to them. Since the number of bankers (two hundred and ten) is evenly distributed in each location (cluster), fifty percent (50%) of the bankers from the branches in each cluster were recruited through a simple random process by balloting. So, one hundred and five respondents were recruited at the branch at Bank Road, one hundred and five respondents were recruited at the branch at Ekiti State University, and one hundred and two respondents were recruited at Afe Babalola University to make a total of three hundred and twelve respondents initially recruited for the study.[11] Two research assistants were employed and adequately trained strictly for the administration, collection, and collation of the questionnaires.
Permission was obtained from the management of the various banks that participated in the study. Also, respondents were adequately informed about the study, the confidentiality involved, and the voluntary nature of their participation. Informed written consent was sought and obtained from each participant. No harm was done to any subject for participating in the study. The total distribution of the questionnaires was done in four days, and it took an average of two days for the respondents to return them to the researchers.
Ethical approval
Ethical consideration and approval were obtained from the Health Research and Ethics Committee of the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti, to proceed with the study.
Data analysis
Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23.
RESULTS
Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents
Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents.
Table 1.
Socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents
| Variables | Frequency (n=302) | Percentage (100%) |
|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | ||
| 21–30 | 147 | 48.7 |
| 31–40 | 133 | 44.0 |
| 41–50 | 22 | 7.3 |
| Mean±SD | 32.15±5.86 | |
| Range | 21–47 | |
| Gender | ||
| Male | 193 | 63.9 |
| Female | 109 | 36.1 |
| Marital status | ||
| Single | 149 | 49.3 |
| Married | 146 | 48.3 |
| Divorced | 7 | 2.4 |
| Number of children | ||
| None | 131 | 43.4 |
| 1 | 63 | 20.9 |
| 2 | 68 | 22.5 |
| ≥3 | 40 | 13.2 |
| Type of family (n=146) | ||
| Single parents | 14 | 9.6 |
| Monogamous | 82 | 56.2 |
| Polygamous | 50 | 34.2 |
| Religion | ||
| Christianity | 270 | 89.4 |
| Islam | 32 | 10.6 |
| Religious activities | ||
| Daily | 142 | 47.0 |
| Weekly | 135 | 44.7 |
| Occasionally/yearly | 25 | 8.3 |
| Highest level of education (all had tertiary education) | ||
| No postgraduate | 223 | 73.8 |
| Has postgraduate | 79 | 26.2 |
| Post—employment qualification | ||
| Yes | 74 | 24.5 |
| No | 228 | 75.5 |
Work history of the respondents
Table 2: Work history of the bankers.
Table 2.
Work history of the respondents
| Variables | Frequency (n=302) | Percentage (%=100) |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational post | ||
| Contract staff | 111 | 36.8 |
| Core staff | 140 | 46.4 |
| Management staff | 51 | 16.9 |
| Years on current rank | ||
| <1 | 35 | 11.6 |
| 1–5 | 208 | 68.9 |
| >5 | 59 | 19.5 |
| Job description | ||
| Teller | 115 | 38.1 |
| Marketer | 70 | 23.2 |
| Customer service officer | 66 | 21.9 |
| Manager | 51 | 16.8 |
| Years on current job | ||
| <1 | 34 | 11.3 |
| 1–5 | 185 | 61.3 |
| >5 | 83 | 27.4 |
| Years worked in banking | ||
| <1 | 13 | 4.3 |
| 1–5 | 148 | 49.0 |
| >5 | 141 | 46.7 |
| Average hours worked (per day) | ||
| 8–10 | 217 | 71.9 |
| >10 | 85 | 28.1 |
| Months since the last holiday | ||
| ≤3 | 218 | 72.2 |
| 4–6 | 38 | 12.6 |
| >6 | 46 | 15.2 |
| Spousal complaints about demands of job (n=146) | ||
| Not at all | 54 | 37.0 |
| Yes | 92 | 63.0 |
Association between perceived work stress and work history of bankers
Table 3: Association between perceived work stress and work history among bankers.
Table 3.
