Factors impact on job stress of middle managers in vietnam

Findings - the results have showed that four independent factors which are work overload, conflict at work, lack of support and unfavorable work environment have positively impact on jo

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

International School of Business

-

DUONG QUI SUU

FACTORS IMPACT ON JOB STRESS OF

MIDDLE MANAGERS IN VIETNAM

MASTER OF BUSINESS (Honours)

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2015

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY

International School of Business

-

DUONG QUI SUU

FACTORS IMPACT ON JOB STRESS OF MIDDLE MANAGERS IN VIETNAM

ID: 22120108

MASTER OF BUSINESS SUPERVISOR: CAO HAO THI

Ho Chi Minh City – Year 2015

ABSTRACT

Purpose - This study aims to determine the factors impact on job stress of middle

manager in Vietnam and examine how effect of job stress on job performance of people who get stress at work A quantitative research design with a sample of 151 valid respondents was employed To test reliability and validity of variables, Cronbach’s Alpha and EFA were applied Multiple linear regression method was conducted to test the hypotheses that were described on research model One-Way ANOVA was used to test the impact of demographic variables on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

Findings - the results have showed that four independent factors which are work

overload, conflict at work, lack of support and unfavorable work environment have positively impact on job stress The factor of work overload has strongest effect on job stress; the second is conflict at work; the third are lack of support and unfavorable work environment factors have nearly the same impact on job stress The results also indicated that job stress has negatively effect on job performance Finally, the ANOVA testing results have pointed out that gender and marital status have no difference effect on job stress Whereas management experience and age have different level of influence on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

Key words: Middle managers, Job stress, Job performance, Work overload, Conflict at

Work, Lack of support, Work environment

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am sincerely thank you to the lecturers at International School of Business (ISB) of University of Economics Ho Chi Minh city (UEH) have given me valuable knowledges during the past years Especially, Mr Cao Hao Thi, my supervisor, patiently offered valuable advice and enthusiastic guides at each step to support me implementation this research

I would like to extend “thank you” to all my colleagues at Schindler Vietnam Co., Ltd, Nissey Vietnam Co., Ltd, Metkraft Vietnam Co., Ltd, Hiep Phuoc Power Co., Ltd, PLUS Vietnam Industrial Co., Ltd, Crown Dong Nai Co., Ltd, Ba Huan Co., Ltd, and thank to all my classmates at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, have actively supported me to completed this study

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II TABLE OF CONTENTS III LIST OF TABLES V LIST OF FIGURES VI

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background and Problem Statement 1

1.2 Research Objectives 3

1.3 Research Questions 3

1.4 Research Contribution 4

1.5 Research Scope 4

1.6 Research Structure 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Job Stress 6

2.2 Job Performance 7

2.3 Relationship between Job Stress and Job Performance 7

2.4 Factors That Impact on Job Stress 8

2.5 Research Hypotheses 11

2.5.1 Hypotheses between organizational factors and job stress 12

2.5.2 Hypotheses between demographic factors and job stress 14

2.5.3 Hypothesis between job stress on job performance 15

2.6 Research Model 16

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18

3.1 Research Process 18

3.2 Measurement Scales 20

3.2.1 Measurement scales for independent factors 20

3.2.2 Measurement scales for dependent factors 21

3.2.3 Measurement scales for demographic factor 22

3.3 Questionnaire Design 23

3.4 Data Collection Method 24

3.4.1 Sampling method 24

3.4.2 Pilot study 24

3.4.3 Main survey 27

3.5 Data Analysis Method 27

3.5.1 Reliability testing assumptions 28

3.5.2 Validity testing assumptions 28

3.5.3 Hypotheses testing assumptions 29

3.5.4 ANOVA testing assumptions 29

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 31

4.1 Descriptive Data 31

4.2 Reliability Testing 32

4.3 Validity Testing 34

4.4 Hypotheses Testing 39

4.5 ANOVA Testing 42

4.6 Data Analysis Results and Findings 43

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 46

5.1 Overview of Research 46

5.2 Discussion of the Findings 47

5.3 Practical Implications 49

5.4 Limitations and Further Research 50

REFERENCES 52

APPENDIX 56

APPENDIX A1: English version of primary questionnaire 56

APPENDIX A2: Vietnamese version of primary questionnaire 59

APPENDIX A3: English version of final questionnaire 62

APPENDIX A4: Vietnamese version of final questionnaire 65

APPENDIX A5: Sources of questionnaire items 68

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Summary of the factors leading to job stress based on previous research 10

Table 3.1: Measurement variables for independent factors based on previous research 21

Table 3.2: Measurement variables for dependent factors based on previous research 22

Table 3.3: Pilot test results of Cronbach’s Alpha 26

Table 4.1: Sample profile of respondents 31

Table 4.2: Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test results 33

Table 4.3: Final results of Cronbach’s Alpha after deleted unsupported variable 34

Table 4.4: First EFA test for independent factors results 35

Table 4.5: Final EFA test for independent factors results 36

Table 4.6: EFA testing results of job stress factor 37

Table 4.7: EFA testing results of job performance factor 38

Table 4.8: The first model testing results 39

Table 4.9: The second hypotheses testing result 41

Table 4.10: The results of testing hypotheses 42

Table 4.11: ANOVA testing for Demographic Variables 43

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Research model 16Figure 3.1: Research Process 19Figure 3: Regression histogram……… 69

