European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.

org
ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online)
Vol.12, No.32, 2020

Stress and Job Performance of Secretaries in an Organization

Akasi Sunday Ebhodaghe1 Popoola, Kofoworola Oyindamola2*
1.Office Technology and Management Department, Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State, Nigeria
2.Information Management Department, Lead City University Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract
Stress can be said to be non-specific reaction of the body to the demand made on it by external or internal
stimulus events called stressor. Stress as emotional process has psychological and physiological implications.
Many professional secretaries experience conflicts because of office demands which is consuming most of their
time, thereby neglecting their home duties to the background. Conflicts occur because the person wants to devote
adequate attention to both family and office works. This research examines impact of stress on job performance
of secretaries in an organization. The population of the study was 50 graduate secretaries in the employment of
the Federal Polytechnic, Ede and Adeleke University, Ede both in Osun State. The instrument for data collection
was questionnaire, which consisted of 4 research questions. Data collected to answer the research questions were
analyze with frequency and percentages. From the data collected and analyzed, it was discovered that secretaries
face a lot of stressful situations in the course of doing their jobs but that some were more stressful in their effect
than others. The three most significant stressors identified were working Role ambiguity, work overload and
unfair treatment. Recommendations were made that secretaries should clearly outline their numerous official
and domestic functions daily and attend to them adequately. They should learn to put their emotions under
control and manage their stress by practicing time and role management.
Keywords: Stress, Job performance, Secretaries, Organization
DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-32-04
Publication date: November 30th 2020

1. Introduction
The work of secretaries are stressful in nature since they are the head and eye of the organization. Sometimes
secretaries feel depressed and discourages because of the work fully packed for them and there is inadequate
time to tackle all these jobs, even at that, the manager will be shouting on them to hurry up, and as the secretary
looks around and finds no help, stress arises(John, 2017). The roles and functions of the secretary are basic to
the organization - this range from covering meetings, taking care of all office routine duties, keeping schedules
in her boss’s desk diaries for complete and effective job performance up to date and supervising sub-ordinates as
well as keeping other general information in the office. In the organization, she is also important to the
organization because of her ability to remain calm under extra-ordinary condition of work pressures and human
demands.

2. Statement of the Problem

Stress comes as a result of over working oneself. Over work may emanate from the manager of an organization
or the secretary herself. A situation where the manager fail to recruit more workers in the organization, this will
generate stressful condition for the secretaries working with them which may lead to frustrations, tension and
anxiety and as a result of this problem may occur. The secretary herself causes stress in her job, as a result of her
inability to schedule her time according to her engagements. In view of the adverse effects of stress on the
performance of the secretary , it becomes imperative to take a very keen look at the reasons for stress in work
place, the effect of stress on the job performance of secretary and ways of improving the condition using
empirical evidence.

3. Research Questions
The following research questions were raised to guide this research study.
1. What are the causes of stress on the secretary’s performance?
2. To what extent does stress affect the job performance of the secretary?
3. How does stress affect the organizational goal?
4. What could be done to reduce or eliminate stress?

4. Influence of Stress on Secretary’s Job Performance

There is significant inconsistency among researchers concerning the direct and indirect effects of stress. Direct
stress effects are those incurred by the task load alone irrespective of any psychological stress that may also be
generated. Accordingly, indirect stress effects are those that evolve out of psychological factors associated with
the task load demands. There is a fine line that separates these two, and they can be indistinguishable at times.

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European Journal of Business and Management www.iiste.org
ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online)
Vol.12, No.32, 2020

