Occupational stress in management consulting firms in Nairobi

Abstract

The World Health Organization has called job stress a "worldwide epidemic". The stress levels associated with many jobs are now rated as worryingly high. The aim of this study was to address the issue of stress from the human resources management point of view. The specific objectives were to establish the sources of occupational stress to the employees of management consulting firms in Nairobi; to establish how the employees of management consulting firms in Nairobi deal with occupational stress; and to establish how management consulting firms in Nairobi deal with occupational stress among their employees. Manaqernent consulting firms were chosen because management advisory had been identified to be among the most stressful occupations in the developed countries. Also they have a potential for helping other organisations during the course of their interactions in offering management advice. The study used an exploratory research design where questionnaires were sent to the management and employees of the firms in the sample. Interviews were also conducted with the management. The results indicate that occupational stress is not only a function of the nature of the job but also the social and economic environment of the workers. In Kenya, among the management consulting firms, the highest stressors have to do with relationships with authority and partiality pracjjces. They also show that spirituality and social support systems are highly used as buffers against occupational stress. The results also revealed that the management and the employees have different views on what the organisation is doing in reducing stress. Overall the management thought very highly of their organisation's efforts while the employees responses did not indicate such a position.