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, many challenges of business environment that requires management team of each company have to working hard to maintain and develop company business There are a lot of duties that management team of companies have to do daily such as develop a good team, update new technologies, motivate employees to deliver higher performance, complete paper works, plan and control business results (Brotheridge & Long, 2007) Besides that management team is also deal with unexpected issues may happen daily such as conflict at work, poor work environmental conditions, lack of support from supervisors, colleagues and subordinates, wasting time for unnecessary things From these reasons, middle management in companies normally gets high stress

at work (Fayza, 2013) Today, job stress has become a major problem that management team has to deal with daily In order to understand more clearly the about job stress and how it impact on job performance of managers who get stress at work, this research had focused on studying stress factors and examined the effect of job stress on job performance of middle manager in Vietnam

1.1 Background and Problem Statement

Vietnam is a developing country There are many big companies including foreigner and Vietnamese’s companies have opened business in Vietnam They need a good quality labor force to develop business Middle managers have become a target of all companies for hunting Besides advantages, the job requirements of middle manger have higher and higher over time They are considered an important link between the top management and employees Managers have to set up plan, manage and communicate among employees to implement company’s strategy Therefore, management team normally get high pressure from work, especially middle managers they get a lot of pressures from their supervisors, colleagues and requirements of managing their subordinates to achieve the company's goals (Aizzat et al, 2005) For that reason middle managers have always been in a state of

high stress at work This study focus on investigating the factors leading to job stress and examine the relationship between job stress and job performance of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam

There are many studies talk about the stress at work on the world (Perrewe & Ganster 1989., Dua, 1994., Beehr, 1998., Fayza, 2013, Aizzat et al., 2005, Hassan, Hamid, & Saeid, 2014), these research had presented that the factors leading to job stress came from various reasons including role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload, lack of support from organization, less reward and recognition, career block, less opportunity to promotion, pressure of time The level of stress was also difference based on demographic variables such as gender, marital status, age, experience or personalities of each person Aizzat et al., (2005) had stated that people had high ambition, expectation or high neuroticism would get higher stress at work Another research of Yu-Chi Wu (2011) had indicated that there is a relationship between job stress and job performance, people who get higher stress at work may deliver lower job performance than people who get less job stress

In Vietnam, there are some research had studied the influence of job stress on quality of life, health Le Quoc Nam (2008) had presented that the causes of stress may

be work overload, work long hours, unstable job, poor work environmental conditions such as hot, noise, lack of space, unsafe, air pollution This author had also presented the consequences of job stress that people be in highly stress usually feel exhausted whenever, headache, sleep problem, less concentrate, easy angry, even feel hopeless and suicide However, most articles in Vietnam had presented the causes of stress and given the general impact of stress on the health, quality of life of people who are facing with job stress Very few studies have deeply researched the influence level of each stressor factors impact on job stress as well as examine the effect of job stress on job performance

of middle managers in Vietnam Therefore, this study will focus on identifying the factors that lead to stress at work, and evaluated the strength each factor affecting on job

stress This study is also examining how impact of job stress on job performance of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam

1.2 Research Objectives

The objectives for this research are to investigate factors leading to job stress and examine the influence of job stress on job performance of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam The three specific objectives have addressed in this research Firstly, to identify the factors that impact on job stress of middle managers who are working in Vietnam Secondly, to examine the strength of each factor affect on job stress and testing how the demographic variables impact on job stress of middle managers Thirdly, to examine the impact of job stress on job performance of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam

The middle managers were understood as communicators and translators of the top management strategic intentions (Ahmad S 2013) Ahmad (2013) had stated that middle managers play a key role in organizational strategic activities and outcomes They are the important link between the top management and employees Middle managers communicate, plan, manage and turn the ideas of top management into reality The role

of middle management team is extremely important to the success or failure of an organization Middle managers include department heads, brand managers, functional managers, supervisors, section chiefs, team leaders who are working in companies in Vietnam Middle managers will be the target respondents for this research

1.3 Research Questions

Based on research background and research objectives, research questions were developed to investigate job stress as well as verified how job stress impact on job performance of middle managers in Vietnam The three specific research questions in this research are:

RQ1: What factors impact on job stress of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam?

RQ2: Whether each factor impact on job stress of middle managers and strength of its influence? How do demographic variables impact on job stress?

RQ3: How does job stress impact on job performance of middle managers in Vietnam?

1.4 Research Contribution

Job stress is a big affect on the quality of work of employees in Vietnam Ability to deal with stress will help employee improve their performance, so this research will investigate the factors leading to job stress The findings through data analysis results will help managers in Vietnam understand the factors that impacted on their stress at work From that, the managers can find the properly way to control their stress better to enhance productivity

1.5 Research Scope

The scope of this research is focusing on investigating the factors that impact on job stress of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam Middle managers include group leaders, supervisors, section chiefs, managers or directors, who are working with their bosses, co-workers and their subordinates daily Quantity of respondent from each company fluctuated from 1 to 30 depend on the size of company The selected respondents may be working on various types of businesses including manufacturing, services and both of foreigner’s companies and Vietnamese’s companies

in Vietnam The respondents will answer questions by face to interview, answer the questionnaire through email or mark suitable choices on hard copy of questionnaire To make sure data collected reliable for analysis, a pilot study was conducted by face to face interview and group discussion The feedbacks from pilot study have used for modifying the questionnaire that have applied for main survey

