Burnout and Coping Patterns among IT Professionals: A Preliminary Exploration BY S. Sahu DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka Bangalore IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF M.Sc. (Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling) UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Dr S. Kalyanasundaram The Richmond Fellowship Post-Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling Bangalore 2008-10
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Burnout and Coping Patterns among
IT Professionals: A Preliminary Exploration
BY
S. Sahu
DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka
Bangalore
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
M.Sc. (Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling)
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Dr S. Kalyanasundaram
The Richmond Fellowship Post-Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling
Bangalore
2008-10
Burnout and Coping Patterns among
IT Professionals: A Preliminary Exploration
BY
S. Sahu
DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka
Bangalore
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
M.Sc. (Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling)
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF
Dr S. Kalyanasundaram
The Richmond Fellowship Post-Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling
Bangalore
2008-10
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The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka
DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE
I hereby declare that this dissertation, titled “Burnout and Coping Patterns among IT
Professionals: A Preliminary Exploration,” is a bona fide and genuine work of research
carried out by me under the guidance of Dr S. Kalyanasundaram, Principal, the
Richmond Fellowship Post-Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation &
Counselling.
Date : Signature of the Candidate
Place : Bangalore Name : S. Sahu
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CERTIFICATE FROM THE GUIDE
This is to certify that the dissertation titled “Burnout and Coping Patterns among IT
Professionals: A Preliminary Exploration” is a bona fide work of research done by S.
Sahu in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M.Sc. (Psychosocial
Rehabilitation & Counselling).
Date : Signature of the Guide
Place : Bangalore Name : Dr S. Kalyanasundaram
Designation : Principal
Richmond Fellowship Post-Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling
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ENDORSEMENT BY THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT/
THE PRINCIPAL/THE HEAD OF THE INSTITUTION
This is to certify that the dissertation titled “Burnout and Coping Patterns among IT
Professionals: A Preliminary Exploration” is a bona fide work of research done by S.
Sahu under the guidance of Dr S. Kalyanasundaram, Principal, the Richmond Fellowship
Post-Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling.
Seal & Signature Seal & Signature of the Principal of the Head of the Department
Name : Dr S. Kalyanasundaram Name : Dr S. Kalyanasundaram
Date : Date :
Place : Bangalore Place : Bangalore
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COPYRIGHT
Declaration by the Candidate
I hereby declare that the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka shall
have the right to preserve, use and disseminate this dissertation in print or electronic
format for academic/research purposes.
Date : Signature of the Candidate
Place : Bangalore Name : S. Sahu
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dr S. Kalyanasundaram, my Guide and the Principal of the Richmond Fellowship Post-
Graduate College for Psychosocial Rehabilitation & Counselling, Bangalore, kept his
eagle eye on the text of this dissertation throughout and gave it focus. Dr Dharitri
Ramaprasad, Professor at the College, finely chiselled the draft protocol, to start with. Dr
N. Suryanarayana Rao, Research Methodology & Statistics professor, saved me from
deadly pitfalls in number-crunching, working with me late into the night. Ms Geetha
Menon, my Co-Guide, constantly steadied and supported me.
Ranjan, Asha, Priyank, Anant, Arun, Prabhat, Prabha, Maya, Ratheesh, Prema and Rajesh
worked hard to get me the sample I needed. Vasantha’s help with data entry was vital and
crucial.
All those mentioned above helped me sacrificially. Any credit for this dissertation should
go to them.
Date : Signature of the Candidate
Place : Bangalore Name: S. Sahu
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ABSTRACT
Information Technology (IT) professionals in India and elsewhere have high-stress jobs
that make them vulnerable to psychiatric disorders and psychosocial dysfunction.
However, the research conducted to study stress, coping and burnout in this population
has been inadequate. The current study examined the extent of burnout and the coping
patterns of software engineers in Bangalore with respect to select socio-demographic
variables. The sample comprised 139 software engineers of both genders, aged 23-28
years, employed in medium- to large-sized IT organisations in Bangalore. A
questionnaire-based survey was conducted by selecting a purposive sample. Written,
informed consent was obtained from participants. The data collection tools were a socio-
demographic data form, the Coping Checklist by Rao, Subbakrishna and Prabhu (1989)
and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (General Survey) by Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach and
Jackson (1996). The results tabulated the correlation of burnout and coping pattern scores
with gender, age, marital status, position of respondent among siblings, length of service
in the current organisation, number of daily working hours and gross annual income.
Most respondents did not have more than 2 siblings. Although there was a high
proportion of females, the women had lower Professional Efficacy scores than the men.
The average workday was longer than 8 hours. Exhaustion scores were highest in the 23-
to 24-year age group, a possible cause being high work pressure. Burnout levels had no
correlation with income. Both males and females had similar stress coping styles.
Respondents in the highest income slab (Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac) had the poorest coping scores.
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The IT community, although in transition, is already a distinct socio-demographic class
that deserves tailor-made preventive and therapeutic interventions to be developed for it.
Keywords: Life Change Events, Professional Burnout, Psychological Adaptation,
Psychological Stress, Software
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction 1
2 Objectives 12
3 Review of Literature 14
4 Methodology 26
5 Results 31
6 Discussion 53
7 Summary 61
8 Bibliographic References 64
9 Annexures A1
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LIST OF TABLES
1 Distribution of Respondents by Organisation Size 32
2 Distribution of Respondents by Gender and Age 33
3 Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status and Age 34
4 Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status and Gender 35
5 Distribution of Respondents by Position among Siblings and Gender 36
6 Distribution of Respondents by No. of Daily Working Hours and Gender 37
7 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gender 38
8 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Age 39
9 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Marital Status 40
10 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Position among Siblings 41
11 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Length of Service in Current Organisation 42
12 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. No. of Daily Working Hours 43
13 Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gross Annual Income 44
14 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gender 45
15 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Age 46
16 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Marital Status 47
17 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Position among Siblings 48
18 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Length of Service in Current Organisation 49
19 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. No. of Daily Working Hours 50
20 Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gross Annual Income 51
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1. INTRODUCTION
Occupational stress is a phenomenon that was first researched by the University of
Michigan in the 1960s and accepted from the late 1970s (Jex, 2002)1 as being coupled
with the onset of significant physical and mental health problems of workers. It causes
deterioration in performance among managers and subordinates alike. As a result, the
organisation as well as the employee suffers.
Stress is “the response to events that are threatening or challenging.” (Feldman, 1996)2
Occupational stress is stress experienced in the context of work, as a result of conflicts
arising between the human personality and the culture and processes of the organisation
in which the individual is employed (Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 20093 and Business
Dictionary.com, 20104). It occurs when there is unexpected increase in the demands
made on an employee by his/her work environment. It becomes evident when the
employee lacks the ability or adequate resources to meet those demands. This results in
physical or psychological disorders and is ongoing in nature, sometimes lasting for the
duration of the employee’s period of service in the organisation.