This fact has made their separation and measurement particularly difficult. However, while exposure to some
level of stress may help individual performance, the long-term effects of stress on the individual tend to be
negative, according to the majority of research looking at prolonged exposure to stress. One potential result of an
extended exposure to a single or to multiple stressors is burnout, to include exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and
detachment, a sense of ineffectiveness, and lack of accomplishment. It was argued that high and consistent
exposure to stress can lead to burnout. High levels of stress can lead to emotional exhaustion, which has been
shown to degrade organizational commitment and increase turnover intentions (Mathis & Jackson, 2014)
According to Jamal, (2012), stress can also lead to physical problems, including cardiovascular disease,
muscle pain, stomach and intestinal problems, decreased fertility, and reduced immune system strength. Long-
term stress can also lead to feelings of anger, anxiety, fatigue, depression, and sleep problems. In the extreme,
long-term exposure to high levels of stress or a single exposure to a very demanding event can lead to post-
traumatic stress disorder, a psychiatric illness that can interfere with life functioning. Stress has a variety of
symptoms, including nightmares, flashbacks, difficulty sleeping, and social isolation.
Although much of the research on the relationship between stress and functioning focuses on the negative
performance effects of stress, not all stress is bad. In fact, emphasizes that stress is a necessary part of life and
that it does not always involve negative consequences for the organism involved. In fact, at certain moderate
levels, stress can actually improve individual performance. There is substantial research supporting the concept
of “good stress.”
It was argued that individual performance increases with stress and resulting arousal to an optimal point and
then decreases as stress and stimulation increase beyond this optimum. Furthermore, it was opined that an
inverted relationship does exist between stress and job performance in the industrial context. It was stated that
performance is optimal when arousal is at moderate levels. When arousal is either too high or too low,
performance declines.
According to Ali (2005), under conditions of stress, individual decision-making processes, perception,
cognition, and judgment are all affected. For example, individuals may experience perceptual narrowing,
reduced attention to peripheral stimuli, and increased task completion time. In group situations, stress may lead
individuals to rely on the orders of their superiors. Group performance can also be affected by reduced
communication effectiveness, concentrated authority, and poor judgment resulting from groupthink. While the
general view of stress is that it has negative consequences, it is widely accepted that the relationship between
stress and important outcome measures is more complicated. That is, moderate levels of stress are often
associated with improved outcomes, while low and high levels of stress and arousal are linked to lowered
outcomes.
Han (2009), suggests that performance for different types of secretary’s operations could vary as a
function of stress. For example, for certain operations, moderate levels of stress may contribute to improved
outcomes (performance, job satisfaction, etc.). However, for other operations that have frequent and significant
stressors, stress appears to have negative effects on secretary’s outcomes, such as mental health (particularly in
the long term). Organization planners may be able to use this information to their advantage by identifying and
reducing stress in situations in which it has negative effects on judgment and decision-making and by
maintaining moderate levels of stimulation where stress can be beneficial for outcomes. It also seems significant
that it tends to be individual perception, judgment, and decision-making processes that are most affected by
stress. As a result, organization’s trainers and leaders should focus on developing these skills among junior
personnel through training or other exercises.
According to Han, (2009), the following are the effects of stress on secretary’s job performance in an
organization:
Stress affecting secretaries leads them to have bad performance in the discharge of their duties. Secretaries
experience a lack of concentration. Stress can affect the ability to concentrate, and stress interferes with a
secretary’s ability to concentrate, Ironically stress Improves concentration for a short term because when
secretaries are little stressed up they then to focus to try to get the issue in question which stresses them
away but these concentrations doesn't last for long since they will have more work to do for their boss and
others assignments to do which demand long-term concentrations rather than the short term.
Furthermore, stress affect the productivity or the output of secretaries. When secretaries are stressed up they
turn not to give their maximum best when doing when discharging their duties and as a result, it manifests in
the outputs they bring which are clearly seen in the work they do. They do their work in a shabby manner
not following the instructions giving the assignments in question. In the long term, it can even affect their
plans for the future.
Also, stress affects the initiative skills of secretaries. Most secretaries when stressed upturn to lack the
ability to bring up new ideas to solve problems or issues, thus when secretaries are faced with some
challenges which might be even so easy to solve because they are stressed up to refuse or are unable to rack
their brains to find solutions to that problem.