Data gathered from the sample were used to analyze and verify the correlations between independent factors and dependent factors The first step would be coding of

each variable then test reliability by Cronbach’s Alpha, test validity by Exploratory

Factor Analysis (EFA), and hypothesis test by multiple regression analysis In order to

examine the relationship between demographic variables and job stress the One-way ANOVA was conducted SPSS software version 22 was used for data analysis in this research

1.6 Research Structure

This research has structured by five chapters including, Chapter 1 introduce the background, objective of study, research questions, scope, significant and contribution of research Chapter 2 reviews theories relative to job stress, job performance, develop hypotheses and research model Chapter 3 describes the methods employed in conducting the investigation, including research design, sampling, and instrument development stated the research methodology Chapter 4 analyzes data and carry out the strength of each independent factors impact on job stress, explain how job stress impact on job performance Furthermore, how the demographic variables influence on job stress also state in this chapter Chapter 5 presents conclusions and interpretation of results From that, recommend practical implications to managers dealing with job stress better to enhance their job performance

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

The main factors to investigate in this research are job stress and job performance of middle manger in Vietnam Therefore, this chapter focuses on presenting definitions, theories and previous research related to job stress and job performance Through reviewing previous research and theories, the factors that impact on job stress are found

in this chapter The research hypotheses are developed and the research model is established to describe relationship among studied factors in this research

2.1 Job Stress

The definitions of stress had been given under different ways According to National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (1999) “Work stress is defined as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when job requirements do not match the worker’s capabilities, resources, and needs” Safaria, et al (2011), has presented that

“stress is an interactional process between environmental system and the adaptive resources of the individual system” (p 92) Stress was separated to two kinds of stress including positive stress and negative stress (Krit, 2011) The positive stress have good effect for people who get it, example someone have done a good job and company has reward him/her in front of top management and require him/her say something about his/her results In this case he/she would get a little bit nervous and make his/her stress, that was considered a positive stress This research focus on studying the negative stress, that makes people suffering, tired when facing with stress at work

The causes of job stress have been divided to two main groups (Aizzat, et al 2005)

The first group was external factors such as job demands, problem in work, budget control, environmental conditions, organizational culture, bosses personality, relationship with colleagues The second group was internal factors such as personality, ambition, age, genders, emotion This study has focused on investigating both of stressors including external factors and internal factors that lead to job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

2.2 Job Performance

Job performance can be understood in various ways Campbell (1990) had described that work performance as behaviors or actions which are relevant to the goals of an organization Ojo, et al (2014) had quoted that “job performance can be defined as measurable actions, behavior and outcomes that employees engage in or bring about that contribute to organizational goals” Job performance can be understood that the quantity and quality of outcomes of individual or group contribute to organizational goals (Wu, 2011) Today, in the global competitive environment, many organizations have extended measure job performance level by establishing work standards include assessing the results and behaviors of employees that contribute to the success of the organization (Chen, 2009) Based on study of Motowidlo & Van Scotter (1994) the job performance can be divided into task performance and contextual performance Task performance refers to outcome of individual’s efforts that directly associated with organizational expectations, whereas contextual performance refers to how willing of employees engage voluntarily in unofficial activities, cooperate with others, comply with organizational rules and processes, build the culture of company (Chen, 2009) Job performance of employees has played important roles in leading to the success of an organization, for that reason, job performance was one of key factor has been studied in this research

2.3 Relationship between Job Stress and Job Performance

Job performance of employees depended on numerous of factors such as employee’s abilities, characteristic of jobs, supporting from organization However, job stress was one of important factor impact on job performance (Chen, 2009) According to Ojo, et al (2014) had concluded that the greater the stress at work, the less productivity of work force, and job stress had impacted a lot on quality of work and job performance Afsheen, (2012) had stated that when people was working in organizations face higher levels of stress, their performance would be decreased and was mostly unable to deliver their best People who got high stress at work would deliver lower job performance than people who got less stress at work (Mehmet et al, 2015, Afsheen et al, 2012) Recently, the job

environment in Vietnam has changed dramatically, it required employees have to deliver higher performance and get high pressure from their work Thus, in this study the relationship between job stress and job performance of middle manager in Vietnam was explored and the findings were used for practical implication in Vietnam

2.4 Factors That Impact on Job Stress

The previous researches have mentioned about the causes and effect of job stress Causes of distress may come from various factors such as work long hours, job safety, lack of time, work overload, work environmental conditions such as noisy, hot, lack of spaces, management culture, boss personalities, unfair at work, less reward/recognition/ promotion (Dua & Jagdish, 1994) Demographic variables were also affecting on job stress of people who are facing with them, so demographic variables were considered one

of source of stress Consequences of job stress make people feel tension, anxiety, worries, depression, always feel exhausted, easy angry, poor concentrate, easy make mistakes (Idris, Dollard, & Winefield, 2010)

According to Aizzat, et al (2005) had mentioned that the factors affecting on job stress come from five organizational variables including conflict, blocked career, alienation, work overload and unfavorable work environment Author had stated that people got conflict at work, felt less opportunity to develop career, isolated from coworkers, worked many task at the same time and poor work environmental conditions such as noise, hot, less space would get higher stress than the other In addition Aizzat, et

al (2005) had proved that the personality trait was also impacting on the job stress, people who had higher level of neuroticism would get higher level of job stress than people who had lower level of neuroticism Beehr (1998) showed that the stressors may came from limited time to finish job requirement, personality, work environmental conditions, business process, organizational factors, human and colleagues