Occupational Burnout
For the purpose of this study, burnout is defined as being a crisis in one’s relationship
with work (Maslach, Jackson and Leiter, 1997)5. It is a state of exhaustion in which one
is cynical about the value of one’s occupation and doubtful of one’s capacity to perform
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professionally. Burnout has three sub-scales, Cynicism, Exhaustion and Professional
Efficacy. Cynicism is an indifferent or distant attitude toward work and is represented by
the feeling “I don’t really care if my work is done well or poorly.” Exhaustion is fatigue
and is represented by “working all day is really a strain for me.” Professional Efficacy
represents one’s expectations, e.g. “At work, I am confident that I am effective at getting
things done” and, although it includes satisfaction with past and present
accomplishments, it explicitly assesses an individual's expectations of continued
effectiveness at work. A high degree of burnout is reflected in high scores on Cynicism
and Exhaustion and low scores on Professional Efficacy.
Occupational burnout is a reaction closely associated with occupational stress. It develops
in people subjected to prolonged work stress and is prevalent in professions marked by
one or more of the following: high stress, high emotional commitment and outcomes
independent of the effort exerted by the working individual. Individuals most vulnerable
to burnout are those who are strongly motivated, dedicated and involved in their work.
Work, for such, is an important means through which they derive meaning in life and
achieve their goals and expectations. They therefore experience burnout when they
experience a sense of failure in finding meaning and growth through their work
(Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2010)6.
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The Symptoms of Occupational Burnout
Occupational burnout is characterised by at least seven symptoms (About.com, 20107 and
Farlex, Inc., 20108). One is emotional exhaustion: the depletion or draining of emotional
resources, manifested as impatience, moodiness, inexplicable sadness, tendency to get
frustrated easily, etc. Depleted physical energy is a close second: the subject feels
physically drained or tired much of the time and no longer has the energy he/she once
did. Even getting out of bed to face another day becomes more difficult than before.
People experiencing burnout therefore make less investment in interpersonal
relationships, as a result, because they know they have less to give to and less patience
with others. This is linked with cynicism, indifference or distancing in relation to work
(Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2010)6 and fellow humans, and dehumanised perceptions
and derogatory labelling of the latter. Moreover, one’s experience of burnout translates
into an increasingly pessimistic outlook, making it more difficult for one to feel excited
about life, have fun, expect the best from situations and let go of negative experiences.
This, in turn, results in degradation in work performance, i.e. reduction in professional
efficacy, which is tied to lower overall personal effectiveness. Sometimes, the
professional fallout is a result of increased physical illness caused by lowered immunity.
People suffering from burnout usually have increased susceptibility to minor and not-so-
minor illnesses.
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Behaviours Characterising Occupational Burnout
Behaviours associated with occupational burnout include a tendency on the part of an
individual to blame others in an organisation for one’s own problems, exhibit increased
absenteeism, get more embroiled in interpersonal conflicts and confrontation and isolate
himself/herself from others in the organisation (Maslach and Leiter, 1997)9. Individuals
suffering from job burnout frequently attempt to remove themselves from the situations
they perceive to be the source of their problems. Although they do not actually terminate
their jobs, they stop communicating, often damaging both their organisations and their
own careers.
Professionals in the information technology industry are not spared from such burnout.
“They have to perform in a demanding work environment characterized by strict
deadlines, differing time zones, interdependency in teams, increased interaction with
clients, and extended work hours.” (Rajeswari and Anantharaman, 2005)10
The Causative Factors of Occupational Stress
The causative factors to which one may attribute job stress (FreeEssays.cc, 2003?)11 have
been divided into four groups:
• Stressors common to a wide variety of jobs, e.g. issues regarding customer demands,
time constraints and ineffective training
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• Stressors common to a wide variety of organisations, e.g. issues related to absence of
support from organisational superiors, non-competitive wage structures, poor job
descriptions and ineffective organisational motivational strategies
• Factors related to inter-departmental activities within the organisation, e.g. poor
cooperation and organisational politics
• External changes such as those occurring in the market, which in turn cause the
organisation to adjust reactively and often make radical shifts in organisational
environment, staffing and job tasks. (Changes in this category feed into those in the
foregoing groups.)
Moreover, according to FreeEssays.cc (2003?)11, the primary sources of occupational
stress within organisations lie in four areas: task demands (specific characteristics of the
job itself), physical demands (environmental factors such as temperature variations, noise
vibrations, and lighting), role demands (a result of flawed organisational structures,
ineffective organisational development or one’s inability to successfully pursue
achievement goals within one’s organisation) and interpersonal demands (the demands of
developing working relationships with others).
The Sources of Occupational Stress
The above causative factors may equally be traced to the following 10 “sources” of stress
(Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Addiction and Mental Health, 2001)12:
• Doubt (employees being unsure of what is happening and where things are headed)
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• Mistrust (due to vicious office politics, which disrupt positive behaviour)
• Unclear company direction and policies
• Poor supervisor-subordinate relationships and lack of two-way communication
• Career and job ambiguity (when things happen without the employee knowing why)
• Inconsistent performance management processes (typically, when an employee gets
or loses a raise without appropriate performance reviews or evaluations being
conducted and, sometimes, he/she is laid off afterwards)
• Being unappreciated for one’s contribution to the organisation
• The “treadmill syndrome” (too much to do at once, requiring long workdays)
• Random interruptions
• Work “underload” (which results in the employee feeling a lack of job control).
(It may be noted that eight of the above 10 sources constitute inter-departmental,
organisational or market-driven stressors related to the employee’s organisational role,
while one is a physical stressor and another, a job-level stressor.)
Organisational Stressors
More attention has been given, in the literature of occupational stress research, to
organisational role stressors and “aversive working conditions associated with behaviours
expected of each employee in an organization” than to any other source (Jex, 2002)1.
Specifically, three organisational role-related stressors have been identified: role
ambiguity (when one is unsure of what one is supposed to do), role conflict (lack of
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consistency in the role set-related information provided by one’s colleagues or superiors)
and role overload (when one’s employer or one’s work environment demands more than
one can accomplish in a given time).
Studies in the United States of America, Germany and India (Smith, Conway and Karsh,
199913; Sonnentag, Brodbeck, Heinbokel and Stolte, 199414; and Sharma, Khera and
Khandekar, 200615) have shown that computer-related work contributes no less to
occupational stress and burnout. Moreover, this mode of work introduces new stressors:
technology breakdowns, technology slowdowns, electronic performance monitoring and
employee training to use new technology.
The Impact of Occupational Stress on Health
Physical symptoms that may occur because of occupational stress include fatigue,
The scientific literature on stress dates back to 1936, when Hans Selye systematically
explored the phenomenon. The literature on burnout was spawned by Herbert
Freudenberger (Freudenberger, 1980)38, Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson (Maslach,
Jackson and Leiter, 1997)5. The literature is vast; this dissertation attempts to cite only a
fraction of the corpus. The literature reviewed here for occupational stress and
occupational burnout is categorised under three heads: cause, effect and coping strategies.
Causes of Occupational Stress and Occupational Burnout
Occupational stress is moderated by an individual’s coping style, emotionality, level of
control and social support (Gillespie, Walsh, Winefield, Dua and Stough, 2001)39.
