Stress, Strategy, Satisfaction Among Sales Managers in Automobile Industry


GRT Group of Institutions, Tiruttani - 631209, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Among sales employees in the automobile sector, work stress is a major factor determining job satisfaction. A company's top line growth is driven by its sales force. There is a significant influence of organizational factors on employee job satisfaction in the automotive industry, which include pay and benefits, promotions, leadership, work groups, working conditions, and fairness. In spite of this, employee job satisfaction did not seem to be affected by individual factors such as age and gender. Job satisfaction in the automotive industry was better understood through this research. By increasing employee motivation for the job, managers can improve employee job satisfaction, which ultimately leads to higher productivity and better employee retention. An organization's outcome is heavily influenced by its support. According to the findings, enriching welfare measures, maintaining reasonable working hours, and creating an efficient working environment will contribute to reducing individual and organisational stress among sales employees, in turn contributing to organization efficiency.

Keywords

Stress, Performance, Sales Employees, Automotive, Sales Targets

Introduction

Almost every person from every walk of life faces stress at some point in their lives. Every one of us has experienced turmoil at some point in our lives. We are all constantly bombarded by stress and strain. As a result of employee dissatisfaction and high turnover, employers today are analyzing stress management issues critically, which negatively affect not only the organization's goals and objectives, but also the employee's physical and mental health. Both employers and employees are looking for a solution to the stress problem in order to improve their employees' work performance because stress is universally recognized as a factor contributing to poor performance. Among the factors that determine job satisfaction are one's work experiences, current circumstances, and future expectations. Depending on the context in which it is studied, job satisfaction is a very sensitive attitude. The factors and mechanisms responsible for such an elusive and subjective concept as job satisfaction cannot be generalized to all work settings 1.

Having a stressful environment in today's workplace impedes both performance and quality of life. An employee forces himself to live a stressful life amidst tight schedules, high expectations, and high performance standards. Regardless of the person's position in the hierarchy, stress affects everyone, regardless of the cause. Depending on how one responds to stressful situations and is able to cope with them, what is stressful to one person may not be so to another. Having adequate physical and mental resources allows an individual to handle a stressful situation nonchalantly. There are times when resources available are not enough to meet the quantity of resources needed. As a result, he undergoes unimaginable stress in trying to find a match between his demands and his resources. The smallest issues can be dealt with by an individual on his own, with the help of family members and friends, and with colleagues; on the other hand, the biggest issues are very difficult to handle on one's own. Work can sometimes feel overwhelming and stressful due to the ups and downs of life. Stress is caused by the interaction between life and work.

The role of employee performance, in general, is to measure whether an individual is capable of carrying out the tasks assigned to them, and how well they contribute to their organization 2. It is their primary responsibility to sell retail goods, services, and products to customers. Providing solutions, cultivating prospects, and ensuring a smooth sales process are all tasks they perform with customers. In addition to affecting employee productivity, high absenteeism, and inefficiency in the workplace, poor workplace wellness can lead to high healthcare costs and high staff turnover. In terms of work-life balance, roles and responsibilities are considered both at work and outside of work. Stress can be reduced by modifying behavior, consulting with a career counselor, relaxing, attending fitness courses, improving the work environment, reorganizing the structure of the organization, redesigning jobs, and introducing management strategies that lead to organizational success. A company's primary duty is to make its employees happy and provide wellness measures to make them feel stress-free, and providing a healthy environment by objectives and planning changes could have a positive effect. Increasing revenue, expanding the brand, retaining customers, and growing a business is the result of successful selling.

Causes of Job Stress

There is a link between job stress and job burnout. There are times when job stress affects home life as well. Stress can be caused by a variety of factors.

  • Control is lacking. Job stress is caused mainly by a feeling of not being in control of work and job duties. Stress-related illnesses are most likely to affect people who feel powerless over their work.

  • A greater sense of responsibility. Job responsibilities can be stressful when they are added to. Overwhelmed with work and unable to say no to new responsibilities can lead to stress.

  • The quality of work and job satisfaction. It may be stressful to work at a job if it is not meaningful. Many people are stressed out about their job performance because they feel insecure.

  • Work roles are uncertain. It can be stressful when you don't know what the job will look like in the future, or what the goals of the department or company will be. Multi-manager situations can also be stressful for employees since they need to deal with different demands from different managers.

  • If It is difficult to communicate. Poor communication often causes tension at work. There can be stress when you cannot express your needs, concerns, or frustrations.

  • Unsupportive. Stress at work can be exacerbated by bosses and coworkers who are not supportive.

  • If The working environment is poor. It can be stressful to work in an unpleasant or dangerous physical environment, such as a crowded work area, excessive noise, or ergonomic difficulties.

  • Personal Relationships: Troubling issues with family, partnerships, friends, children, or others, contribute to stress.

