A PROJECT SUBMITTED TO IGNOU, BHUBANESWAR IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THERE QUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF

PSYCHOLOGY

Submitted by
SUBHASHREE SUBHASMITA
Enrollment number :- 186099713
JEWELS INTERNATIONAL CHETANA COLLEGE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, BBSR

UNDER THE SUPERVISION AND GUIDANCE OF

Prof. (Dr.) Sadasiba Mohapatra
Former Principal Rajdhani College, Bhubaneswar
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that the Project report titled “Stress level in Working and Non-
working Women of Odisha, A Comparative Study” submitted to Indira Gandhi
National Open university in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of
Master of arts Degree in Psychology (MPCE), is an original work carried out by
Subhashree Subhasmita - (Enrollment Number:- 186099713).

This matter embodied in this Project is a done by the student and as far my
knowledge goes, has not been submitted whether to this university or to any other
University/institute for the fulfillment of the requirement of any course of study.

Signature of the Learner Signature of the Guide/Supervisor

Name: Name:
Enrollment No. : Designation:
Place: Name of Institute/Organization:
Regional Center: Date:

I
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Subhashree Subhasmita, Enrolment No.- 186099713, has

successfully completed the Project in MPCE-016 titled “ Stress level in Working and
Non-working Women of Odisha: A Comparative Study” under my Guidance.

Signature of the Learner Signature of the guide/supervisor

Name: Name:
Enrollment No. : Designation:
Study center: Place:
Regional Center: Date:

II
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to acknowledge sincere gratitude, the support and cooperation

extended by the principals and teachers of the respective schools for granting
permission to conduct the study in their establishments, and also to the students
who participated in this research for their contribution and time.

I am grateful to my guide prof. (Dr.) Sadasiba Mohapatra former Principal, Rajdhani

College, Bhubaneswar, Odisha for his guidance and supervision to complete the
piece of research work. I am also thanks to my friends for their help in completing
this work.

(Subhashree Subhasmita)
Researcher

III
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
SERIAL NO. DESCRIPTION PAGE
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I
CERTIFICATE II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT III
1 INTRODUCTION 1-10
1.1. SOURCES OF STRESS
1.2. WORKING WOMEN
1.3. NON-WORKING WOMEN
1.4. FAMILY
2. REVIEW OF LITETRATURE 11-19
3. SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY 20
4. RESEARCH DESIGN 20
5. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 20
6. HYPOTHESES 21
7. METHODLOGY OF THE STUDY 21
7.1. SAMPLE 21
7.2. TOOLS 21
7.3. STASTICAL ANALYSIS OF DATA 22
8. TABULAR PRESENTATION 22-24
9. RESULT AND DISCUSION 25
10. CONCLUSION 25
11. REFERENCE 26-29
APPENDICE-I 28-30
APPENDICE-2
 LIST OF TABLE
TABLE NO. PAGE
I 21
II 23
 LIST OF GRAPH
CHART NO PAGE
I 22
 INTRODUCTION

Stress, psychologically and physiologically speaking, a response to events that

upsets our personal balance. When faced with a threat, whether to our physical
safety or emotional equilibrium, the body defense kicks into high gear in a rapid
automatic process known as the flight response. The mind and body are in mutual
two ways integrated communication such that any turbulence in one tilts the other.
Thus, the bodily malfunctioning originally triggered by psychological forces or not,
can exert a profound on mental behavior.
Stress is an occasional attribute of every person’s ecology. It is the pressure,
tension or worry resulting from problems of meeting the challenges in life.
Biologists refer to temperature, cold and insufficient food supply as being sources
of stress. Social scientists are more concerned about people’s contact with their
situation and the resulting emotional disturbances as causes of stress. Stress is
anything that disrupts the routine, physical or mental well-being of individuals. It
occurs when the body performs beyond his capabilities or when a person faces
unusual demands. A simple demonstration of stress may be a bad temper while a
severe display may be an act of violent behavior.
A stressor is a cause that creates stress. A stressor can be either positive or
negative on the basis of how person reacts. For example, one person may view
stressor as a motivator, where as another person may identify it as a constraint.
Stress can be positive or negative. Distress negatively affects the mental
composure of a person. Some of these problems are insomnia, eating disorders,
heart problems, and suicidal tendencies. Devoid of stress, a person becomes
sluggish and boring. Positive stress encourages a person to achieve better.
However, if this stress exceeds beyond the required level it causes distress.

