Occupational Stress in Organizations and Its Effects on Organizational Performance

Human resource practitioners, counsellors, professionals and managers in various organizations are concerned about the impact of occupational stress in organizations. Occupational stress affects employee turnover, productivity and firm performance. Managers in various organizations are in dilemma over what interventions need to be employed to minimize the costs associated with occupational stress. It is therefore, essential to understand the causes, symptoms and effects of occupational stress on organizational performance. The data used for this study was generated by convenience random sampling of employees working in public sector organizations in Botswana. The findings from this study show that occupational stress affects employees in several ways and is a major source of employee's turnover in many organizations. Suggestions have been made to inspire managers to understand and develop appropriate interventions to manage and minimize stress in their organizations.