Association between perceived work stress and work history among the respondents
| Variable | Perception of stress | χ 2 | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Low n=57 (%) | Moderate n=233 (%) | High n=12(%) | |||
| Occupational post | |||||
| Contract staff | 14 (24.6) | 92 (39.5) | 5 (41.7) | 6.041F | 0.181 |
| Core staff | 33 (57.9) | 103 (44.2) | 4 (33.3) | ||
| Management staff | 10 (17.5) | 38 (16.3) | 3 (25.0) | ||
| Years on current rank | |||||
| <1 | 8 (14.0) | 26 (11.2) | 1 (8.3) | 1.721F | 0.796 |
| 1–5 | 41 (72.0) | 158 (67.8) | 9 (75.0) | ||
| ≥5 | 8 (14.0) | 49 (21.0) | 2 (16.7) | ||
| Job description | |||||
| Teller | 19 (33.3) | 92 (39.5) | 4 (33.3) | 6573F | 0.347 |
| Marketer | 10 (17.5) | 55 (23.6) | 5 (41.7) | ||
| Customer service officer | 13 (22.8) | 51 (21.9) | 2 (16.7) | ||
| Manager | 15 (26.3) | 35 (15.0) | 1 (8.3) | ||
| Years on current job | |||||
| <1 | 7 (12.3) | 26 (11.2) | 1 (8.3) | 0.648F | 0.967 |
| 1–5 | 36 (63.2) | 142 (60.9) | 7 (58.3) | ||
| ≥5 | 14 (24.6) | 65 (27.9) | 4 (33.3) | ||
| Years worked in banking | |||||
| <1 | 3 (5.2) | 10 (4.3) | 0 (0.0) | 0.426F | 0.979 |
| 1–5 | 27 (47.4) | 115 (49.4) | 6 (50.0) | ||
| ≥5 | 27 (47.4) | 108 (46.3) | 6 (50.0) | ||
| Average hours worked (per day) | 32 (56.1) | 177 (76.0) | 8 (66.7) | 9.067 | 0.011* |
| 8–0 | 25 (43.9) | 56 (24.0) | 4 (33.3) | ||
| >10 | |||||
| Months since the last holiday | 42 (73.7) | 169 (72.5) | 7 (58.3) | 7.496F | 0.088 |
| ≤3 | 5 (8.8) | 33 (14.2) | 0 (0.0) | ||
| 4–6 | 10 (17.5) | 31 (13.3) | 5 (41.7) | ||
| >6 | |||||
| Spousal complaints about demands of job (n=146) | n=20 | n=116 | n=10 | ||
| Not at all | 8 (40.0) | 46 (39.7) | 0 (0.0) | 6.302 | 0.043* |
| Yes | 12 (60.0) | 70 (60.3) | 10 (100) | ||
Prevalence and pattern of severity of perceived work stress among bankers
Figure 1: Pattern of perceived work stress among respondents.
Figure 1.
Prevalence and pattern of perceived work stress among the respondents (N = 302)
QOL and satisfaction with life among respondents
Table 4: Quality of life and satisfaction with life among bankers.
Table 4.
Quality of life and satisfaction with life among bankers
| Variables | Frequency (n=302) | Percentage (%=100) |
|---|---|---|
| Physical health | ||
| Good | 169 | 56.0 |
| Poor | 133 | 44.0 |
| Psychological state | ||
| Good | 213 | 70.5 |
| Poor | 89 | 29.5 |
| Social relationships | ||
| Good | 174 | 57.6 |
| Poor | 128 | 42.4 |
| Environment | ||
| Good | 114 | 37.7 |
| Poor | 188 | 62.3 |
| Overall quality of life | ||
| Good | 212 | 70.2 |
| Poor | 90 | 29.8 |
| Overall satisfaction with life | ||
| Satisfied | 222 | 73.5 |
| Not satisfied | 80 | 26.5 |
Association between QOL and perceived work stress among bankers
Table 5: Association between QOL and perceived work stress among bankers.
Table 5.