A study by Ronen and Pines (2008)40 on women Israeli high-tech engineers revealed that
the sample reported significantly higher levels of burnout than their male colleagues due
to the masculine culture of the organisations they were employed in. The gender
differences in burnout were interpreted as related to other findings: women’s greater
tendency to utilise emotion-focused coping, their more limited peer support and more
intense work-family conflicts.
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Based on a reportedly systematic review of publications on IT professionals and burnout,
Maudgalya, Wallace, Daraiseh and Salem (2006)41 identified the three key exposure
variables for the phenomenon as being role ambiguity, role conflict and job tasks.
Kalyanasundaram and Nautiyal (2008)42 describe the occupational stressors encountered
by young professionals in the IT and ITeS industries due to a highly competitive work
environment that is characteristic of offshore outsourcing.
Li and Shani (1991)43 studied 109 information system professionals from 109
organisations in the US. They explored organisational characteristics, job satisfaction and
work stress and found that work overload is the major source of perceived work stress,
followed by role conflict, then job-induced anxiety and, finally, role ambiguity.
The stressors identified by Smith, Conway and Karsh (1999)13 as characterising
automated jobs, in particular, are high workload, high work pressure, diminished job
control, inadequate employee training to use new technology, monotonous tasks, poor
supervisory relations and job insecurity. Smith et al concluded also that stressors in
human-computer interaction (HCI) also include technology breakdowns, technology
slowdowns and electronic performance monitoring.
Faragher, Cass and Cooper (2005)44 conducted a comprehensive review of 500 studies
including “grey literature” and unpublished reports, to establish that job satisfaction is
strongly related to mental and physical health, specifically burnout, lowered self-esteem,
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anxiety and depression. The authors confirm that dissatisfaction at work can be hazardous
to an employee’s mental health and well-being.
Bhattacharya and Basu (2007)30 documented the findings of a survey conducted among
IT professionals in Kolkata with a mean age of 29.13 years. They confirm that
organisational role stress is distressful and contributes to a poor sense of wellness among
employees.
In Japan, Tominaga, Asakura and Akiyama (2007)18 conducted a survey on over 1,000 IT
employees distributed across 53 companies and showed that the chief stressors were work
overload, career and future ambiguity, inadequate performance appraisal systems and
poor supervisor support. This confirmed the findings of Kawakami and Haratani
(1999)17, who carried out a research review spanning 15 years to determine that
organisational inadequacies in job control, skill use, worksite support and job demands
were significant occupational stressors among Japanese professionals.
In the Information Systems & Technology sector, Sockel, Mak and Bucholz (2004)45
found that lack of innovation also can adversely affect staff and result in burnout.
Jones, Jr. (2008)46, in fact, concluded that burnout can be predicted. He based this thesis
on a questionnaire-based study he conducted on 216 professional para-church workers
who had worked for at least five years in The Navigators, a 72-year-old US-based
organisation. The six predictors he identified are, in descending order of significance:
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loneliness, i.e. isolation; role ambiguity; age (negatively); need to raise one's professional
income; number of work hours; and gender (females are more susceptible than males).
Effects of Occupational Stress and Occupational Burnout
Smith, Conway and Karsh (1999)13 identified the deleterious effects of stress caused by
HCI as being increased physiological arousal, somatic complaints (especially of the
musculo-skeletal system), mood disturbances (particularly anxiety), fear, anger and
diminished quality of working life (e.g. reduced job satisfaction). For stress reduction,
they recommended improving technology implementation approaches, increasing
employee participation in implementation, providing proper ergonomic conditions,
increasing organisational support, improving job content, decreasing work pressure by
optimising workload and enhancing social support opportunities.
In their survey in Japan, Kawakami and Haratani (1999)17 also identified that the effects
of stress among professionals included higher risk of myocardial infarction, diabetes
mellitus and hypertension; higher levels of blood serum lipids; fibrinolytic activity;
higher blood sugar levels; and lower immunity.
De Vente, Olff, Van Amsterdam, Kamphuis and Emmelkamp (2003)47 carried out a
focused study on 22 patients of occupational burnout and 23 healthy full-time workers in
The Netherlands. Resting blood pressure, cardiovascular reactivity and recovery, basal
cortisol levels and cortisol reactivity and recovery were similar for burnout patients and
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healthy controls. Burnout patients showed higher resting heart rates and, during the first
hour after awakening, higher cortisol levels also, indicating possible sustained activation.
A study conducted by Chaturvedi, Kalyanasundaram, Jagadish, Prabhu and Narasimha
(2007)48 on IT/ITeS professionals in Bangalore to detect stress, anxiety and depression
showed that 36% of the sample could be considered as probable psychiatric cases.
Common problems noted were the feeling of being constantly under strain; the inability
to enjoy daily activities; being edgy, bad-tempered and dissatisfied with work tasks
assigned; and not feeling in good health. The authors found that the rate of psychiatric
morbidity in the sample was higher than that reported for the general population in India.
Job stress and less job satisfaction, however, have greater adverse impact on 25- to 35-
year-old managers than their older counterparts, state Chandraiah, Agrawal, Marimuthu
and Manoharan (2003)49, who conducted a study on 105 managers in large-scale
industries in and around Kolkata.
Sharma, Khera and Khandekar (2006)15 studied 200 Information Technology (IT)
professionals in the 21- to 30-year age group from the software development, voice-based
call centre and data entry communities and found that this sample’s computer-related
health problems were visual problems (76%), musculoskeletal (77.5%) and stress (35%).
Overall, males and females were almost equally affected although females experienced
more musculoskeletal problems and stress perception among males was higher.
Comparatively, 96.3% in software development, 92.6% in call centre work and 89.1% in
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data entry and data processing jobs had computer-related problems. Sharma et al
confirmed that computer-related morbidity, at 93%, is very high.
Coping Strategies for Occupational Stress
Coyne and DeLongis (1986)26 found one’s marital status as being an index of social
support which, along with social involvement, is central to human adaptation and well-
being. According to the study, happily married people usually have many psychological
and social advantages over their unmarried counterparts although, equally, the unhappily
married tend to experience stress that even high support in other social relationships do
not offset.
Ozer and Bandura (1990)37 documented the effect on coping by women when they
achieve physical self-defence mastery. The authors’ study was carried out on 43 women
who ranged in age from 18 to 55 years. Thirty-eight percent of this sample had been
physically assaulted at one time or another by strangers, acquaintances, relatives or their
husbands or boyfriends. None had been raped by a stranger, but 27% had had sexual
intercourse forced on them in one or more relationships. The forced intercourse involved
personal acquaintances (14%), relatives (8%) or their husbands or boyfriends (22%).
Achievement of physical self-defence mastery improved their perceived self-efficacy and
their engagement in recreational, social and cultural activities and reduced intrusive
negative thoughts, anxiety arousal, perceived personal vulnerability and general risk
perception.
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Aspinwall and Taylor (1997)22 conceptualise proactive coping as consisting of five
stages: (1) resource accumulation (building a reserve of temporal, financial and social
resources), (2) recognition of potential stressors (screening the environment for danger),
(3) initial appraisal (identifying the stressor and anticipating how it is likely to evolve),
(4) preliminary coping (determining what one can do in the situation) and (5) eliciting
and using feedback concerning one’s initial efforts (whether they have been effective and
what one has thus learnt in the process).