1
 The perception of stress varies among individuals and they have their own
stress endurance as some tend to work better under pressure, while the others
cannot bear last minute syndrome. Stress is a common human phenomenon. Stress
in human results from a complex interaction between the events of life and
perception of those events by an individual. The element of perception indicates
the personality of an individual as the personalities of individual are distinctive. The
reaction of stress is unique and personal to each of us. The response to stress varies
with the individual’s age, gender and genetic makeup.
Stress is an individual’s physical and mental reaction to environment,
demand or pressure. It is with us all the time. It comes from mental or emotional
activity as well as from physical activity. Stress condition is relative to nature.
Extreme stress conditions are detrimental to human health but in modernization it
is normal and in many cases prove useful in fact. Stress can be caused by any event
or occurrence that a person considers a threat to his or her cope strategies or
resources. It is a wide variety of dismissal situation that is capable of producing the
stress response such as efforts, pain, fear and even success. So stress is a product
of bio-psychological aspect of human environment. As per bio-psychological model
of stress, stress involves three components as internal components, external
components and the interaction between the external and internal components.
These symptoms of stress can be either physical or psychological. Stress related
physical illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, heart attack and chronic
headaches, result from long term over stimulation of part of the nervous system
that regulates the heart rate, blood pressure and digestive system. Human being
responds to stress is complex and multidimensional.

2
 Stress affects an individual at several levels especially psychologically and
emotionally. Psychological effect of stress is associated with the onset of
depression anxiety. Stress may also be the risk factor for suicide. It is difficult to
measure the quality and quantum and parameter and dimensions of stress.
However, efforts are made and studies are conducted to know the level of stress
and its causes among the people. We know that stress paralyses the human life on
account of which it is difficult for the people suffering from stress to live the normal
life. Life satisfaction and stress are inter related with each other. Industrialization,
Urbanization and orientation have brought about the social transformation.
Stress is a negative consequence of modern living. People are stressed due
to over work, job insecurity, kinds of information, over loading with work and
increase in pace of life. These events produce stress and deviation from healthy
living. In the modern world, material goods and standard of living determine
societal status of people. Gone are the days when aristocracy was based on birth
in a certain family and such aristocracy was self-fulfilling.
According to Selyle (1956); stress is defined as the pressure experienced by
a person in response to life demands. These demands are referred to as stressors
and include a range of life events, physical factors, environmental condition and
personal thoughts.
Stress is the reactions of people which have excessive pressures or other
types of demand placed on them. Work stress is explained as the adverse physical
and mental reaction that appear when the job demands do not match with the
abilities, skills, and requirements of the employees. Stress generates mental and
physical changes which are mostly harmful and sometimes the sings of
psychological or physical defects are observed.
Stress is described as a worst condition of emotions in terms of physiological
rise when people experience a negative situation in such a way that they perceive
a danger to their prosperity. Stress has a different meaning for different people
under different conditions.

3
1.1. SOURCES OF STRESS:-
1.1.1.- Frustration :
A wide range of environmental obstacles, both physical and
social, create frustration depriving us of satisfying our needs and
motives.
1.1.2.- conflicts :
Conflicts of motives and desires may also cause frustration and
stressful situations. In the choice of either alternative from the contradictory
needs, a person may be forced to postpone a decision for days, weeks or
perhaps months before, he/she decided what to do. This is essentially true
where a considerable feeling of guilt’s involved.
1.1.3.- pressure :
Apart from frustrations and conflicts, internal as well as
external pressures also prove a major source for causing stress.

i- Internal pressure: Internal pressures are caused by our own self for maintaining
the picture of ourselves as we think we could and should be. We strive hard to
reach the top to achieve success and in doing so put an unreasonable pressure on
ourselves.
ii- Environmental pressure : The environmental demands of the person that
concern us and the problems of complexities of life exert a good deal of pressure.

4
 According to Lai (1995) work and family are the two major role domains for
the adults. Studies have generally showed that stressors embedded in working or
family role are detrimental to psychological well-being. The preamble boundaries
between work and family roles induce stress spill over from one domain to the
other. There are three ways in which one’s role could be incompatible with each
other. Time spent in one role, may leave little time for other role. Husband may
feel that it is against their masculinity to perform house hold duties. Mothers feel
guilty when they are unable to take care of their family responsibilities. Despite,
most men and women are not clear about the social roles and the concept of
sharing in the family system. So life in such a situation results in work family issues
which ultimately lead to stress. We live in stressful time. We are holding down two
or more jobs. We are putting up with heavy job loads and unreasonable demands.
These stressors are the barely tolerable pressures that bring us unhappiness and
eventually diseases. Some people hardly seem to be affected by stressors but some
other people are over whelmed by a lesser number and intensity of stressors and
slide down hill, losing relationship, jobs and eventually their mental and physical
health. The physiological and psychological responses to situation or events that
disturb the equilibrium of an organism constitute stress. Stress is little consensus
among psychologist about the exact definition of stress. It is agreed that stress
results when demands placed on an organism cause unusual physical or emotional
responses. In human stress originates from a multitude of sources and causes a
wide variety of responses both positive and negative. Despite its negative
connotation, many experts believe some level of stress is essential for well-being
and mental health.
Stress is defined as the state of psychological upset or disequilibrium in
human beings caused by frustrations, conflicts and other internal as well as external
strains and pressures in second sense, stress is regarded as a class of stimuli which
threats an individual in some way and thus causes disturbance in one’s behavior.
Thus, stresses are the factors or causes that lead to maladjustment and
disorganization one’s behavior. Stress as a word mean “to draw tight” and has been
used to describe hardship, affliction, force, pressure, strain or strong effort. It has
been recognized as an external load or pressure supplied on the individual and
viewed as person’s response of the behavior.
5
 The present status of women whether working and non-working, can be
illustrated using some recent data on the working and non-working culture.
Women, have a lot of balancing to do between home, work place and balancing
between social and personal requirements. Moreover, the conflict of women will
be all the more intense if her employer, as well as her family members held
unreasonable expectations from her. Women involvement in multiple roles had a
deleterious effect on their mental as well as their physical health. Due to this a
women is constantly under stress either at home or at work place.
A housewife’s main duties are managing the family, caring for and educating
her children, cooking and storing food, buying goods, clearing and maintaining the
home, sewing clothes for the family etc. it is ironical that a women employed within
the home is referred to as a housewives, and outside the home, as working women.
In both situations, the women is working but how the women is referred to, is
based on the working place. The duty of the housewives is to take care of the day
to day chores within the home.