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ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online)
Vol.12, No.32, 2020

Lastly, stress cause secretaries to be confused and also suffer from amnesia. All secretaries when stressed
upturn to be sixes and sevens with the little-complicated issues. They easily have misunderstandings with
what is to be done on the task given to them and don't know what to do. On the other hand, many of them
also forget easily what have they know or have been told because their minds are burdened with the issues
that are stressing them up. All these points impact of stress on secretaries, in the long run, cause them to
perform poorly in an organization.

5. Methodology
Survey research method was used. The population of this study was 50 graduate secretaries, both male and
female in the employment of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State. The instrument for data collection was
questionnaire. The structured questionnaire was administered personally by the researcher and collection was
also made by him. To validate the instrument used for this study, the instrument was subjected to face and
content validity by two experts to ensure that the questionnaire was capable of eliciting responses needed for the
objectives of the study. Data collected were analyse using frequency count and percentages.
Results presentation and Analysis
Table 1: Research Question 1 – What are the causes of stress on the secretary’s performance?
Question Items Responses Frequency of responses Percentage (%)
Work overload Strongly agreed 30 60%
Agree 10 20%
Disagree 5 10%
Strongly Disagree 5 10%
Total 50% 100%
Role ambiguity Strongly agreed 20 40%
Agree 22 44%
Disagree 5 10%
Strongly Disagree 3 6%
Total 50% 100%
Lack of concentration Strongly agreed 30 60%
Agree 10 20%
Disagree 5 10%
Strongly Disagree 5 10%
Total 50% 100%
Lack of job specification Strongly agreed 31 62%
Agree 11 22%
Disagree 6 12%
Strongly Disagree 2 4%
Total 50% 100%
Lack of equipment and material Strongly agreed 28 56%
needed for effective job performance Agree 10 20%
Disagree 7 14%
Strongly Disagree 5 10%
Total 50% 100%
Source: Field Survey 2020

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ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online)
Vol.12, No.32, 2020

Table 2: Research Question 2 - To what extent does stress affect the job performance of secretary?
Question Items Responses Frequency of responses Percentage (%)
It reduced concentration Very High Extent 31 62%
High Extent 10 20%
Low Extent 4 8%
Very Low Extent 5 10%
Total 50% 100%
It leads to reduction in productivity of Very High Extent 30 60%
secretaries High Extent 10 20%
Low Extent 5 10%
Very Low Extent 5 10%
Total 50% 100%
It leads to rise in inferiority complex Very High Extent 10 20%
among secretaries High Extent 5 10%
Low Extent 25 50%
Very Low Extent 10 20%
Total 50% 100%
Its leads to job dissatisfaction Very High Extent 31 62%
High Extent 11 22%
Low Extent 6 12%
Very Low Extent 2 4%
Total 50% 100%
It leads to unnecessary aggression Very High Extent 20 4o%
High Extent 10 20%
Low Extent 10 20%
Very Low Extent 10 20%
Total 50% 100%
Source: Field Survey 2020

Table 3: Research Question 3 – How does stress affect the organizational goals?
Question Items Responses Frequency of responses Percentage (%)
It lead to low morale Strongly agreed 40 80%
Agree 5 10%
Disagree 3 6%
Strongly Disagree 2 4%
Total 50% 100%
It causes poor working relationship Strongly agreed 10 20%
among workers Agree 5 10%
Disagree 25 50%
Strongly Disagree 10 20%
Total 50% 100%
It reduces productivity Strongly agreed 31 62%
Agree 11 22%
Disagree 6 12%
Strongly Disagree 2 4%
Total 50% 100%
It increases rate of absentees Strongly agreed 30 60%
Agree 7 14%
Disagree 10 20%
Strongly Disagree 3 6%
Total 50% 100%
It leads to high rate of employees Strongly agreed 20 4o%
turnover Agree 10 20%
Disagree 10 20%
Strongly Disagree 10 20%
Total 50% 100%
Source: Field Survey 2020

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ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online)
Vol.12, No.32, 2020

Table 4: Research Question 4 – What could be done to reduce or eliminate stress?

