A scale to measure organizational stress among women workers in the garment industry

Abstract

Purpose Stress has been a common phenomenon among the working professionals. The stress has been known to affect the job satisfaction level, health outcomes, affect burnout through the physiological, emotional, behavioral and cognitive processes resulting in to low performance. This study aims to identify the factors determining organizational stress among women workers in the garment industry in India and to develop and validate a contextual scale for organizational stress among women workers in the garment industry in India. Design/methodology/approach This study consisted of women workers who were employed in garment manufacturing companies. The data has been collected through a structured questionnaire, which identifies the factors leading to stress. The respondents of the study included women workers employed in the garment manufacturing units in and around Bangalore. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted and the model fit was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Findings The measurement scale for the organization stress of women workers in the garment industry was found to be highly reliable and valid for conducting the study in any Indian garment industry. The analysis identified the factors as follows: job-related factor, organization-related factor, social factor and personal factor. Research limitations/implications Due to limited access to the population, which is the women workers, the authors have not been able to collect a large sample data. The sample size is the limitation of the study. Practical implications Organizational stress have has been shown to have a detrimental effect on the health and well-being of employees. Organizations need to step up their effort to integrate emotional well-being, conducive work environment, workloads and job responsibilities, social connectedness and job satisfaction with their efforts to support the physical health and mental health of the workers. Originality/value The study is one of its kind with a focus on women workers in the garment industry in India. The study highlights the factors that result in stress among women workers who have not been studied in past research studies. The strategies to cope with organizational stress in such a work requirement is different and very challenging, making it unique for practitioners.