Another article of Moore (2000) “One road to turnover: An examination of work

exhaustion in technology professionals” stated that role conflict, role ambiguity,

workload, autonomy and fairness of reward were affecting on job stress and it lead to work exhausted and turnover intention Quote from article “Role stressors, participative control, and subjective fit with organizational values: Main and moderating effects on

employee outcomes” (Cameron & Nerina, 2008) The stressors had been mentioned that

role conflict, role ambiguity, not enough abilities to do the work, participative control, lack of support from supervisor, subjective fit in organization These stressors had affected to job satisfaction and intention to left company Based on Davidson and Sutherland (1992) had indicated the time pressure, working long hours, insufficient time

to pursue leisure interests, volume of paper work, insufficient time spend with family, travel to and back from the work, lack of support, inadequacy of communication flow or ambiguity, staff shortage or overload, and role conflict were positively related to job stress

Based on previous research, the factors leading to job stress of middle managers were summarized in Table 2.1 There were numerous factors that impact on job stress However, these factors could overlap each other Therefore, this research has consolidated these factors into some significant factors The first group was work overload, lack of time, work long hour, limit of time, time pressure, not enough abilities and staff shortage These stressors had the same source of stress is overload, so this group would be represented by a factor namely “Work Overload” Work overload was defined

as “the amount of work that exceeds what individual can accomplish in a given period of time” (Perrewe & Ganster, 1989) Overload when people had been required working too long hour, over ability and many tasks in short time (Michelle & John, 2005) For these reasons, work overload was considered a significant factors impacting on job stress of middle managers in companies

Table 2.1: Summary of the factors leading to job stress based on previous research

Unfavorable work environment Unfavorable environmental conditions, noisy, hot, lack of space Unexpected situation

Management culture Business process Communication flow ambiguity Boss’

personalities

Lack of support from supervisors Lack of support from organization Lack of support from colleagues and relative departments

Alienation from coworkers

Less reward/ recognition /promotion Job safety Block career Unfair at work,

The group number three was lack of support from colleagues and organization Lack

of support from colleagues included lack of support from supervisors, coworkers, subordinates and lack of support from organization was presented by organizational

culture, business process, reward/ recognition policy, communication flow, career development All these factors have the similar source of job stress is “Lack of Support” Besides that Kelloway and Day, (2005) had also stated that poor interpersonal relationships in the workplace were consistently identified as a source of stress Because

of that, lack of support from colleagues and organization was studied as critical factor impact on job stress of middle managers

Finally, unfavorable work environment such as crowding, noise, air pollution, dirty, dusty, ergonomic problem (Fayza, 2013) were a big issues that impact on job stress of employees These factors were combined to one factor namely “Unfavorable Work Environment” in this research

Besides above external factors which were work overload, conflict at work, lack of support from colleagues and unfavorable work environment has impacted on job stress, the internal factors such as personality, emotion, education, ambition, family problem or quantity of children were also the sources of job stress Moreover demographic factors including gender, age, marital status and work experience (Aizzat et al 2005) has also impacted on job stress of employees People have high ambitious, easy angry, easy get emotional, pessimistic thinking had tended to get high stress than other The old people who older than 45 years with lower stress than young people (Aleksandar, 2013) The managers who have long work experience had less stress at work than the people who have less experience (Aizzat et al, 2005) To examine whether demographic factors impact on job stress or not, it will be studied as independent factors in this research

2.5 Research Hypotheses

Stress at work could be caused by work environment, organization and individual

characteristic (Aizzat, et al 2005 Mohanty & Chowdhury, 2014) There were a

numerous factors affecting on work stress However, this research have just investigated four organizational variables could impact on job stress namely conflict in work, work overload, lack of support from colleagues and unfavorable work environment Besides

that, previous research (Kelloway, et al 2005, Mohanty, 2014) had also expressed that individual variables such as gender, age, marital status, work experience had also influenced on stress at work In addition, there were a lot of previous research (Yu-Chi

Vu, 2011, Ojo, et al 2014, Afsheen, et al 2012) indicated that people who got higher stress at work tend to deliver lower job performance than the other This section reviews previous research to developed hypotheses for verifying the impact of four organizational factors on job stress, examine the correlation between demographic factors and job stress and studied the relationship between job stress and job performance of middle managers

in Vietnam

2.5.1 Hypotheses between organizational factors and job stress

The first factor that was considered one of source of job stress is work overload Moore (2000) had found that work overload was strongest contribution to work exhaustion and it lead to turnover intention, (p 141) According to Perrewe et al, (1989) the high job demands had lead to more strain as evidenced by low job satisfaction and

high anxiety Another paper “Stress and Construction Site Managers” of Davidson and

Sutherland (1992) indicated that work overload was one of factor impacting on stress and job dissatisfaction Vietnam is a developing country Most companies in Vietnam want to expand their business in worldwide It required the management team of companies working hard to achieve company goals Therefore the job demands of management team have increased corresponding with company strategy They need to work longer hour, control multiple tasks as the same time So work overload could be considered positively impacted on job stress, the hypothesis was developed to test the correlations between work overload and job stress as following:

H1: Work overload has positively impacted on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