1.2. WORKING WOMEN:-

Working women are those who work outside the home and contribute to
family income. They are engaged in different vocations such as education, nursing,
administration, courts, factories etc. a working women knows the importance of
reading besides her job and the house hold chores. She tries her best to squeeze
out some time and gives it to reading. It helps her to know about the up to date
ideas of her job, helps her to maintain her home, family and personality. Working
women rely on the use of domestic help or on mechanical labor saving device to
aid their cooking and housekeeping chores. Working women appear to seek
solution for saving time spent in shopping; emphasis by retailers on speed of
service and home delivery service could prove on attractive selling point of them.
Working women cannot pay full attention to their home and are unable to satisfy
their family members. Working women cannot properly adjust with their married
life because they have many tasks to perform at a time.
6
Working women found themselves moving from job to job under a frequently
changing cast of bosses. Working women solve their problems; marital
maladjustment and it also help them in bringing up their children properly. A
women who earns salary, wages or other income through employment, outside the
home, is termed as working women. With globalization and improvement in
education, the literacy rate among women is increasing; this has resulted in more
women taking up employment. In India, with women increasingly taking on jobs,
the concept of the man being ‘head of the family’ is now changing. Working inside
home and outside the home are the two phases of a women’s life. Balancing work
and family life has become a major issue for women. Dealing with an increasing
amount of stress.

1.3. NON-WORKING WOMEN:-

Generally these women remain within the four walls of the home. They
do not go outside to earn livelihood. They have no contribution to the family
income. These women as called non-working women. These women can be
educated and uneducated also. Non-working women is a housewife who does in
hold any too on the home. She has a plenty of work to do such as cooking, washing,
shopping, take care of the family, looking after the children and so on. Non-working
women have more free time as compared to working women. But they do not have
interest in reading. Many of them usually waste their time in gossiping, sleeping
and kitty parties etc. the dual roles of the wife in her employment and in the home
imply that the degree of involvement in various homemaker roles such as chief
cook, mother and house keeper will differ from the non-working wife for whom
such roles are the focal point of her existence. This does not necessarily imply
rejection of homemaker roles by the working wife, but rather that she seeks other
opportunities for self-fulfillment in activities outside the home. Consequently the
time and effort devoted to homemaker roles, as well as concepts of appropriate
behavior in these roles may differ from those of the non-working wife.

7
Stimulation received from involvement in a job may also generate greater interest
in non-working wife. Motivation for working or for not working differ. Some women
work primarily from financial necessity and remain predominantly involved in
homemaker roles. Equally some non-working women solve frustration with the
domestic routine by involvement in non-paid social and charitable activities rather
than paid employment. Consequently they are open to an equally wide sphere of
contacts and relationships as working women and may have as little time or energy
to devote to house hold duties.

