Stress Analysis Across Organizational Hierarchies: A Comparative Study of Employees at Different Management Levels

Occupational stress has emerged as a critical concern in modern organizations due to increasing workloads, technological disruptions, performance pressures, and uncertainties in career growth. The present study examines the factors influencing employee stress and their impact on stress management effectiveness across different organizational levels. Primary data were collected from 75 employees occupying various designations through a structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale. The study considered workload stress, workplace support, job control and role clarity, and job insecurity as the major antecedents of stress outcomes and examined their influence on employees' stress management capabilities. The reliability analysis revealed satisfactory internal consistency, with composite reliability values exceeding the recommended threshold of 0.70 for all constructs. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.752 confirmed adequate sampling suitability. Correlation analysis indicated that workload stress and job insecurity exhibited significant positive relationships with stress outcomes, whereas workplace support, job control, role clarity, and coping strategies demonstrated significant negative relationships with stress levels. Multiple regression analysis revealed that workload stress (β = 0.448, p < 0.001) and job insecurity (β = 0.330, p < 0.001) significantly increased employee stress, while workplace support negatively influenced stress outcomes. Furthermore, stress outcomes significantly reduced employees' stress management effectiveness (β = -0.630, p < 0.001). The regression model explained approximately 68% of the variance in employee stress. The findings emphasize the need for organizations to develop supportive work environments, enhance role clarity, strengthen stress management interventions, and address job insecurity concerns to promote employee well-being and organizational effectiveness.