Conflict at work occurs when two or more people confront with disagreement because of different needs, aims, point of view and interest (Hasani & Boroujerdi, 2013

pp.99-100) According to Spratlen (1995) the conflict at work had come from interpersonal conflict which included mistreatment There were four types of mistreatment namely verbal, physical, environment and others Verbal mistreatment could be yelling, swearing and loud emotional burst Physical mistreatment was defined

as finger point, kicking objects Environmental mistreatment could be ignored, isolation, and other mistreatment such as misuse email, memo, post it notes The author had also mentioned that interpersonal conflict was negatively effect on job satisfaction and job performance Another research of Tidd and Friedman (2002) had indicated that conflict

in work was positively related to work stress, (p 239) According to Nanik, et al (2011) had quoted that role conflict and role ambiguity was positively related to work stress and people who got high stress at work stress had low job satisfaction Based on previous research the conflict at work had positively impacted on job stress This problem could be happened with middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam In order to test the effect of conflict at work on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam, a hypothesis was developed to examine the correlation between conflict at work and job stress as following

H2: Conflict at work has positively impacted on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

Another factor affecting on job stress of middle managers was lack of support from supervisors, co-workers, relative departments, organization’s policy or even subordinates had not supported to complete the work (Davidson et al, 1992, Spence, Purdy, Cho and Almost, 2006) Spence et al, (2006) had pointed out that lack of support from the managers was the main stressor at work The author also stated that key components of manager’s job satisfaction were supportive communication with supervisors, participation in management decisions, empowerment to manage the work, and effective administrative systems If managers had not got support or instructions from their supervisors, their work had become more difficult and delivered lower results From that, managers had been discouraged on work and stressfully Besides lack of support from

supervisors, lack of support from coworkers or relative departments was also considered one of source of stress at work (Pamela et al, 2010) Normally, in order to achieve the company’s goals that required all people or all departments in company have to work together, the results of one department would affected to results of other departments As

a middle manager lead a team in company, they really need support from co-workers to complete their work, if mangers got lack of support from relative people in company, they would got high stress at work A hypothesis was set up to examine the relationship between lack of support within organization and job stress of managers in Vietnam

H3: Lack of support from relative people in organization has positively impacted on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

Unfavorable work environment was one of stressor at work According to Fairbrother and Warn (2003), the physical conditions such as high noise level, overcrowding in the workplace or lack of privacy was positive related to stress at work Ornelas and Kleiner (2003) had illustrated that poor environmental conditions such as unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions, noise, crowding, air pollution have positively impact on job stress This problem could be corrective with work environmental conditions in Vietnam, especially people working at manufacturing factory, construction site, even people working at hospitals or banks, they had also facing with noise, crowding or sitting long hour on chair These reasons could make people stressful at work A hypothesis was developed to verify correlation between unfavorable work environmental and job stress of middle manager in Vietnam

H4: Unfavorable work environment has positively impacted on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

2.5.2 Hypotheses between demographic factors and job stress

According to Aizzat et al (2005) had stated that personality traits of employees had impacted on their job stress People with high ambition, easy angry, worry about job, result orientation, pessimistic thinking had tended to get high stress than other Pilar et al (2013) had stated that men perceive greater pressure from quantitative demands in the

workplace, while women perceive greater pressure from qualitative or psychological demands But men are generally more pessimistic than women with regards the risk of suffering an illness in the workplace Mirei et al (2007) had indicated in the paper “The Relation between Cumulative Fatigue and Marital Status in Japanese Workers” that unmarried status was more associated with fatigue than was married status and being overworked, so marital status was also considered a variables affecting on job stress The old people who older than 45 years with lower stress than young people (Aleksandar, 2013) The persons who have long work experience had less stress at work than the people who have less experience (Aizzat et al, 2005) A hypothesis was developed to examine how demographic variables which are gender, marital status, age and work experience influence on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

H5: Demographic factors has related to job stress of middle managers in Vietnam

2.5.3 Hypothesis between job stress on job performance

Previous research had illustrated that people who got high stress at work tend to deliver low job performance (Chen, 2009 Yu-Chi Wu, 2011) When people get high stress, they will have problem with sleeping, exhausted, less concentrate on work, so job stress had negatively impacted on job performance of employees who get high stress at work (Ojo, et al 2014) Moreover, Afsheen et al, (2012) had stated that stressful people would be easy to get angry, depression, worrying and easy make mistake at work For these reasons job stress had limited ability of staffs to solving problem and ability to achieve their job’s goal as expected This situation could happen with managers in Vietnam A hypothesis was developed to test relationship between job stress and job performance of middle manger in Vietnam as following

H6: Job stress has negatively impacted on job performance of middle managers in Vietnam

2.6 Research Model

Based on literature review, there were four significant organizational factors leading

to job stress including conflict in work, work overload, lack of support from relative people in organization and unfavorable work environment The previous research also indicated that demographic variables had contributed increasing stress at work In order

to verify the correlations among these factors, a research model had been developed as Figure 2.1

RESEARCH MODEL

Figure 2.1: Research model

Based on research model above the job stress factor had played two roles were independent and dependent factors Therefore, the research model was considered a path model So that, this research model needs to assess the suitability by generalized squared multiple correlation coefficient in this research