1.4. FAMILY:-
Family is defined as a group of persons who consider themselves stable and
are related to one another by blood, marriage, adoption or a consensual decision
to live together and providing emotional and financial support for one another. The
family can be of Joint or Nuclear type. A joint family includes the mother, father,
son, daughter, brother, sister, grandfather, grandmother, cousins is called joint
family. A joint family comprises members of the family that are related to one
another and share a common ancestry, religion and property. All the working
members of the family pool together what they earn. The idea is socialistic in
character. The joint family system is a feature of agriculturist societies. These are
in existence in countries as China and India whose economy is based on agricultural
and produce.
Collective living, collective fanning and collective share in family wealth are
the traditional features of the joint family. The joint family has a number of
advantages. However, it does not always work. When many people of different
mentality and disposition live under one common roof, negative human traits are
bound to crop up. Members then have a tendency to stress on their rights and
ignore their duties. When this kind of attitude prevails, the atmosphere is not
conductive to peace and harmony. Joint property goes hand in hand with the joint
family. When the joint family’s property is divided, the joint family gets
dismembered. Today technical skill is acquired in professional fields by training in
technical institutions. It needs not be passed on from generation to generation.
8
 A nuclear family includes only the husband, wife, unmarried children who
are not of age is called nuclear family. Quite often the persons living in nuclear
families have a feeling of insecurity. In a nuclear family a working mother tried her
best to strike a balance between service and household chores. At the same time
she tries to be a good mother and a good wife. However, the joint system may at
time prove a hindrance to individual enterprise and initiative. The majority of single
parent families are more commonly single mother family than single father. These
family face many difficult issues besides the fact that they have to rear their
children on their own, but also have to deal with issues related to low income.

9
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:-

In every study review of past studies is very important to make the

basic framework of ongoing study. It helps in laying the foundation and giving
direction to the proposed research.
Patil (2016) in a study on the stress level of working and non-working women found
that the working women had more stress than the non-working women. 90 women
out of which working (N=45) and non-working (N=45) were taken as the sample. To
measure the stress, the stress scale developed by Dr.M.Singh (2002) was used and
administrated to the subjects individually.

Shukla etal (2017) conducted a study on a stress level of working and non-working
women. They took a sample of 100 consisting of women working (N=50) and non-
working (N=50). This study revealed that working women had significantly higher
level of stress than non-working women.

Kermane (2016) conducted a study on stress among employed women and

housewives and its Management through Progressive Muscular Relaxation
Technique (PMRT) and Mindfulness Breathing. He used purposive sampling in
selecting the 100 women (50 employed and 50 unemployed. Singh’s personal stress
source inventory was used to assess the level of stress. Results revealed that the
stress level was high among the employed women in comparison to that of the
housewives. Intervention sessions of Progressive Muscular Relaxation Technique
(PMRT) and Mindfulness Breathing were provided to the experimental group of 25
employed women and no intervention was given to other 25 employed women
that is control group. After the intervention posttest significant decline in the stress
level of experimental group of employed women and no decline in the control
group was found.
10
Dibaji etal ( 2017 ) in a study on housewives and working women in the Variables
of Stress, Depression and Perception of Quantitative Mental and Emotional Home
Demands, took a sample consisting of 94 working and 94 nonworking women
through convenient sampling and administrated. Them with home demands
questionnaire. Results revealed that working women perceived more depression
and mental home demands, but no difference was found in terms of stress and
emotional home demands.

Choudhury ( 2017 ) in his study on the psychological well-being of housewives and

working women took a sample consisting of 120 women comprising housewives
(N=60) and working women (N=60) from different organizations where women are
engaged and from different houses where women are dependent on their
husbands. Data gathered through questionnaires using psychological well-being
scale. Having analyzed the data, results indicated that elderly housewives have low
level of psychological well-being in comparison to elderly working women but it is
interesting to be cited that both the elderly group of women needs to have social
and emotional support from their respective social and family institutions as
reported by them. Finally results have been discussed in detail in the light of
present changing scenario of human life and suggested that professional
psychologists, NGOs working for elderly people and family counselor may help
them for maintaining overall life satisfaction.

11
Harilal etal ( 2017 ) conducted a study on stress levels among working women and
housewives of the state of Kerala. A comparative study on the stress levels of
women in this dual role of housewives and working women becomes significant.
The study explores the stress faced by women in society. The result indicated that
the financial position of the family makes an impact on the stress levels among both
housewives and working women. Data was collected from 180 respondents, of
which 90 respondents were housewives and 90 were working women. Probability
sampling method was used to collect data from each district. General role stress
scale was used in this study. It was a self-administered questionnaire with a
respondent rate of 12 items on a 5 point scale. The stress level comparison gave an
idea about how the stress levels vary among working and non-working women. A
comparative analysis on stress level showed that there is a relationship between
stress levels of working women and housewives (P>.05). Stress levels of working
women with a mean value of 27.1667 (SD, 6.5105) and housewives with a mean
value of 24.0889 (SD, 5.6977) clearly brings out that working women in Kerala face
more stress when compared to housewives.

Maqsood etal (2019) in a study on the effect of depression among working and
non-working married women, collected data from 100 women of which 50 were
working and 50 were non-working women. It was found that working women had
more depression as compared to that of non-working women. This study further
revealed that the non-working married women had better married life and were
free from depression as compared to that of the working married women.

