Impact of Stress on Quality of Work Life Among Women Employees

The present period witness the changing mentality of the women towards their own

transformation from being a typical housewife to being a successful business woman.

Parents are encouraging their children equally. In this challenging scenario, stress plays

an important role in their life. We are able to observe the various facets that are hidden

within a woman. Men also support women to excel in their fields by providing the

needed help in the house hold activities. Also, the society as a whole has understood

the capability of woman and provides various alternatives for woman to come out and

explore the business world. The Government on its part provides lots of special benefits

for woman to bring out her potential to the fore.

Women in India have come a long way after independence. From just a skilled homemaker, women today have

acquired skills and capabilities of not just being a homemaker but being at par with their

male counterparts.

But this life is not a bed of roses for all. More conflict arises with the working mother. One has to fulfil the

demand at work followed by various demands at home. In today's scenario the husband

and wife both work towards creating a balance with their work life as well as at home

with their children. But it is still difficult for women as she has to play multiple roles of

a cook, a family maid, a tutor, a nurse as well as cater to the demands of office work.

This can leave a working woman stressed and anxious; more so if the family is not

supportive.

We live in stressful times. We are holding down two or more jobs. We are

putting up with heavy job loads and unreasonable demands. We are swallowing outrage

and frustration with unfair situations and irrational superiors because we cannot afford

to be laid off or fired. Or we have already been laid off and we are struggling to find

another job. Or we have given up and are coping with unemployment. Outside strains

like these are called stressors. Stressors are the barely-tolerable pressures that bring us

unhappiness and, eventually, disease. Some people hardly seem to be affected by

stressors. They maintain a sense of perspective and a sense of humour. They remain

calm in the midst of adversity and catastrophe. Other people are overwhelmed by a

lesser number and intensity of stressors and slide downhill, losing relationships, jobs,

and eventually their mental and physical health.

The physiological and psychological responses to situations or events that disturb the equilibrium of an organism constitute

stress. While there is little consensus among psychologists about the exact definition of

stress, it is agreed that stress results when demands placed on an organism cause

unusual Physical, psychological, or emotional responses. In humans, stress originates from a

multitude of sources and causes a wide variety of responses, both positive and negative.

Despite its negative connotation, many experts believe some level of stress is essential

for well-being and mental health.