Judge, Thorensen, Pucik and Welbourne (1999)50 conducted a study on over 500
managers in organisations from four continents that had recently experienced large-scale
change. From self-reports from participants as well as in independent assessments of their
ability to cope with change, there emerges a positive correlation between positive self-
concept (comprising locus of control, generalised self-efficacy, self-esteem and positive
affectivity) and risk tolerance (comprising openness to experience, tolerance for
ambiguity and low risk aversion) and coping.
Taylor, Klein, Lewis, Gruenewald, Gurung et al (2000)35 rounded up the literature and
observed that, behaviourally, the response of females to stress is marked by tend-and-
befriend rather than fight-or-flight strategies, i.e. by protective nurturing to promote
safety and reduce distress, and creating and maintaining social networks.
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The final mode of coping covers leadership, mentoring and coaching. Transformational
leadership, i.e. leadership that motivates one’s subordinates to perform better than their
own expectations, has been shown by Arnold, Turner, Barling, Kelloway and McKee
(2007)51 to not only improve the psychological well-being of employees but also cause
employees to view their work as being meaningful.
The same research team surveyed 92 women of average age 51.56 years, from six
ethnicities, and concluded that emotion-focused coping helps adjustment and health for
breast cancer patients.
Seepersad (2001)25 explored the use of social networking in coping with loneliness. He
sampled 350 people averaging 28 years in age, 70% of them being in the 14- to 30-year
age group and found that Internet surfing and chatting and playing games online are
associated with higher levels of not only loneliness but also of coping effectiveness.
Mantler, Matheson, Matejicek and Anisman (2002)52 surveyed 355 workers in Canada,
23-61 years in age, whose employment in high-stress jobs in IT organisations had
currency at the time of the study. The authors found that those with lower levels of stress
showed positive coping patterns (more active problem-solving, less emotion-focused
coping), whereas respondents with moderate and high stress levels did the opposite, i.e.
used more emotion-focused strategies and fewer problem-focused strategies. The entire
population sampled indicated high stress levels with job uncertainty.
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One’s positive psychological state helps one’s coping, found Brissette, Scheier and
Carver (2002)29, who studied 89 first-year college students (with almost equal numbers of
males and females) in a year-long longitudinal study to assess the role of optimism in
coping and psychological adjustment. They found that an optimistic outlook resulted in
smaller increases in stress and depression and greater increases in perceived social
support in this sample.
Schwarzer and Knoll (2003)53 present coping as falling into one or more of four modes:
reactive, anticipatory, proactive and preventive coping. Reactive coping deals with a past
or present stressful encounter by compensating for or alleviating the harm or loss caused.
In anticipatory coping, the individual tries to mitigate the risk or solve the actual problem
before it takes place by increasing his/her self-efficacy or enlisting social support.
Preventive coping is observed when the subject engages in anticipatory coping against
critical events while they are still far in the future. Those who practise proactive coping,
however, first develop life goals and thus interpret potential or actual losses, harm or
threats as mere challenges en route. The authors also report the negative correlation
between proactive coping and burnout.
Coping strategies have been found to be gender-based as well. Addis and Mahalik
(2003)33 argue that, as a group, men seek professional help for mental health-related
problems less frequently than do women. This is explained as being a result of a gender-
role socialisation that emphasises self-reliance, emotional control and power in males. If
a man perceives help-seeking as requiring him to rely on others, to admit that he needs
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help, or to recognise and label an emotional problem, it goes against his perceived
socialisation, viz. the importance of his self-reliance, physical toughness and emotional
control. However, the authors find considerable individual variability within the
stereotype.
Hyman, Scholarios and Baldry (2005)54 conducted a survey among Scottish call centre
and IT employees. The respondents in the survey were mostly women, in the call centres,
and dominantly male, in the software companies. Overall, 40% of the sample had
children to look after. Hyman et al found that the respondents’ coped adaptively by
asking their mothers or mothers-in-law to look after the (respondents’) children; asking
their partners or spouses to stand in for them on chores; or swapping work shifts with
colleagues. Their maladaptive coping strategy was avoidant: absenteeism and quitting
their jobs. Coping among the software employees included taking work home, spending
longer hours at work, working from home part of the time or working longer but fewer
workdays per week.
Khosla (2006)32 studied positive affect (PA) as an ingredient of coping through self-
efficacy. She documented coping research on the effect of PA on coping and found that
PA and coping have a reciprocal relationship. Those with PA prefer problem-focused
coping strategies. PA appears to broaden a person’s momentary thought-action repertoire,
build his/her enduring personal resources, help the person to find meaning in ordinary
events and experience positive outcomes during stress. It makes for quicker recovery
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from cardiovascular arousal of those under stress, provides physiological resilience to
them and prevents them from suffering from clinical depression.
The 2007 study by Bhattacharya and Basu30 also quotes other studies that show that (a)
men and women use problem- and emotion-focused strategies across genders but that
men prefer the former and women the latter; and (b) women have more choices in social
support- and professional assistance-based coping than men and use behavioural and
cognitive coping strategies, while men prefer the latter.
Murray and Syed (2007)55 revealed that female executives are faced with stressors
sometimes typical of their gender. Mono-cultural dominance, the use of statistical
averages and institutional and organisational controls were found to have been used to
discriminate against managerial women. The women coped initially by playing by the
men’s rules, then by ignoring their own systemic marginalisation and finally by working
as hard as it took to prove that they were as capable as the men working alongside them.
Women managers use emotion-focused coping, too, according to Kaila (2007)56, who
conducted a descriptive study of 130 women managers. The stressors were task demand-
related (severe time constraints, i.e. the “treadmill syndrome,” and job insecurity and
uncertainty); physically demanding work, including working in shifts; role demand-
related (work overload and unchallenging work lacking achievement goals); and
interpersonal demand-related (gender-based discrimination, conflicts with supervisors
- 25 -
and subordinates, unexpected loss of social support, and damage control for colleagues’
fraudulent activities).
- 26 -
4. METHODOLOGY
Aim of Study
The aim of the study was to assess burnout and coping patterns among IT professionals.
Source of Data
Information technology (IT) professionals employed in medium- to large-sized IT
organisations in Bangalore were the population being studied. The organisations chosen
were Bangalore-based IT companies or Indian or foreign IT companies with
operations/organisations in Bangalore.
Data Collection Method
A questionnaire-based survey was conducted by selecting a purposive sample. Known
professionals within the social networks of both the researcher and the respondents
assisted in identifying the population sub-samples for the survey. The purpose of the
study was explained to the respondents and their informed consent obtained.
- 27 -
Sample for Study
The sample size was 139. This population was used for most of the analysis although,
because 32 respondents declined to provide details of income from salary, the population
used was sometimes reduced to 107.
The researcher verbally explained to the respondents the background and aims of the
study and requested that they peruse the questionnaires before filling them out. Also, to
clarify doubts, if any, the researcher was present while the questionnaires were being
filled out. Each respondent was told that his/her response would be considered as being
representative of him/her as an individual and not of the organisation in which he/she was
employed.