12
Krishna (2014) conducted a study on the factors causing stress among working
women and strategies to cope up and identify socio-economic stressors,
psychological and family relationship stressors causing stress among working
women and strategies to cope up with it. A sample of 100 respondents was chosen
on the basis of stratified random sampling technique. Statistical tools like factor
analysis and regression coefficient were used to develop ‘Structural Equation
Model’. The findings of the study revealed that under socio-economic stressors,
unexpected guests, followed by absence of domestic help, caused major stress
among working women. Similarly being perfectionist with unnecessary worries, it
caused psychological set back among working women.

Bhattacharjee (1983) studied on family adjustment taking 70 married working and

70 non-working women using a specially developed adjustment inventory, a health
status questionnaire and a neuroticism scale in the result no significant difference
in adjustment or neuroticism was found between the working and non-working
women. Any difference found on the incomplete sentences was a measure of
psychological conflicts. It was concluded that a women’s adjustment, whether
employed or not, is a function of her own personality traits, expectations, and
perceptions combined with those of her spouse and family members. The findings
revealed that working women had more stress than non-working women.

13
Hanshmi (2007) conducted a study to determine the marital adjustment, stress and
depression among working and non-working married women. Sample of the study
consisted of 150 women (75 working and 75 non-working). Their education was at
least graduation and above and they belonged to middle and high socio-economic
status. Results indicated highly significant relationship between marital
adjustment, depression and stress. The results showed that working married
women had to face more problems in their married life as compared to that of the
non-working married women. The results further revealed that highly educated
working and non-working married women performed well in their married life and
were free from depression as compared to their un-educated counter parts.

Khanna (1992) conducted a study to determine life stress among working and non-
working women on the measures of their anxiety and depression. Here the sample
(N=406) relating to both working and non-working women was selected from
different locations like Jalandar and Simla of India. Correlation analysis revealed
that: 1- anxiety was significantly and positively related to positive life change in
working women’s and negative life changes in non-working women. The result
suggested that working women positive life changes are related to depression,
where as non-working women’s, positive life changes were related to anxiety, and
negative life changes to depression.

14
Shirin (2002) studied on the impact of work on mother’s health in Tehran (Iran)
within a role analytic framework. A survey was conducted of a representative
sample of working and non-working mothers in Tehran in 1998 (N=1065). Three
main explanatory factors were examined alongside a range of mental and physical
health outcome variables. Unlike the West, where women’s paid work is generally
associated with better health; statistically significant differences between working
and non-working women were not found in Tehran.

Durai (2012) found that stress at work can be a real problem to the organization as
well as for its workers. In the workplace and at home, factors such as job insecurity,
long hours, continuous changes and unrealistic deadlines can cause serious
problem for workers leading to stress. The aim and goal of the paper was to know
the various factors that stimulate stress level among women teachers in college
level. Workplace stress occurs when there are an imbalance in the demands and
perceived pressures of the work environment and an individual ability to cope. An
individual’s experience of stress at work is to a large extent affected by the level of
control they have over their working condition, pressures, the degree of support
they receive from others in the workplace and the strategies they use to respond
to work pressures.

Deepthi (2015) discussed coping strategy of stress in employed and non-employed

women. They observed that employed women use self-distraction technique
(surprisingly effective technique for changing mood) more as coping strategy
compared to non-employed women. He concluded that married women
employees experience work family conflict due to the number of hours worked
outside the home, flexible or inflexible working hours, size of the family and
number of dependents of the family. These factors had severe consequences for
the psychological distress and well-being of married working women.

15
Praveen (2009) investigated occupational stress experienced by working married
and unmarried women of Hydrabad city. A sample of 180 working was taken out of
which 90 were married and 90 were unmarried. These two groups were analyzed
by using organizational stress scaled five point like scale. It was found that
unmarried working women experienced low stress as compared to married
women. It was concluded that household responsibilities, marital adjustment, child
caring issues, and family relationship are the sources of stress for married working
women.

Shashi (2014) conducted a study on the life satisfaction and stress level among
working and non-working women. A sample of 200 women ( 100 working women
and 100 non-working women ) was drawn randomly from the population. Life
satisfaction scale by Alam and Srivastava (1996) and stress scale by Singh (2004)
were used for data collection. Mean, standard deviation, t-test and correlation
were the statistics calculated. The results indicated that there was significant
difference regarding life satisfaction and stress between working and non-working
women. Results revealed that working and non-working women differed
significantly on their life satisfaction (t=5.52). Working women were more satisfied
with their life but on stress scale ono-working women have higher level stress as
compared to working women. A significant negative relationship was found
between life satisfaction and stress level.