In summary, Chapter 2 has showed comprehensive discussion about the theories related to all factors had mentioned in research model The literature review indicated that there were four organizational factors had positive impacted on job stress namely

work overload, conflict at work, lack of support and unfavorable work environment The research model was developed to examine the relationship between independent factors and dependent factors In addition, the model has also examined the effect of demographic variables on job stress People who got higher stress could deliver lower job performance than others who got less stress at work, so the correlation of job stress and job performance was also examined in this study

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Chapter 3 describes the research methods using for conducting this study The research process has developed to describe all steps through this research including problem statement, research objectives, research questions, literature review, research methodology, data analysis and conclusion Research methodology section has focused

on expressing process of study, identified measurement scales for each factor, designed questionnaire Meanwhile data collection method has conducted with two sub-steps which were pilot survey and main survey Data analysis method has expressed the requirement and theories of testing reliability, validity, multiple regression and ANOVA

3.1 Research Process

In this research, a quantitative approach was applied This approach was developed for testing reliability of each variable, validity testing for independent and dependent factors, and testing hypotheses and model Through utilizing this method, this study had measured the strength of each independent factor including work overload, conflict at work, lacks of support and unfavorable work environment impacted on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam To collect the quantitative data, the data collection method had been applied with two steps which are pilot study and main survey The data had been analyzed by using SPSS software In order to determine what factors had impacted

on job stress and how strength of each factors affecting on it, a research process was designed to through all steps of this research was described in Figure 3.1

The research process was described with five main steps Firstly, problem statement was defined that job stress is the big problem of middle manager in Vietnam Then research objectives and research questions have developed to be target of supporting verify research problem Secondly, literature review and relevant theories about factors impact on stress at work and job performance Based on previous research, the research hypotheses and research model has been built to examine the relationship between independent and dependent factors The third step is research methodology In research

methodology section, the measurement scales for each factor has been pointed out by collecting experiences from previous research, and a primary questionnaire was designed for serving the data collection step The data collection method was conducted by two sub-steps which were pilot survey and main survey, the sample size was determined to meet requirement for data analysis method

Figure 3.1: Research Process

Problem statement

Research objectives Research questions

- Reliability testing by Cronbach’s Alpha

- Validity testing by EFA

- Hypotheses testing by Multiple Regression

- ANOVA

- Data Analysis Results and Findings

The step number four of this study is data analysis Cronbach’s Alpha was used for testing reliability of variables; EFA was applied to test validity of independent and dependent factors; multiple linear regressions were conducted for testing the hypotheses ANOVA testing to examine the relationship between demographic variables and job stress factors

Final step was conclusion, this step has presented the overview of research, discussion of findings, carry out the practical implication, pointed out limitation of research and further research

3.2 Measurement Scales

3.2.1 Measurement scales for independent factors

The independent factors have been defined in this research including work overload, conflict at work, lack of support and unfavorable work environment In order to verify the strength of each independent factor impact on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam, the measurement variables were determined based on previous research Work overload variable was found such as work long hour, pressure of time on deadline of the work, do many task at the same period of time and over ability (Hassan et al, 2014 Perrewe et al,

1989 Davidson et al, 1992) According to Tidd, et al, 2002 Nanik, et al, 2011 and Spratlen, L P (1995) conflict at work, role ambiguity, difference point of view and result conflict or interest conflict were considered sources of stress at work Lack of support from organization, supervisors, coworkers and subordinates were one of causes of job stress (Yao & Fan, 2014 Davidson et al, 1992 Spence et al, 2006 Jaramillo et al, 2005) People who have been working in unfavorable work environment tend to get higher stress than others who have been working in good environmental conditions (Fayza, 2013) Unfavorable work environment was understood that crowded, noisy, occupational diseases, and many unexpected problems (Park et al, 2009), people who have been working under unfavorable work environmental conditions tend to get higher stress than

who have been working in good work environmental conditions The measurement variables of each independent factor were showed in Table 3.1

Table 3.1: Measurement variables for independent factors based on previous research

1 Work long hour than normal

2 Never enough time to finish all works

3 Do many tasks at the same period of time

4 Job demands are higher than team’s capability

Hassan et al, 2014 Perrewe et al, 1989 Davidson et al,1992

5 Encountering conflicts at work

6 Role ambiguity You have to do some works beyond your job requirements

7 Difference point of views There are some people disagree with your opinions

8 Result conflict Your job result have affected on the outcome of other departments

Tidd, et al, 2002 Nanik, et al, 2011

9 Lack of resources (budget, equipment, manpower)

Company didn’t provide enough resources to complete the work

10 Lack of support from co-workers, relevant departments

11 Lack of support from your employees

12 Less chance to develop career in your current job

Yao & Fan, 2014 Davidson et al, 1992 Spence et al, 2006

13 Work environment crowded, noisy

14 Work conditions can lead to occupational diseases such

as spinal disease, eye disease

15 Workplace is hot, lack of space or pollution

16 Facing with unexpected problem such as equipment breakdown, employees off unexpectedly

Fayza, 2013 Park et al, 2009

3.2.2 Measurement scales for dependent factors

Based on research model in this study the job stress factor has been playing both of roles including independent and dependent factor Meanwhile job performance was one

of consequences of job stress In order to examine these dependent variables, the questionnaire was designed to cover all eleven measurement variables including seven

variables for “job stress” factor and four variables for “job performance” factor Based on previous studies the eleven variables were showed on Table 3.2.