Question Items Responses Frequency of responses Percentage (%)
Work redesign Strongly agreed 45 90%
Agree 5 10%
Disagree 0 0%
Strongly Disagree 0 0%
Total 50% 100%
Introduction of stress management Strongly agreed 25 50%
training Agree 10 20%
Disagree 5 10%
Strongly Disagree 10 20%
Total 50% 100%
Management development Strongly agreed 12 24%
Agree 11 22%
Disagree 16 32%
Strongly Disagree 11 22%
Total 50% 100%
Introduction of in-service or on-the-job Strongly agreed 30 60%
training for workers to improve their Agree 7 14%
human capacity. Disagree 10 20%
Strongly Disagree 3 6%
Total 50% 100%
Effort should be made to provide Strongly agreed 25 50%
working equipment and materials for Agree 10 20%
effective job performance Disagree 5 10%
Strongly Disagree 10 20%
Total 50% 100%
Source: Field Survey 2020

6. Discussion of Findings
The results of research question one revealed that work overload, role ambiguity, lack of concentration, non-
defined job specification and lack of effective equipment and materials needed to carry out task given are the
causes and effect of stress on the performance of secretary. This finding is in accord with the findings of Ali
(2006), who cited the common reason for stress that include work overloads, role ambiguity, underutilization of
skills and many others.
The findings of research question two as analyzed in this chapter revealed the extend as to which stress
affect the performance of secretary, as thus it was deduced from the respondent that stress affect the performance
of the organization negatively such as: reducing concentration of secretary’s at work, reduction in productivity,
leading to job dissatisfaction, stress brought about rise in inferiority complex am secretary’s and also it leads to
unnecessary aggression among others. Similar study was conducted by Ali, (2005) and found out that, factors
such as workload, role conflict and inadequate monetary rewards are the prime reasons for job stress that causes
decrease in performance of employees.
The result of the findings of research question three indicated that stress affect organizational goals in
different way such as leading to low morale among secretary’s also it shows that stress causes poor working
relationship among workers. Most of the respondents were also of the opinion that stress leads to reduction in
productivity and also leads to high rate of employee’s turnover in their organization. This study is in accord with
the study of Mead (2015) who concluded in his study the impact of stress in job performance. He pointed out
that there is negative impact of job stress on employee performance if stress is not managed effectively.
Accordingly, too much stress negatively impacts the work performance of both the employees and the
organization. Also in Omolara (2018), it was said that job dissatisfaction is known to lead to job stress, which in
turn reduces the productivity.
The findings of the research question four as analyzed in this chapter shows possible measures to put in
place in order to curb or eliminate stress from job environment such as work redesigned, introduction of
management training, management development and also introduction of in-service or on-the-job training for
workers to improve their services and lastly the findings also suggest that effort should be made to provide good
working equipment and materials for effective job performance. This findings is accord with the Findings of
Jenifer et al. (2006) who says stress management includes taking care of organizational issues like leadership,
peer support, organizational culture and polices, work design and reporting arrangements as well as job analysis,
staff selection and training to enhance role clarity such that there is a balance between the individual and his

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ISSN 2222-1905 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2839 (Online)
Vol.12, No.32, 2020

work environment. Effective systems for motivation and performance management are essential.

7. Conclusion
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of stress on productivity of secretaries at the Federal Polytechnic,
Ede. The results from this study clearly show some factors causing stressful situation on the secretaries in the
study area and the effect on their productivity.

8. Recommendations
Based on the findings of the research, it is recommend that the following, measured be put in place to help
secretaries of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede manage and reduce stress at work.
Management should introduce stress management training program strategy at various unit in the Polytechnic.
• Management must conduct an analysis of the organizational culture and climate by assessing the
reasons why employees think they are been over utilized.
• Supervisors and managers must assess the level of their subordinates knowledge and skills and whether
they will meet their deadlines. They must agree on a performance contract, so that they can give
employees with job maturity and control over their jobs.
• Time management training should be given to employees on continuous basis.
• Management should introduce stress management techniques at various units.
• Management should facilitate an employee’s skill audit that will help to place employees that feel
underutilized and also introduce good job specification to balance workflow among employees to help
employees that feel over utilized.

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