Mona etal (2017) conducted a study on comparative stress level management

among women teachers in higher education and housewives. The sample consisted
of 248 women teachers and housewives from Western Vidharbh Region consisting
of five districts:- Amravati, Akola, Buldhana, Washim, and Yavatmal. The self-
administered questionnaire was used to asses the stress management of the
respondents. The result revealed that there was significant difference in stress
managed by women teachers in higher education and housewives thus, rejecting
the null hypothesis. The respondents have however, suggested some measures for
managing stress and develop healthy attitude for leading better lives and voiding
outcomes on this accounts.
16
Balaji etal (2013) conducted a study on comparative depression among working
and non-working women in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The sample of 618 women
out of which working women (N=309) and non-working women (N=309) was taken.
This study revealed that working women had significantly higher level of stress than
non-working women.

Pawan (2017) conducted a study on stress among working and non-working

women in relation to their family type. A sample consisting of 50 women
comprising of 25 housewives and 25 working women was taken. The participants
was taken from different organizations where women are engaged and from
different houses where women are dependent on their husbands. The result found
that working women had more stress that than of the non-working women.

Johny (2019) conducted a comparative study to assess the level of stress among
working and non-working women. Stress refers to any environment, organization
and individual on internet demands, which require the individual to read just the
usual behavior pattern. Stimuli that can result in the experience of stress are called
stressors. The sample comprised of 60 women (30 working and 30 non-working).
The study concluded that there was significant difference between the levels of
stress among working and non-working women. It further revealed that working
women needed to have guidance on effective stress management measures.

17
Gupta etal (2016) in their study on stress of working and non-working women
investigated its effect on different age levels. The sample consisted of 60 young
women (30 working and 30 non-working ) of 25 to 35 years and 45 to 55 years age
groups. A two variety 2.2 factorial design was used with two levels of working status
and two levels of age. Stress level was measured by personal source inventory
developed by Arun Kumar Singh (2004). In the result it was observed that working
status has a positive effect on the mental health of women. The stress level of non-
working women was higher than that of working women. It is usually assumed that
stressful situation at workplace disturb mental peace and increases the level of
stress. The result reveals that when both working and non-working women are
young then both are having same level of stress, but as their age increases non-
working women mostly remain restricted to home and working women’s
experience of exposure to outer world increases they reach to old age, non-working
women’s level of stress increases and working women’s level of stress decreases.
It shows that at old age, non-working women’s level of stress increase and working
women’s level of stress decreases.

3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:-

The present research endeavor is significant in many aspects. In the
previous studies as mentioned in this review of literature, conflicting findings are
revealed. In some studies stress level of working women are more because of their
dual roles in life. Similarly, the non-working women also have their domestic stress
in the face of their so many domestic problems. Hence to know who is more
stressed, it became relevant to examine the stress level of working and non-
working women. This study will be a significant attempt and beneficial to the
women who suffer more stress and depression. Realizing the fact, hypotheses are
formulated to compare among the working and non-working women.

18
4. RESEARCH DESIGN:-
The sample consisting of 60 women (30 working women and 30 non-
working women), randomly selected from the elementary occupational sector of
Bhubaneswar, Khurda district, was taken for the study. After taking due consent
from the employer, the working women were administered with the stress
questionnaire. Similarly non-working housewives from the neighboring areas was
also tested alike. Their response scores from the test were recorded and analyzed
statistically.

5. OBECTIVE OF THE STUDY:-

The present project work involved the following objective.
(i) To assess and compare the level of stress among working and non-
working women.

6. HYPOTHESIS:-
The present study involves the following hypothesis.
(i) There will be significant difference in the level of stress among working
and non-working women.

19
7. METHODLOGY OF THE STUDY:-
The study was based on primary data collected from the participant’s
responses to the given questionnaire. Different online journals were also reviewed
and also relevant informations, collected from library and other sources to help
analyze the result.

7.1. SAMPLE:-
The sample of the present study consisted of 30 working and 30 non-working
women from unit-8, nayapalli colony of Bhubaneswar city, randomly selected from
among many other working and non-working members of the colony. As far as the
age was concerned, the women were selected within 26-40 years of age.

7.2. TOOLS:-
A structured questionnaire, named as Perceived Stress Scale of Sheldon Cohen
(1998) was used for collecting responses from the participant’s. The questionnaire
involved Perceived Stress Scale having 10 number of response varieties. Perceived
Stress Scale score are obtained by reversing responses. Each question are involves
5 point alternative data analysis.

7.3. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF DATA:-

The responses made by the participant’s on the questionnaire is taken as
the raw data and appended at page-28. The data having been statistically analyzed
with respect to the mean and standard deviation are presented as result table -1
at page-21. The graph indicating the difference in Mean stress scores is presented
at page-22. The result indicating significance of mean difference (‘t’ score) is
presented as table-2 at page-23.