Influence of Various Parameters on Job Performance

To avoid over- or under-estimating the varying sources of stress, we must avoid looking at them from a single causal perspective. We know that stress is a dynamic process with multiple constructs and outcomes, despite some methodological weaknesses and gaps in our knowledge 3. Therefore, as far as the research on stress is concerned, it no longer makes sense to define stress as the ‘dark side of work’ 4. Stress does not always have to be unpleasant. It means to be alive when you experience the excitement of a challenge and the stress of achieving something. Life would be dull, monotonous, and spiritless if there was no stress to spice it up. In fact, there is growing evidence that people need some level of simulation, and that monotony can have some of the same consequences as overwork. Having an awareness of the fit between a job's goals and organizational goals has no correlation with stress, but it has an effect on performance. Both performance and stress are influenced by freedom to relax. To put it another way, freedom from stress negatively affects performance and positively affects stress levels. A clear link has not been found between awareness of a job's fit with organizational goals and stress. However, there is a link between the awareness of job's fit with organizational goals and performance in the workplace. Both performance and stress are influenced by freedom to relax. Relaxation has a negative impact on stress levels, but a positive impact on performance.

Anxiety and anger are among the negative emotions people experience when they are exposed to stressful situations or events. According to some, stress is the result of these circumstances. Physiological changes, such as hypertension, muscle tension, and emotions are among the signs of this response. The relationship between job stress and job performance has been examined in several studies. However, most psychologists define stress as a person's interpretation and response to a threat. An individual can be considered to have performed well at work if he/she managed to accomplish the task assigned to him/her successfully within reasonable constraints of his/her available resources. Using a conceptual framework, Chandhok and Monga 5 propose that job stress and job performance can be correlated in three different ways.

It has been shown that increased job satisfaction is associated with an increase in organizational factors 6 despite the fact that many factors, including pay, job security, and benefits, have been correlated with job satisfaction. The view was also endorsed by Spector 7, who suggested that happy employees are more productive as well. To determine the cause of job satisfaction, one might consider the following organizational factors. An employee's attitude towards his or her job determines his or her job satisfaction. It is narrowly understood that their attitudes are based on their jobs and they include specific factors such as wages, supervision, stability of employment, work conditions, advancement opportunities, recognition of abilities, fair evaluation of work, social relations at work, timely grievance resolution, and fair treatment by employers. In general, job satisfaction is related to several attitudes that people hold towards their jobs and other factors in their lives.

As a qualitative measure of a person's worth, pay represents an employee's monetary reward for their contributions to the organization. It is crucial that companies provide attractive and equitable pay in order to compete for the best talent. Several studies have shown that pay initially motivates employees, but it is not a strong motivator over time. In today's competitive, economic environment, where a strategic compensation planning approach is needed, pay has long been recognized as a means of attracting and retaining talented employees 8.

The ability to perform incredibly well at work and to be satisfied at work is dependent upon leadership in order to survive, grow, and thrive in a work environment that fosters mutual trust. A leader's ability to communicate effectively is vital to his or her success. “One of the fundamental responsibilities of any organization's leaders is to promote cooperation among employees and groups within the organization” according to Barnard 9, which is a manager's responsibility to encourage trust among employees and groups within the organization. Also, one's boss's behavior is a major contributor to dissatisfaction. When supervisors are understanding and friendly, praise employees' good performance, listen to their opinions, and show a personal interest in them, employee satisfaction increases.

Employees are modestly satisfied with their jobs when they have friendly, cooperative colleagues or team members. Individual workers benefit from the support, advice, and assistance provided by their work groups, especially tight teams. It is easier to enjoy your work when you are part of a good team. Job satisfaction does not depend on this factor. The reverse is also true if the work environment is difficult to handle and the people are difficult to work with. The results suggest that supportive colleagues and good intragroup work are more beneficial in keeping job satisfaction at a minimum than in promoting it. Accordingly, according to social network theory 10, colleagues' support at work contributes to job satisfaction.

When working conditions are not bad, people do not give much thought to them. Moreover, when there are complaints about working conditions, they are often merely manifestations of other issues. Managers who are angry at the night crew because their office has not been cleaned properly may be upset because they were given poor performance evaluations earlier in the day. In recent years, however, working conditions have become more important due to increased diversity in the workplace. Currently, most organizations are investing in improving conditions for support and nondiscrimination 11.

Conclusion

Employees should participate in stress management programs periodically to reduce personal and professional stress. An organization's success is largely influenced by its support. The top management should be responsible for meeting the needs of employees and ensuring employee welfare in order to achieve the organization's objectives. Management of Human Resources (HRM) must develop a stress management system. The HR department should provide regular meetings and care for each employee, as well as coaching for building confidence among them. Stress-relieving programs and counselling for employees should also be offered by the management. Organizations have to implement policies that are acceptable to their employees, such as balancing work and personal lives. Employees and management benefit from a healthy working environment. Marketing executives' performance is not affected by stress, but stress is correlated with pressure to produce. Industry-wise, it is good news. There is no relationship between age and length of service and stress. Stress levels are influenced by pressure to produce. The relationship between perceived stress and pressure to produce must be noted. The industry benefits from it. However, job performance is influenced by the pressure to produce. Performance and perceived stress are not affected by age, service length, or education.

Funding Support

The authors declare that they have no funding support for this study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.