Inclusion Criteria
Organisations involved in computer programming-related work in the computer and
computer-peripheral hardware and software segments were included. At the time of the
study, the individuals included in the population sample should have:
• Been full-time workers
• Had at least 6 months’ work experience in the organisation employing them
• Been between 23 and 28 years in age
• Had at least one parent of Indian nationality and ethnicity
- 28 -
Exclusion Criteria
Employees that were not software engineers were excluded from the sample, i.e.
professionals working in the administration, human resources, learning and development,
finance, legal or other functions/departments of the organisations. Professionals working
in the physical premises of these organisations but employed by a contractor were also
excluded. Professionals in the IT-enabled services segment (e.g. voice- and non-voice-
based BPOs and KPOs) were excluded, as were professionals that were either expatriates
(foreign nationals working in India) or ethnically of non-Indian descent. So also were
employees who pursued other professions, whether paid or otherwise.
Description of Tools Used
The tools circulated for data collection through the questionnaire method were:
• A Socio-Demographic Data Form
• The Coping Checklist by Kiran Rao, D.K. Subbakrishna and G.G. Prabhu (1989):
The list suggests 70 coping patterns, i.e. common behavioural, emotional and
cognitive responses to handle stress and reduce distress. Each item is responded to
with a “Yes” or a “No.” The Checklist has seven sub-scales: one problem-focused
scale; five emotion-focused scales (distraction, both positive and negative; acceptance
and/or re-definition; religion and/or faith; denial; and blame); and one social support-
- 29 -
focused scale, which combines problem- and emotion-focused coping. The sub-scales
were developed on an a priori basis and validated on a normal adult community
sample.
• The Maslach Burnout Inventory (General Survey; MBI GS) by Wilmar Schaufeli,
Michael P. Leiter, Christina Maslach and Susan E. Jackson (1996). This is a 16-item
self-administered tool. The MBI GS measures burnout among workers in non-social
service settings or settings that do not require direct contact in service relationships.
(Corporations are a typical example of setting applicability.) The MBI GS measures
are emotional exhaustion (feelings of being emotionally over-extended and exhausted
by one’s work), de-personalisation (an unfeeling and impersonal response toward the
recipients of one’s service, care, treatment or instruction) and personal
accomplishment (feelings of competence and successful achievement in one’s work).
Data processing & Analysis
The data were coded, tabulated and keyed into a computer. Data analysis was done using
the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 10.0. Statistical tests of
significance were used, as appropriate, i.e. the χ2 Test and the t Test.
- 30 -
Ethical Concerns
Written, informed consent was taken from each participant and the confidentiality of
information collected was ensured. Depending on the date of canvassing of the
questionnaire, respondents were allowed between 2 and 23 clear calendar days to
withdraw their participation in the survey: to this end, they were provided the
researcher’s full contact details, which were printed and handed over to them
individually.
- 31 -
5. RESULTS
The objectives were to study the extent of burnout and the patterns of coping with stress
of IT professionals in Bangalore in relation to certain socio-demographic variables.
Adequate data was provided by respondents on the following:
• Gender
• Age
• Marital status
• Position among siblings
• Length of service in current organisation
• Number of daily working hours
• Gross annual income
In line with the objectives, the analysis of data is presented in three sections:
• Socio-Demographic Description of the Sample
• Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables on the Extent of Burnout
• Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables on the Patterns of Coping with Stress
The results are being presented with reference to the socio-demographic variables listed
above, in that order.
- 32 -
I. SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE
Table 1: Distribution of Respondents by Organisation Size
GENDER OF RESPONDENT ORGANISATION SIZE N (= 139)
MALE FEMALE TOTAL
N 27 14 41 Up to 50,000 Employees % 65.9 34.1 100.0
N 50 48 98 Over 50,000 Employees % 51.0 49.0 100.0
N 77 62 139 Both
% 55.4 44.6 100.0
VALUE p χ2
2.574 0.109
The proportion of male employees to female employees in the two categories of
organisation was not statistically significantly different.
- 33 -
Table 2: Distribution of Respondents by Gender and Age
GENDER AGE OF RESPONDENTS
(YEARS) N (= 139)
MALE FEMALE TOTAL
N 26 33 59 23-24
% 44.1 55.9 100.0
N 24 19 43 25-26
% 55.8 44.2 100.0
N 27 10 37 27-28
% 73.0 27.0 100.0
N 77 62 139 All
% 55.4 44.6 100.0
VALUE p χ2
7.694 0.021
The difference in proportion of males to females was statistically significant. The
proportion of females was highest in the youngest age group. It decreased as the age
groups got older. The corresponding changes in the proportion of males took place in the
reverse order, i.e. from highest in the oldest age group to lowest in the youngest age
group.
The mean age for males was 25.47 years (SD 1.80) and, for females, 24.71 years (SD
1.67). This difference, too, was statistically significant (t = 2.549, p = 0.012) and is in line
with the foregoing finding regarding the proportion of each gender relative to age group.
- 34 -
Table 3: Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status and Age
MARITAL STATUS AGE OF RESPONDENTS
(YEARS) N (= 139)
SINGLE MARRIED/LIVING IN TOTAL
N 55 4 59 23-24
% 93.2% 6.8% 100.0%
N 31 12 43 25-26
% 72.1% 27.9% 100.0%
N 21 16 37 27-28
% 56.8% 43.2% 100.0%
N 107 32 139 Total
% 77.0% 23.0% 100.0%
VALUE p χ2
17.899 0.001
77.0% of the respondents were single. The difference in marital status between age
groups was statistically significant. With increase in age, more respondents were married
or had live-in partners. In the 27- to 28-year interval (the oldest age group), 56.8% were
married. The change in marital status was the highest between the 23- to 24-year and the
25- to 26-year age groups.
- 35 -
Table 4: Distribution of Respondents by Marital Status and Gender
MARITAL STATUS N (= 139)
SINGLE MARRIED/LIVING IN TOTAL
N 64 13 77 Male
% 83.1 16.9 100.0
N 43 19 62 Female
% 69.4 30.6 100.0
N 107 32 139
Gender
Both % 77.0 23.0 100.0
VALUE p χ2
3.671 0.055
Among males, 83.1% were single, as compared with females, among whom 69.4% were
single. The difference was statistically significant. This finding means that, in the age
group of 23-28 years, proportionately more males tend to be single, as compared with
females, as is the norm generally seen in our population.
- 36 -
Table 5: Distribution of Respondents by Position among Siblings and Gender
GENDER POSITION FROM TOP N (= 139)
MALE FEMALE TOTAL
N 45 34 79 1a
% 58.4 54.8 56.8
N 22 13 35 2
% 28.6 21.0 25.2
N 9 9 18 3
% 11.7 14.5 12.9
N 1 6 7 4-5b
% 1.3 9.7 5.0
N 77 62 139 Total
% 100.0 100.0 100.0
VALUE p χ2
5.867 0.118
a 1st/Eldest Child. b The results for sibling positions 4 and 5 from the top have been clubbed because of low frequencies in those categories.