20
8. TABLUAR PRESENTAION:-

TABLE 1: Mean and Standard deviation of stress scores of working and non-
working women.
LEVEL OF STRESS
MEAN STANDARD DEVIATION

WORKING WOMEN 34.96 13.89

NON-WORKING WOMEN 27.4 14.31

From the above table it has been found that the mean stress scores of working and
non-working women are 34.96 and 27.4 respectively. Likewise, the standard
deviation of working women was 13.89 where as it was 14.31 for the non-working
women. The difference in means revealed that working women had more stress
scores than that of the non-working women.

21
 GRAPH
40

35

30
( mean Scores )

25

20

15

10

0
Working women Non-working women
( Comparision of stress level of Working Women and Non-working Women )

From the graph above, it is evident that the stress level of the Working women is
more than that of the Non-working women.

22
TABLE-2 : Results of t-test on the Stress score of Working and Non-working women.
MEAN SD t- TEST DF
WORKING <.0001
WOMEN
34.96 13.89
7.8 58 P
NON-WORKING <.0001
WOMEN
27.4 14.31

The ‘t’ value as seen above is 7.8. This is found to be at .01 level.

9. RESULT AND DISCUSION:-

In the result it as seen at page-21, the means of stress level of working and non-
working women were 34.96 and 27.4 respectably. From this it is evident that
working women had more stress. The graph at page-22 also clearly signify the
difference between the working and non-working groups. The ‘t’ test table at page-
23 indicated that the ‘t’ value as 7.8 which is very highly significant (p>.01). From
these results it is evident that stressed women had significantly higher level of
stress in comparison to their non-working counterparts. All the subjects were in the
age range of 26-40 years and are qualified graduates belonging to Nayalpalli, an
urban area in Bhubaneswar city. All the subject participant’s had stress as indicated
in their response scores, however the women belonging to the working group had
specifically higher level of stress as compare to their non-working counter parts.

23
10. CONCLUSION:-
As discussed above, it is evident that the stress level of working women is
higher in comparison to non-working women. There is significant difference in the
stress level among working and non-working women. This supports the hypothesis
that there would be more stress in the working group. The working women are
having more stress. This may be due to so many factors and affects the working
women in their date to date life. The depression level is usually higher in which
may be caused by family problems, SES factors and other allied social factors.
Looking into the findings and the present scenario as hole, it may be suggested to
take up suitable initiatives and implement the health policy towards family, and
workplace counselling services may also be rendered the overcome to overcome
depression of working women and improve their quality of life.

11. REFERENCE:-
Muddanagouda Patil (2016)- “Study on the stress level of working women and non-
working women”. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, ISSN 2348-5396
(e) | ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) Volume-3, Issue-2.

Shruti Shukla, Mamta Jaiswal, Kiran Agrahari and Archana Shingh (2017)- “Stress
level among working and non-working women”. International Journal of Home
Science; 3(1): 349-357.

Muntazir Maqbool Kermane (2016)- “Stress among employed women and

housewives and its Management through Progressive Muscular Relaxation
Technique (PMRT) and Mindfulness Breathing. Department of psychology H.N.B
Garhwal Central University Garhwal Uttarakhand, India.

24
Sayyed Meysam Dibaji, Sayyed Hamid Reza Oreyzi and mohammad Reza Abedi
(2017)- “Study on housewives and working women in the variables of stress”.
Review of European studies; vol.9, No.2, ISSN 1918-7173, E-ISSN- 1918-7181,
published by Canadia Center of Science and education.

Lakhshmi Choudhary (2017)- “The psychological well-being of housewives and

working women”. International Journal of human Resource and Industrial Research
( IJHRIR ), vol.4, Issue 2, pp 08-15, ISSN:2349-3593, ISSN: 2349-4816.

Harilal A and Santhosh VA (2017)- “Stress level among working women and
housewives of the state of Kerala”. NMIMS Journal of Economics and Public Policy
(JEPP), volume ii, issue 1.

Zeeshan Maqsood, Rahila Akhtar and Humaira Latif (2019)- “The effect of
depression among working and non-working women“. Department of statistics,
University of Sialkot, Pakistan, department of quantitative methods, university of
management and technology, Lahore, Pakistan.

Latha Krishnan (2014)- “The factors causing stress among working women and
strategies to cope up and identified social-economic stressors, psychological and
family and relationship stressors causing stress among working women and
strategies to cope up with it“. IOSR Journal of Business and Management (IOSR-
JBM), e-ISSN: 2278-487X, p-ISSN: 2319-7668. Volume 16, issue 5. Ver.V, pp-12-17.

Swati Chhabra (2017)- “Stress among working women: Maintaining Balance as

housewives or Productive Employees”. Asst. prof, PMN college, Rajpura
International Journal. ISSN 2394-840X, Volume-3, issue 3.

25
Bhattacharjee, Pratima, Bhatt, K.kusum (1983)- “Study on family adjustment of
married working and non-working women specially developed adjustment
inventory“. Family adjustment of married working and non-working women. Indian
Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol.10 (2). 497-501.