Table 3.2: Measurement variables for dependent factors based on previous research

17 Inefficiency of job performance

18 Easy mistakes at work

19 Cannot achieve the goals because of work stress

20 Limited ability to solve problems

Mehmet et al, 2015

Afsheen et al, 2012 Ojo, et al, 2014

22 Worry encountering errors at work

23 Not sleeping well at night

24 Not enough time to participate in group activities

25 Feel tired with work

26 Easy get angry than before

27 Worrying about job

Goldberg and Hillier,

1979

Aizzat et al, 2005

The independent factors in this study are represented by four organizational factors namely work overload, conflict, lack of support and unfavorable work environment These factors were measured by using 16 variables show on Table 3.1 The dependent factors are job stress and job performance that were measured by eleven variables were showed on Table 3.2 Totally, there were 27 variables including independent and dependent variables were used for design a questionnaire to collect data for analysis in this research The respondents had chose their own suitable answer with five-point likert scale were (1) “Strongly Disagree”; (2) “Disagree”; (3) “Neutral”; (4) “Agree” and (5)

“Strongly Agree” The five-point likert scale was applied for both independent and dependent factors

3.2.3 Measurement scales for demographic factor

Demographic variables have been investigated in this paper including gender, marital status, ages and management experience Measurement scales for each variable is

difference Gender is male or female, marital status is single or married, age was divided with four levels which are lower than 25 years old, from 25 to 34 years old, from 35 to 45 years old and over 45 years old (Aleksandar et al, 2013 Sanjeev & Rathore, 2014) Management experience variables was measured by period time of management experience in manager role which are less than 1 years, from 1 to 3 years, from 3 to 7 years and over 7 years (Sundaram & Kumaran, 2012)

3.3 Questionnaire Design

Based on measurement variables of each factors were showed on Table 3.1 and Table 3.2 A primary questionnaire was designed to use for collect data To measure the strength of four independent factors impacting on job stress, 16 measurement variables were found These variables have divided equal four for each independent factor There were seven variables to measure job stress factor and four variables to measure job performance factors The demographic variables were measured by gender, marital status, years of management experience and age A questionnaire with 27 questions has been developed and distributed to the middle managers in Vietnam In order to make respondents feel comfortable when they answer the survey, the questionnaire had started with independent factors then dependent factors and demographic factors would be at the end of the questionnaire Because some people afraid to show their personal factors first, they could reject the survey The final questionnaire was developed with three steps The first step was a primary questionnaire based on previous research (appendix A1, A2) Second step got feedback from pilot respondent and group discussion with small management team Group discussion help to identify the reality variables impacting on job stress of middle managers in Vietnam Final step modified the questionnaire and search for reference articles to support these variables

3.4 Data Collection Method

3.4.1 Sampling method

The scope of this research is focusing on investigating the factors that impact on job stress of middle managers who are working at companies in Vietnam Middle managers include group leaders, supervisors, section chiefs, managers or directors, who are working with their bosses, co-workers and their subordinates daily The selected respondents may be working on various types of businesses including manufacturing, services and both of foreigner’s companies and Vietnamese’s companies in Vietnam The respondents will answer questions by face to interview, answer the questionnaire through email or mark suitable choices on hard copy of questionnaire

Based on research process, the reliability and validity of variables were tested by using Cronbach’s Alpha and EFA After that the multiple regressions was conducted to test the hypotheses So the sample size must large enough for statistic analysis The minimum sample size to run EFA is required equal or greater than five time of the number of independent variables, and not less than 100 (Hair et al 2010) There are 27 measurement variables in this research, so the minimum sample size should be equal 5x27 = 135 Besides that, Tabachnick & Fidell, (2001) had stated that the minimum size

in case of multiple regression tests should be n > 50 + 8*k (k: number of independent factors) There were 4 independent factors in this study, the minimum sample size is: n>

50 + 8x4 = 82 In order to meet all requirements of statistic analysis, the larger sample was used The minimum sample size was applied is 135 valid respondents for data analysis in this research

They had help to make clear the questions to avoid misunderstood, sensitive questions After that the questionnaire was sent to 20 persons who are the middle manager in Vietnam The data with 30 respondents including face to face interview and answer the questionnaire has been used for testing reliability The result of pilot analysis shows on Table 3.3

According to Nunnally & Bernstein (1994) Cronbach’s Alpha >= 0.6 is acceptable for reliability of measurement variables All Cronbach’s Alphas were higher than 0.6, It proved that the scales are reliability Besides, the variables with “Cronbach’s Alpha if item deleted” value higher than Cronbach’s Alpha of this factors should be deleted to maximize value of Cronbach’s Alpha There are two variables would be rejected including CAW4 and UWE2, because if rejecting these two variables, the Cronbach’s Alpha would be increase from 739 and 770 to 785 and 802 However, these variables should not be rejected in this step, because the quantity of respondents is not large enough for data analysis Moreover, the feedback from interviewees and first group of respondents that there are some questions not clear enough, easy misunderstood or some sensitive questions such as the question for conflict at work (variable CAW4) “There are some colleagues, clients or superiors complaining about the quality of your work or your product” This question was not specific enough for respondents There are many variables in one question, so it should be revised for more clearly