The difference between genders was not statistically significant. 56.8% of the
respondents were the eldest/only child. 25.2% of the respondents were the second child
and 12.9% of the respondents were the third child. The above sibling positions covered
95% of the sample. There were comparatively few respondents in the 4th from Top or 5th
from Top sibling position.
- 37 -
Table 6: Distribution of Respondents by No. of Daily Working Hours and Gender
GENDER WORKING HOURS N (= 139)
MALE FEMALE TOTAL
N 46 35 81 5-9
% 59.7 56.5 58.3
N 31 27 58 10-12
% 40.3 43.5 41.7
N 77 62 139 Total
% 100.0 100.0 100.0
VALUE p χ2
0.153 0.696
No statistical significance was seen between gender and actual daily working hours.
Thus, 41.7% of the respondents, whether male or female, worked more than 10 hours
daily.
- 38 -
II. IMPACT OF SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ON THE EXTENT
OF BURNOUT
Table 7: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gender SUB-SCALE GENDER N (= 139) MEAN SD t p
Male 77 12.62 7.53 Cynicism
Female 62 11.45 12.10
6.97 7.28 0.942 0.348
Male 77 11.83 9.38 Exhaustion
Female 62 12.32 12.05
6.85 8.32 -0.345 0.731
Male 77 27.82 6.27 Professional Efficacy Female 62 25.60
26.83 7.17
6.75 1.947 0.054
Male 77 -3.36 16.77Total Burnout Female 62 -1.82
-2.68 14.89
15.92 -0.566 0.572
A statistically significant difference existed between genders only on the professional
efficacy sub-scale. Males had higher professional efficacy scores than females.
- 39 -
Table 8: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Age
SUB-SCALE AGE (YEARS) N (= 139) MEAN SD F p
23-24 59 11.03 7.51
25-26 43 13.56 7.45
27-28 37 12.11 6.58 Cynicism
Total 139 12.10 7.28
1.504 0.226
23-24 59 13.25 6.86
25-26 43 9.35 7.04
27-28 37 13.27 10.91 Exhaustion
Total 139 12.05 8.32
3.397 0.036
23-24 59 27.49 6.33
25-26 43 26.53 6.73
27-28 37 26.11 7.49 Professional Efficacy
Total 139 26.83 6.75
0.532 0.589
23-24 59 -3.20 15.73
25-26 43 -3.63 16.26
27-28 37 -0.73 16.08 Total Burnout
Total 139 -2.68 15.92
0.382 0.683
There was no statistically significant difference with regard to age group in any sub-scale
except Exhaustion. Even within this sub-scale, this was noticed only in the age groups of
23-24 and 25-26 years (p = 0.056). The younger age group had higher Exhaustion levels
than the older age group.
- 40 -
Table 9: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Marital Status
SUB-SCALE MARITAL STATUS N (= 139) MEAN SD t p
Single 107 12.17 7.58 Cynicism
Married/Living In 32 11.88 6.30 0.199 0.842
Single 107 12.30 8.72 Exhaustion
Married/Living In 32 11.22 6.86 0.643 0.521
Single 107 26.87 6.81 Professional Efficacy Married/Living In 32 26.69 6.68
0.133 0.894
Single 107 -2.40 16.99 Total Burnout Married/Living In 32 -3.59 11.83
0.370 0.712
No significant difference existed between single and married/living-in respondents. The
scores of single and married/living-in respondents had no correlation with their marital
status.
- 41 -
Table 10: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Position among Siblings
SUB-SCALE POSITION FROM TOP N (= 139) MEAN SD F p
1a 79 12.30 7.09
2 35 12.37 8.29
3 18 11.28 7.29 Cynicism
4-5 b 7 10.57 4.65
0.212 0.888
1a 79 11.97 7.13
2 35 11.09 6.77
3 18 15.83 13.87 Exhaustion
4-5 b 7 8.00 7.62
1.995 0.118
1a 79 26.86 6.83
2 35 27.43 7.11
3 18 26.33 5.71 Professional Efficacy
4-5 b 7 24.71 7.41
0.349 0.790
1a 79 -2.58 15.53
2 35 -3.97 16.57
3 18 0.78 19.08 Total Burnout
4-5 b 7 -6.14 6.54
0.466 0.707
a 1st/Eldest Child. b The results for sibling positions 4 and 5 from top have been clubbed because of low frequencies in those categories.
None of the mean burnout sub-scale scores was significantly different with regard to
position among siblings.
- 42 -
Table 11: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Length of Service in Current Organisation
SUB-SCALE YEARS OF SERVICE N (= 139) MEAN SD F p
1 44 1.32 0.47
2 38 1.39 0.50
3 26 1.65 0.49 Cynicism
4+* 31 1.52 0.51
2.922 0.036
1 44 1.39 0.49
2 38 1.53 0.51
3 26 1.46 0.51 Exhaustion
4+* 31 1.48 0.51
0.559 0.643
1 44 1.61 0.49
2 38 1.53 0.51
3 26 1.38 0.50 Professional Efficacy
4+* 31 1.52 0.51
1.146 0.333
1 44 1.30 0.46
2 38 1.26 0.45
3 26 1.58 0.50 Total Burnout
4+* 31 1.32 0.48
2.697 0.048
* The results for 4-6 years of service have been clubbed because of low frequencies in those categories.
The Cynicism scores were significantly different with regard to length of service. In the
domain of Cynicism, the 3-year group had the highest score, followed by the 4- to 6-year
group.
- 43 -
Table 12: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. No. of Daily Working Hours
SUB-SCALE WORKING HOURS N (= 139) MEAN SD t p
5-9 81 11.89 6.75 Cynicism
10-12 58 12.40 8.02 -0.404 0.687
5-9 81 11.36 9.00 Exhaustion
10-12 58 13.02 7.23 -1.161 0.248
5-9 81 27.20 6.78 Professional Efficacy
10-12 58 26.31 6.75 0.763 0.447
5-9 81 -3.95 15.50 Total Burnout
10-12 58 -0.90 16.45 -1.116 0.266
No statistically significant difference existed between scores on any sub-scale with regard
to working hours. Burnout scores did not have correlation with the number of daily
working hours of respondents.
- 44 -
Table 13: Burnout Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gross Annual Income
SUB-SCALE INCOME (LACS)
N (= 107a) MEAN SD F p
0-4b 59 12.14 7.41
4-6 22 13.50 7.02 Cynicism
6-9c 26 12.58 8.09
0.266 0.767
0-4b 59 13.22 7.37
4-6 22 12.41 7.25 Exhaustion
6-9c 26 10.50 6.61
1.299 0.277
0-4b 59 27.00 6.49
4-6 22 26.77 7.71 Professional Efficacy
6-9c 26 26.96 6.95
0.009 0.991
0-4b 59 -1.64 15.52
4-6 22 -0.86 16.87 Total Burnout
6-9c 26 -3.88 15.97
0.253 0.777
a 32 respondents did not provide income data. b Rs 1.4 lac per annum was the lowest gross income. c The results for gross annual incomes of Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac have been clubbed because of low frequencies in those categories.