Hashmi Ahmed Hina (2007)- “Determine the marital adjustment, stress and
depression among working and non-working married women”.

Khanna. S (1992)- “A study to determine life stress among working and non-
working women relating to their anxiety and depression”.

Shirin Ahmad and Nia (2002)- “The impact of work on mother’s health in Tehran
(Iran) within a role analytic framework”.

Dr.J.Vija Yadurai, MR.S.Venkatesh (2012)- “Stress at work can be a real problem to

the organization as well as for its workers“. Volume-5, issue-2.

Deepthi Dhurandher, Gaukaran Janghel (2016)- “Strategy of stress in employed

women and in non-wmployed women“. International Journal of Computational
Engineering and Management (IJCEM), vol-19(4), ISSN- 2230-7893.

Praveen (2009)- “Occupational stress experienced by working and non-working

women of hydrabad city”.

26
Shashi (2014)- “The life satisfaction and stress level among working and non-
working women”.

Mona (2017)- “Comparative stress level management among women teacher’s in

higher education and housewives”.

Balaji (2013)- “Comparative depression among working and non-working women

in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India”.

Pawan Kumar (2017)- “Stress among working and non-working women in relation
to their family type“. UGC Approval no.-42652, ISSN-print-2231-3613, International
Educational Journal. Associate Professor Department of Education, Guru Nanak,
college of education Daleswal, Hashiarpur, Panjab.

Johny Kutty Joseph (2019) “A comparative study to assess the level of stress among
working and non-working women“. International Journal of Recent Scientific
Research, Vol-10, Issue, 04 (G).

Tapesh Chandra Gupta and Neelima Gupta (2016)- “Stress of working and non-
working women investigated its effect on different age levels“. International
Journal of Core Engineering and Management (IJCEM), volume-3, issue-8, ISSN No.
: 2348-9510.

27
APPENDICE-I
APPENDICE-II
 WORKING WOMEN
SL NO. NAME AGE SCORE
1 BHARATI MALIK 38 40
2 NANDIN DAS 31 31
3 PUJARANI SAMANTASINGHAR 34 35
4 BIJAYALAXMI SAHOO 36 36
5 SARMISTA SAHOO 28 39
6 PRANGYA NAYAK 29 40
7 MANASI JENA 36 30
8 SUBHALAXMI PRADHAN 30 31
9 SANJUKTA PRADHAN 38 33
10 SUPRIYA DAS 31 34
11 SUSMATI SAHOO 28 35
12 P. PUJA 27 37
13 SUJATA BEHERA 29 36
14 SUMATI MALLIK 37 31
15 RUNUBALA PANDA 34 40
16 ALAKA HOTA 39 32
17 TAPASWINI RATH 27 28
18 SAIPRIYA NAYAK 26 27
19 SUCHITRA SAHOO 33 33
20 MANAJULATA NAIK 39 33
21 CHIRASMITA NAIK 27 37
22 LAXMI DALEI 27 38
23 SASMITA SAHOO 26 40
24 MANIMALA JENA 36 31
25 SANTILATA SWAIN 28 36
26 BIKALI DAS 38 34
27 MALATI MALLICK 39 38
28 MAMATA SAHOO 32 39
29 NIHARIKA PANDA 28 39
30 NAMITA MALLICK 26 36
TOTAL SCORES= 1049

30
 NON-WORKING WOMEN
SL NO. NAME AGE SCORE
1 ARCHANA SAMAL 29 22
2 ANKITA MOHAPATRA 30 28
3 BIJAYALAXMI BALABANTARAY 34 28
4 BARSA ROUT 37 33
5 BEBILATA PALATASINGH 29 30
6 BHAGYALATA SAHU 38 27
7 SUCHITRA NANDA 30 29
8 DIPIKA BEHERA 29 31
9 JOGAMAYA MNTRI 31 22
10 KABITA SAHOO 34 30
11 LAXMIPRIYA SWAIN 30 32
12 LIPSHA PATTANAIK 35 27
13 MADHUSMITA ROUT 30 29
14 MITALI MOHANTY 29 21
15 MONALISHA BEHERA 27 30
16 RADHIKA MISHRA 36 28
17 SUNITA BEHERA 29 25
18 ROJALIN DAS 27 23
19 RAJALAXMI PATRA 31 28
20 PRAVATI NAYAK 33 31
21 SUNITA BARAL 38 32
22 SAGARIKA BEHERA 31 21
23 SARUJBALA SAHOO 39 22
24 BINATI MOHANTY 29 26
25 BISHNUPRIYA SWAIN 28 29
26 DEEPTI PANDA 35 26
27 JYOTI MAHAPATRA 33 35
28 KALYANI PANDA 27 32
29 MOUSUMI MOHANTY 33 33
30 NIBEDITA TRIPATHY 38 22
TOTAL SCORES= 822

31