Table 3.3: Pilot test results of Cronbach’s Alpha

Variables Scale Mean if Item

Deleted

Scale Variance if Item Deleted

Corrected Total Correlation

Item-Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted

Work Overload: Cronbach’s Alpha 820

Findings from pilot study that the questions must be specific, do not combine many variables in one question or repeat variables in other question, should not too long question One important thing that was found when conducted pilot survey is most interviewees and respondents afraid of talking directly to their supervisors The respondents tend to speak good things about their superiors It may not reflect the actual situation They said that they got stress at work because of lack of resource to perform their job, less reward or promotion, but they believe these reasons belong to organization responsibility rather than their supervisors In order to review again these variables and questions a group discussion with five middle managers within Schindler Vietnam limited has been conducted Group had agreed that the lack of from supervisors would be replaced by lack of support from company It help the respondent feel comfortable when talk about organization rather than their supervisors directly Based on findings from pilot study and comment from group meeting the measurement scales of each factor had refined and the final questionnaire (see appendix A3 and A4) was generated to apply for main survey

3.4.3 Main survey

The main survey had been conducted in various ways such as face to face interview, answer e-questionnaire, requested respondents filled in hard copy 250 questionnaires was distributed thru email, hard copies and interviewed directly It expected that received

at least 135 valid answers using for data analysis (assuming a return rate of 55% - 65%)

3.5 Data Analysis Method

Data gathered from the sample were used to data analysis and verify the correlations between independent factors and dependent factors The first step would be coding of each variable, and then tested reliability by Cronbach’s Alpha, test validity by

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and hypothesis test by multiple regression analysis

To test the suitability of path model the generalized squared multiple correlations was

used (Pedhazur, 1982) The generalized squared multiple correlation coefficient was calculated by equation following:

RM R1 )( R2

RM Generalized squared multiple correlation coefficient

R1 Adjusted R Square of the first regression model

R2 Adjusted R Square of the second regression model

In order to examine the relationship between demographic variables and job stress the One-way ANOVA was used SPSS software version 22 was used for data analysis in this research

Data analysis method has presented the descriptive statistic of data including summarize characteristic of data, describe sample profile, frequency analysis This section described the demographic variables figures such as quantity and percentage of male and female, marital status of respondents, management experience and age of respondents

3.5.1 Reliability testing assumptions

In order to test reliability, Cronbach’s alpha value should fluctuate from 75 to 95 is consider the best range for testing reliability of variable However, according to Nunnally

& Bernstein (1994) Cronbach’s Alpha is equal or greater than 6 is acceptable Moreover value of corrected item – total correlation of variables is greater than 3, it said that these

variables are acceptable for testing reliability

3.5.2 Validity testing assumptions

In order to test validity independent and dependent factors, EFA was applied with using varimax approach EFA has been conducted three times, one for all independent factors, one for job stress factor and one for job performance factor The result is considered to be acceptable when all requirements of EFA are met Firstly, sample size

should be equal or greater than five time of number of independent variables Secondly, KMO value has to greater than 5 Kaiser (1974) had suggested that KMO equal or greater than 9 very good, KMO greater than 8 good, KMO greater than 7 normal, KMO greater than 6 acceptable, KMO greater than 5 bad, and KMO less than 5 unacceptable Thirdly, the Bartlett’s test should be with significant value less than 5 percents Moreover, total variance explained by component with Eigenvalues greater than 1 should

be above 50 percents Factor loading should be 5 to ensure practical significance

3.5.3 Hypotheses testing assumptions

To test the hypotheses in research model, the multiple regressions analysis has been applied to assess the effects of the independent factors on the dependent factor The conditions to accept the analysis results that the sample size is greater than 50 + 8k (k is the number of independent factors) There are four independent factors in this research,

so total sample requirement for multiple regression testing should be greater than 50+8x4

= 82 samples

Multicollinearity of variables must be tested by Tolerance or Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) If the Tolerance value lower (1 – Adjusted R square), or (VIF) value higher than 2.0, then there are probably problems with multicollinearity (Haire et al 2006) Based on the research model in this research, there were two model need to test the hypotheses First model which test the hypotheses between four independent factors (work overload, conflict at work, lack of support and unfavorable work environment) and dependent factor (job stress) Second model that test the relationship between job stress and job performance factor This research model was considered a path analysis, therefore, the generalized squared multiple correlations was used (Pedhazur, 1982) for testing the suitability of research model

3.5.4 ANOVA testing assumptions

Besides independent variables had impacted on job stress, the demographic variables (gender, marital status, age, work experience) could influence on the dependent

variable ANOVA test was used to test the demographic variables impact on job stress in this research The Sig values of demographic variables should be smaller than 05 This

is an assumption to consider these variables impact on job stress Any variables have Sig value higher than 05; it has not impacted on job stress factor

Summary, in order to outline a research methodology properly, a research process and requirement of research has been presented in this chapter Measurement scales of each factor were also stated in this chapter, a questionnaire has been designed to collect data related to job stress and job performance of middle managers in Vietnam Data collection method including sample method, sample size was considered critical step for preparing data to analyze Data of survey was quite important to examine hypotheses and model, a questionnaire was designed and discussed with group of 5 managers within Schindler Vietnam They help to reviewed measurement variables to suitable with research model and managers who would answer questionnaire A pilot survey was conducted with group around 30 people, the feedback or ideas from pilot group had help

to refined the questionnaire to avoid misunderstood or some sensitive questions Pilot survey had help to corrected mistakes of the questionnaire It supported main survey was conducted smoothly and receive reliable data for analysis in next chapter