No statistically significant difference existed between burnout scores with regard to
The coping scores were not significantly different with regard to number of daily
working hours.
- 51 -
Table 20: Coping Sub-Scale Score Means vs. Gross Annual Income
SUB-SCALE INCOME (RS LACS) N (= 107a) MEAN SD F p
0-4b 59 7.44 1.25
4-6 22 7.50 1.60
6-9c 26 6.08 2.59 Problem-Focused
Total 107 7.12 1.82
6.258 0.003
0-4b 59 21.15 6.02
4-6 22 20.64 5.84
6-9c 26 16.50 8.37 Emotion-Focused
Total 107 19.92 6.85
4.609 0.012
0-4b 59 3.68 1.38
4-6 22 3.64 1.26
6-9c 26 2.62 1.55 Problem- & Emotion-Focused
Total 107 3.41 1.46
5.548 0.005
a 32 respondents did not provide income data. b Rs 1.4 lac per annum was the lowest gross income. c The results for gross annual incomes of Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac have been clubbed because of low frequencies in those categories. The problem-focused coping scores were significantly different between the income slabs
of Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac and Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac (p = 0.003) and between the income slabs of Rs
4 lac-Rs 6 lac and Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac (p = 0.016):
• The Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac income group had higher (or better) problem-focused coping
scores than the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income group.
• The Rs 4 lac-Rs 6 lac income group had higher(or better) problem-focused coping
scores than the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income group.
Thus, the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income group had the lowest problem-focused coping scores.
- 52 -
Emotion-focused coping scores were significantly different between the income slabs of
Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac and Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac (p = 0.011). The Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac income group
had higher emotion-focused coping scores than the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac group.
Problem-and-emotion-focused coping scores were significantly different between the
income slabs of Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac and Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac (p = 0.005) and between the
income slabs of Rs 4 lac-Rs 6 lac and Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac (p = 0.040):
• The Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac income group had higher (or better) coping scores than the Rs 6
lac-Rs 9 lac income group.
• The Rs 4 lac-Rs 6 lac income group had higher (or better) coping scores than the Rs 6
lac-Rs 9 lac income group.
Thus, the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income group had the lowest problem-and-emotion-focused
coping scores.
- 53 -
6. DISCUSSION
In line with the Objectives and as given in the Results, this discussion will cover the
impact of the 7 socio-demographic variables listed earlier on the extent of burnout and on
coping patterns of the sample.
I. Socio-Demographic Description of the Sample
In the organisations surveyed, the proportions of male and female employees were
uniformly distributed as 55.4% and 44.6%, respectively (Table 1). Moreover, among the
youngest of these employees (Table 2), the corresponding proportions were even higher
for females (44.1% and 55.9%, respectively), indicating that IT companies have perhaps
adopted gender-independent recruitment policies across the board because equal-
opportunity employment is a professional ethic expected by the developed world, to
which most of the Indian IT industry markets its services. It also perhaps indicates that
Indian industry, especially the IT-related sectors, have come of age in that they include
more women in the workforce. It also demonstrates that the new-age Indian woman can
and will compete with men for jobs in an equal-opportunity situation.
Table 3 shows that 77% of the sample was single. Also, in the 5-year age span (23-28
years) covered in this study, the change in marital/sexual partnership status among
respondents was notable: every 2 years, significant numbers of singles were finding
partners. The proportion of singles dropped from 93.2% at age 23-24 years to 56.8% by
- 54 -
the time they were 27-28 years in age. This trend is consistent with the demographics of
marriage among contemporary urban Indian professionals, as is the trend, evinced in
Table 4, that more males (83.1%, in the sample covered) tend to be single, compared with
females (69.4%, in the sample).
The trend toward having up to 2 siblings per respondent is reflected by the data on
frequencies with respect to position among siblings (Table 5): 95% of the sample had 1, 2
or 3 children per family.
Table 6 shows that the length of the actual average workday for IT professionals today
has changed. It is no longer the stipulated, official 8 hours per day, but longer: 41.7% of
the sample actually worked an average of over 10 hours daily. Also, women and men
work the same number of working hours.
II. Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables on the Extent of Burnout
As shown in Table 7, as a gender, women had lower professional efficacy scores than
men, i.e. they were less confident of being effective in getting things done at work.
Murray and Syed (2007)55 and Ronen and Pines (2008)40 suggest that this is due to the
masculine culture and prejudices in organisations against women engineers, which
predict high levels of burnout among them.
- 55 -
The Maslach Burnout Inventory (General Survey) expresses the Exhaustion dimension of
burnout as “working all day is really a strain for me.” On this dimension, 23- to 24-year-
olds had higher scores than their 25- to 26-year-old counterparts (Table 8). This could be
attributed to the high work pressure on junior-level IT employees to write voluminous
computer code to meet stringent deadlines.
Table 9 shows that there was no impact on the respondents’ extent of burnout due to
sexual partnership status: both single and married/living-in respondents had similar
burnout scores. This may be viewed in light of the fact that Coyne and DeLongis (1986)26
found happily married individuals enjoying many psychological and social advantages
over their unmarried counterparts while, equally, the unhappily married tended to
experience stress that even the high support of other social relationships did not offset.
The socio-demographic variable of position among siblings did not have correlation with
burnout (Table 10). This was perhaps because birth order affects sibling dynamics and
family dynamics. For instance, the eldest child frequently faces higher expectations,
tougher rules and harsher discipline from its parents than its younger siblings; and these
stresses are further accentuated in large families. In the current study, since 95% of the
respondents came from relatively small families (of 1-3 children), parental expectations
and birth order-related stress were probably lower than those that would apply to families
with 4 or more children. Thus the burnout score differentials in the sample were not
significant.
- 56 -
Cynicism scores were significantly different for different lengths of service in the current
organisation (Table 11). They were the highest for respondents with 3 years’ experience.
Respondents with 4-6 years’ experience came second, and respondents with 2 years’
experience, third. A plausible explanation for this (and for the total burnout scores, which
showed the same trend) may be tendered as follows. In Indian IT companies, the first
year of employment is often a probationary year for the employee, at the end of which the
individual is confirmed and awarded a token promotion. It is also the year of discovery
for the employee. The second year is usually the year during which the employee
experiences serious engagement with the company. But it is also the year that frequently
closes with additional professional responsibilities being assigned to the individual, but
no promotion. This begins the employee’s third year, a year of disillusionment, at the end
of which, however, the company’s management grants a second promotion to the
employee. Many employees leave the company during their third year of service. Those
who stay on are, by this time, sufficiently motivated by organisational culture-related
factors, not only those based on salary.
The lack of correlation between burnout and number of daily working hours (Table 12),
when taken together with the exhaustion experienced by the 23- to 26-year age group (i.e.
the younger age groups; Table 8), could be interpreted to mean that organisational factors
other than those related to the sheer physical effort of working correlate positively with
burnout. Similar findings have been reported in the studies by Li and Shani (1991)43;
Smith, Conway and Karsh (1999)13; and Kalyanasundaram and Nautiyal (2008)42.