Association between quality of life and perceived work stress among bankers
| Variables | Perceived stress | χ 2 | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
| Low n=57 (%) | Moderate n=233 (%) | High n=12 (%) | |||
| Physical health | |||||
| Good | 39 (68.4) | 124 (53.2) | 6 (50.0) | 4.475 | 0.107 |
| Poor | 18 (31.6) | 109 (46.8) | 6 (50.0) | ||
| Psychological state | |||||
| Good | 47 (82.5) | 159 (68.2) | 7 (58.3) | 5.347 | 0.069 |
| Poor | 10 (17.5) | 74 (31.8) | 5 (41.7) | ||
| Social relationships | |||||
| Good | 43 (75.4) | 125 (53.6) | 6 (50.0) | 9.202 | 0.010* |
| Poor | 14 (24.6) | 108 (46.4) | 6 (50.0) | ||
| Environment | |||||
| Good | 31 (54.4) | 148 (63.5) | 9 (75.0) | 2.490 | 0.288 |
| Poor | 26 (45.6) | 85 (36.5) | 3 (25.0) | ||
| Overall quality of life | |||||
| Good | 45 (78.9) | 160 (68.7) | 7 (58.3) | 3.153 | 0.207 |
| Poor | 12 (21.1) | 73 (31.3) | 5 (41.7) | ||
| Overall satisfaction with life | |||||
| Good | 43 (75.4) | 169 (72.5) | 10 (83.3) | 0.818 | 0.664 |
| Poor | 14 (24.6) | 64 (27.5) | 2 (16.7) | ||
χ2: Chi-square; *: P<0.05, total n=302
DISCUSSION
Prevalence and pattern of perceived work stress among bankers
The perception of work stress generally was low (18.9%) or moderate in most respondents (77.1%), and only a very small percentage had a high perception of stress (4.0%). With regard to the pattern of severity of perceived work stress, the majority of the stressed respondents were in the low-to-moderate category in this study, while only a few of the respondents had high perception of stress. A closely related pattern of severity of mild-to-moderate category of work-related stress for the majority of respondents was reported in a similar study among bankers in Lagos.[12] This is most likely due to similarities in the socio-demographic distribution of respondents in both studies.
Another important finding from this study is the association between average number of hours worked daily and perceived work stress, which was also reported in a bank study in North-Central Nigeria.[13] Those who worked more than 10 hours daily were more likely to have experienced moderate-to-high perception of stress as compared with those who worked for 8–10 hours daily, who were more likely to have experienced low-to-moderate perception of stress. As a result of the longer period, they might have had to deal with excessive workload with demanding deadlines. This agrees with studies by Ugwu and Chovwen in Nigeria in which a direct relationship between higher job demands and work-related stress, especially among bankers, was reported.[14,15]
An association was found between perceived work stress and the presence of spousal complaints about the demands of job in this study. Bankers who experienced spousal complaints about the demands of their jobs were more likely to report a moderate-to-high perception of stress compared with those without such complaints who were more likely to report a low perception of stress. This may not be unexpected as the spousal complaints may lead to feelings of being used up and or not being appreciated despite sacrifices to keep up a job in the interest of the family.[16] It may also be that because of the demands of the job, those affected were distracted from attending to the physical and emotional needs of their erstwhile supportive spouses, hence the recurrent complaints and the additive effects on stress at work.[17]
Association between perceived work stress and QOL among bankers
Perceived work stress was associated with the social relationship domain of QOL. The lower the perceived level of stress, the more likely the social relationship was reported as good. This may be that because of the low level of perceived work stress, these individuals could harness their interpersonal skills effectively, or as a result of brilliant interpersonal skills, their perception of stress was minimal.[18] This finding agrees with a similar study among bankers in Nigeria and India where respondents with mild level of stress fared better on QOL.[14,19] However, the higher the level of perceived stress, the less likely the social relationship was reported as good. It could be that as a result of the level of perceived work stress, the bankers’ capacity for enhanced social relationship was compromised.[15]
The majority of the respondents with low-to-moderate perceived work stress affirmed having an overall good QOL and satisfaction with life, although this finding was not statistically significant. Nevertheless, the feeling of fulfillment of life’s goals and improved self-worth brought about by the sense of being gainfully employed could numb the effects of being stressed, providing a probable explanation for this finding.[15]
Limitation of the study
This is a cross-sectional study and the findings from it may not be total representative of the study population, for which a prospective study may be more appropriate.
There is a limitation of time constraints in this study as a more intensive study will require a more extensive duration.
Recommendations
There is a need for every financial institution in Nigeria to be proactive in minimizing work-related stress by designing and implementing excellent organizational structures that will enhance a balance in the job demands and social support of bankers.
There is a need for more advocacies in the area of organizational psychiatry in Nigeria so that more enlightenment and research studies can be conducted to improve the mental health and well-being of Nigerian workers, especially those in the banking industry.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
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