Content area
Full Text
Abstract
The study was aimed to investigating the extent of functional relationship between work alienation and occupational stress. The participants of the study were 270 working women of various professions i.e. teaching (N=90), nursing (N=90) and office clerks (N=90).The mean age was 39.73 years ( SD = 4.67) range = 30 to 45 years. The measures were used Work Alienation Scale and Occupational Stress Index in the present study. Two-way analysis of variance was employed to analyze the data. The results revealed that: (a) Employees of high alienation level have exhibited high occupational stress, (b) Respondents belonging to teaching profession were found least stressed and least alienated towards their job, however, respondents belonging to office clerks and nursing were found respectively more occupational stress and more work alienation.
Keywords: Work alienation, Occupational stress, Professions, Working women.
INTRODUCTION
The problem of alienation has become an attractive field of investigation to the sociologists and the psychologists for some time past. While the sociologists McKelvic (1973), Plasek (1974) and Pravetz (1976) have been interested mainly in tracing the social root of alienation, psychologists as like Meissier (1974), Farmer and Harvey (1974), Braun, et al., (1976) have on the other hand, viewed the problem as associated with one's mental health.
Alienation refers a sense of estrangement from other human beings, from society and its values, and from the self, particularly from those parts of the self that link it to others, and to society at large. However, research findings on alienation in different organizational settings seem to suggest that alienation is an outcome of frustrating situation. Perhaps, individuals with weaker mental health are likely to become alienated more quickly and easily because of their low frustration-tolerance.
Inkson and Simpson (1975) assumed that the organizational climate produced by modern technology might sometimes act as the breeding ground for alienation, and make the workers feel powerless and frustrated and would also generate a feeling of aggression against the authority.
Naik and Despande (1978) found that the female employers tend to be more alienated than their male counterparts. The employers specializing in the arts discipline appeared to be more alienated than others. Job satisfaction factor showed a significant negative relationship to work alienation. The general alienation scores exhibited a positive...