- 57 -
The finding, in Table 13, that burnout was not correlated with income, is in line with the
findings of Li and Shani (1991)43; Kawakami and Haratani (1999)17; Smith, Conway and
Karsh (1999)13; Faragher, Cass and Cooper (2005)44; Maudgalya, Wallace, Daraiseh and
Salem (2006)41; Tominaga, Asakura and Akiyama (2007)18 and Ronen and Pines
(2008)40.
III. Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables on Patterns of Coping with Stress
The data in Table 14 show that coping styles did not correlate with gender. This finding
may be compared with five relevant research works. The first two are the studies of
Murray and Syed (2007)55 and Bhattacharya and Basu (2007)30, who report that women
adopt masculine styles in order to prove their success in competition with their male
colleagues. The third is the research by Taylor, Klein, Lewis, Gruenewald, Gurung et al
(2000)35, which concludes that women use the tend-and-befriend coping style rather than
the (masculine) fight-or-flight response. However, the argument of Taylor et al has
limited efficacy because it is based on the literature of 1985-2000, assumes a hunter-
gatherer society and was conducted at a time when Computer Science was a male
preserve. The fourth comparison may be made with the work of Addis and Mahalik
(2003)33, who argue for gender differences in coping styles but who also, in the same
paper, report the existence of considerable individual variability within stereotypes. The
final comparison (a contrast, to be precise), may be made with the results of Hyman,
Scholarios and Baldry (2005)54, which are based on a much older sample than in our
current study. (40% of their sample had children to look after.)
- 58 -
The Problem- & Emotion-Focused coping scores of 23- to 24-year-olds were marginally
higher than that of the 25- to 26-year-olds (Table 15). The preference of the former age
group for social support could be attributed to the possibility that, with increase in age
and professional commitments, their social networks had narrowed.
The same argument could be applied to the finding of Table 16, in which single
respondents recorded higher scores on the problem-and-emotion-focused coping sub-
scale than those married or with live-in partners. (Typically, partners in young couples
are found to draw more emotional support from each other than from their social
networks.)
The uniformity in coping sub-scale scores with regard to position among siblings (Table
17) could be explained by the relative homogeneity of inter-relationship patterns existing
in the smaller family sizes found to be characteristic of the sample in the current study.
Table 18 and Table 19 showed that coping patterns had correlation neither with length of
service in the current organisation nor with the number of daily working hours. The
literature does not comment on these findings, as studies have yet to be documented on
these inter-relationships.
Respondents in the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income slab (Table 20) had the lowest problem-
focused coping scores among the three income slabs. The following may constitute a
- 59 -
possible explanation for this. Many young Engineering graduates – who typically fit into
the Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac and the Rs 4 lac-Rs 6 lac income slabs – start out with the belief that
the empirical problem-solving methods of the exact sciences can be applied uncritically
to the area of human behaviour. It is only as a result of one’s growth in empathy that the
realisation dawns that solving one’s life problems (i.e. coping with stress) is not to be
treated in cut-and-dried fashion as if they were Engineering problems. One thus learns to
consider not only the source of the stress (i.e. using a problem-focused approach) but also
the perception of that stress (i.e. the value of using emotion- and appraisal-focused
strategies).
The Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income slab also recorded the lowest Problem- & Emotion-Focused
coping scores perhaps because, as suggested earlier (in the discussion of the results of
Table 15), the older age groups (i.e. the higher income slabs) had less opportunity to draw
on their social networks due to the weightier professional responsibilities they were
shouldering. This finding agrees with those reported by Chaturvedi, Kalyanasundaram,
Prabhu and Narasimha (2007)48.
Finally, the Rs 6 lac-Rs 9 lac income slab recorded lower Emotion-Focused coping scores
than the Rs 0 lac-Rs 4 lac slab. This is possibly because those in the lower income slab,
who tend to come from a younger age group, also tend to be more emotion-focused in
their coping while, as one grows older (and tends to draw a higher income), one’s rational
and pragmatic side balances out one’s emotional side.
- 60 -
To summarise, the sample reflected, in several ways, the social transitions in modern
urban India. Most respondents did not have more than 2 siblings. Although the sample
had a high proportion of females, the women had lower professional efficacy scores than
the men, perhaps because of a masculine organisational work culture. The average
workday was longer than 8 hours. Exhaustion scores were highest in the 23- to 24-year-
olds bracket, caused not necessarily by the length of the workday but possibly by the high
work pressure typical in the industry. Burnout levels had no correlation with the income
levels. Both males and females had similar stress coping styles. Also, coping styles
changed neither with the number of years the respondent had served in the current
organisation nor with the length of the workday. Preference for social support-based
coping was seen in the 23- to 24-year age group. Lastly, the highest income slab (Rs 6
lac-Rs 9 lac) had the lowest coping scores.
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7. SUMMARY
The present study was a preliminary exploration that looked into burnout and coping
patterns among young professionals in the information technology (IT) industry in
Bangalore. The objectives were therefore to study the impact of select socio-demographic
variables on the extent of burnout and on the patterns of coping with stress of these
professionals.
This study was a questionnaire-based survey. Purposive sampling was used to get a
sample size of 139. (32 respondents did not provide data on one variable.) Written,
informed consent was obtained from each participant, and confidentiality of the
information collected was ensured.
23- to 28-year-old Software Engineering employees of IT companies, with 6 or more
months’ work experience in their current organisation, were included in the sample.
The key findings were that today’s urban Indian professionals are probably a distinct
social class. In the age bracket of 27-28 years, over half were still single.( males?) Family
sizes had shrunk: 95% of the sample had not more than 2 siblings. Regardless of gender,
more than 2 out of 5 respondents had over 10-hour workdays. Although almost 45% of
the sample was female, the organisational culture tended to be masculine. The youngest
respondents (23-24 years) felt exhaustion component of burnout the most; the reason was
not necessarily long work hours but, possibly high work pressure (which is typical in this
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‘high expectation’ industry). Income did not have an impact on burnout. Male and female
coping styles were similar. Finally, respondents in the highest income slab surveyed (Rs
6 lac-Rs 9 lac) had the lowest coping scores.
A key limitation of the study of the study was that the literature specific to the Indian IT
industry was difficult to obtain. Owing to limitations in resources, the scope of the
current study could not be extended to study the phenomenon of job stress in the sample.
Intense competition in the software services sector made IT company managements
guarded regarding organisation information related to the topic under study. Also, the
busy working life of the respondents prevented them from responding to a questionnaire
featuring additional socio-demographic items. Finally, keeping in mind the vast
populations engaged in the IT profession in India, the small sample size imposed
strictures on the generalisation of results.
Nonetheless, a gamut of strategic implications exists in the areas of further study and
future psychosocial intervention. In-depth studies based on this preliminary attempt will
throw light on the physical health- and mental health-related vulnerabilities of the IT
professional and stimulate primary and secondary prevention and psycho-education. The
efficacy of conducting large-scale Internet-based studies to map this key human resource
base should be apparent to students in the field.
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Neither should the above research be restricted to India alone. Several other countries in
the developing world have socio-cultural contexts similar to ours. They should be invited
to benefit from the knowledge we gain.
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8. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES
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