Do Occupational Stress Affect Employee Performance? The Case of Middle East Organizations

Abstract

Human resource is one of the major resources that enables an organization to sustain and grow in the present business era, which is characterized by high degree of competition and internal rivalry among the organizations. One of the major elements that has an influence and impact on the overall levels of employee performance is that of occupational stress. High levels of occupational stress has always a negative impact on the performance of employees. This research aims at making an assessment of the impact of occupational stress on employee performance in organizations in the Middle East. It also aimed to assess the overall levels of occupational stress within the factors that caused occupational stress, and the manner in which occupational stress influences employee performance. The study is also intended to put forward recommendations in order to have effective management of occupational stress. In order to address all these aims, a mixed methodology was deployed. The overall findings of the research indicated that occupational stress had a negative impact on the overall performance of the employee, where occupational stress is majorly defined by the presence of role conflict and role ambiguity as well as the lack of career development within the organization.