Workplace Stress and Absenteeism, Turnover, and Employee Performance in the Ship-repair Industry: A Case Stud

Occupational stress has become one of the most pressing challenges for organizational managers today. Because it has a significantly negative influence on job satisfaction and employee performance, this phenomenon calls for the design and implementation of special techniques to minimize risks and mitigate consequences. In most cases, heavy workloads, hazardous working environments, and strenuous workplace atmospheres lead to work-related stress. Although the risks of occupational stress are similar across different sectors of the economy, they are significantly higher in the ship-repair industry owing to a lack of knowledge regarding work-related stress and its effects. It is imperative to fill this existing knowledge gap by investigating the maritime industry with a special focus on factors contributing to occupational stress and techniques used to reduce it. This study attempted to determine some effective techniques for overcoming the challenge of work-related stress in the ship-repair industry, bearing in mind the peculiarities of this sector of the economy. This research was a qualitative exploratory case study. Conclusions were drawn based on the in-depth understanding of professional stress obtained by analyzing the sensations, beliefs, reflections, and personal experiences of people employed by a company operating in the ship-repair industry. To fully address the research question and pay specific attention to each respondent, the sample was small, consisting of 8 project and production managers working with a ship-repair company located in New Jersey. Participants were interviewed using open-ended questions with an emphasis on their lived experiences and their opinions on occupational stress and ways to address this challenge. An employee's number of years worked and position within the company were the major criteria for selecting participants because of the assumption that only those who had a long history of cooperation with an organization are competent and experienced enough to share adequate and accurate facts required to draw comprehensive conclusions and generalizations for the company. Several themes were derived from the observations of the participants including (a) employee stress, performance, and productivity, (b) employee stress and absenteeism, (c) communication, (d) role clarity, and (e) incentives. From the findings, 10 recommendations are made to improve practice in the field while three recommendations are made to further research into the effects of stress and the creation of strategies to mitigate it in the workplace. Managers need to be aware of their industries and work environments and tailor those environments to minimize stress on their workers. Managers need to take into consideration the needs of their employees in devising strategies to minimize stress. Finally, managers need to consider implementing the recommendations for practice proposed in this dissertation in the efforts to maximize worker efficiency and performance while mitigating the effects of stress on those workers.