REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE

TAGUDIN, ILOCOS SUR
TAGUDIN CAMPUS

“EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ON EMPLOYEE

PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR HIGHSCHOOL TEACHERS IN TAGUDIN
NATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL”

A Research Study
Presented to the
Faculty of College of Business Management and Entrepreneurship
Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College
Tagudin, Ilocos Sur

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the

Subject Research

Proponents
Aguilar, Wowie J.
Arquio, Roshel Joy
Garcia, Leslie Ann

April 2023
 CHAPTER 1

I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Organizations cannot perform better and achieve its objectives if there is a bad

relationship between employees and employer, therefore it is very important for

managers to create and maintain per good relationship with their employees. Effective

employee and management relationship is vital to the workplace whether at the time

of recruitment, during an employees' tenure or at the time of separation (Rose, 2008).

Good employer-employee relations is essential to the organization because it

inspires employees to work better and produce more results (Burns, 2012). The

application of human relations in managing human resource is critical in today's

business competitive environment (Christen et al., 2006). Factors such as job

satisfaction is achieved when highly there is a great working relationship between

labour and management (Boyle, 2006).

Organizations can have competent, qualified and motivated employees but if

there is no peace and harmony at the workplace their small performance will be in

danger. Because the relationship between the employer and the employee is very

crucial, tratified employers need to pay attention to this relationship it of 387 they

want their businesses to grow and succeed (Bhattacharya, 2008) and that firms should

actively seek good employee relations whether or not they are bound by union

contracts (Pearce and Robinson (2009).

Organizations need employees who can peacefully work good together

towards the achievement of the set objectives and goals, and this can only be achieved

if there is a good employee relations in the organization as the objectives of employee

relationship is to achieve harmonious employee relations and minimize conflict

practices in employment (Torrington & Hall, 1998).

The employee is a very vital asset in an organization and the most important

in performing the organizational process and achieving organizational goals.

However, the challenge of every organization is how to optimize employee

performance. Employee performance is defined as “the level of access of employees

in carrying out their duties and responsibilities” (Rachmaliya & Effendy, 2017 42)

Employee performance is key in determining the achievement of organizational

goals; therefore organizations look for ways to motivate their employees in give their

best performance on the h Although the topic of employee performance has been

comprehensively explored in the western context, there has been very little research

on task performance of employees in the Nigerian context Available management

literature shows that research on the prediction of employee task performance focuses

more on the direct effects of various types of single variables (Sung & Choi, 2012).

Among the human resources management procedures available, enriching

work-life balance has been well-dought-out as one of the major high performance

HRM practices that increasingly promotes the enhancement of employee performance

(Hyde, Sparrow. Boaden& Harris, 2003) Traditionally, human resource practitioners”

approach to improving performance was evaluation of previous performance and

allocation of reward in exchange for improved performance Bowever, this does not

take into consideration the intrinsic interests of employees who do the work, hence it

is no longer sufficient. In recent times, organizational policies are aimed at creating a

conducive environment for motivating employees both through internal and external
means in order to improve and increase performance According to Thevanes and

Mangaleswar (2018), organizations are focusing on employing several high

performance human relations measures and action plans to boost employee

performance and work life balance is an important tool in this regard. The impact of

work-life balance on employee performance and on the general success of any

organization not be overemphasized According to regu Onyeiughe and

Chukwuemeka (2015), the individual is an integral part of the family in particular and

the society in general, therefore, work life balance is an important phenomenon and is

of great concern to both private and public sector organizations. The ability of an

employee to have a satisfactory fit between his job and other roles is a very crucial

factor in determining of performance on the job Work-life balance policies are key

factors for the success of an organization that depends on its employees for the

achievement of organizational goals. Kick, Liri and Valcour (2013:301) define work

life balance as “satisfaction and perceptions of success in meeting work and non-wark

mle demands, low levels of conflict among roles and opportunity for inter-role

enrichment.” The concept in this context is not restricted to prioritizing work and

personal fife aisles of employers hut ab includes how it affects employees’

psychological, economic and mental wellbeing.

Many studies (eg. Koni & Krull, 2018, Sanchez. 2019, Shohuni et al. 2015)

have proved the fact that experienced and novice teachers possibly have differed in

the way they deal with pedagogical practices in terms of CMS Sanchez (2019) firmly

states that novice teachers have a tendency to behave in a highly directive and

obstructive way. They are likely to be tolerant, socialize with students, and share
 responsibility. By contrast, experienced teachers preferably employ a directive

behavior during the course of their presence of in-class performance. In some

circumstances, experienced teachers force their students to strictly comply with the

classroom regulations by seriously punishing disruptive students, using timeout

procedures, or redirecting the attention of the class (Farzaneh & Yonica, 2015).

Sánchez (2019) points our that experienced teachers seem to be more careful and

complicated in addressing student concerns, whereas novice teachers have a

superficial and easy-going approach to deal with the same student problem. In other

words, experienced teachers tend to be more sensitive to the task requirements and

social events in case of coping with pedagogical problems. Experienced teachers, to

some extent, seem to be more opportunistic and flexible in their teaching than novice

teachers are (Jean-Louis et al., 2018), Besides, experienced teachers possess

accumulatively fist and accurate pattern-recognition abilities, while novice teachers

possibly have difficulties in figuring out ways to solve pedagogical challenges (Alpay

& Dilar, 2016).

The purpose of the study is to ascertain how senior high school teachers

between novice and experienced at Tagudin National High School respond to the

effect of Employee Relations on Employee Performance.

II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

1. Classical Industrial Relations Theory (1890s to 1980s)

 Questions of labor and its relations have long been central to the study of

political economy. from Adam Smith's analysis of the division of labor to Karl Marx's

theorization of the relationship between labor and capital. These and other scholars

developed frameworks to explain the institutional and social evolution of employment

within capitalist economies. The foundation of what is generally considered classical

industrial relations theory, however, occurred at the outset of the twentieth century,

led by John R. Commons in the United States and Sidney and Beatrice Webb in the

United Kingdom. Commons (1909) theorized that the institutions of labor and

representation by unions expanded in response to the expansion of product markets

due to advances in transportation technology. Commons also emphasized the role of

public policy in regulating the labor market. During the same era, the Webbs (1897)

developed their theories of the methods by which organized labor furthered its goals

-- through collective bargaining, legal enactment, and mutual insurance. These and

subsequent industrial relations scholars developed an analysis of labor problems that

provided an alternative both to the emphasis on unconstrained free markets in

classical economic theory and to the rejection of the legitimacy of business interests

in Marxist theory (Kaufman 1993).

The height of classical industrial relations theory's influence on public policy

came in the mid- twentieth century, during a period of expanded union representation,

broad collective bargaining. and institutionalization of labor and management

interests. The dominance of pluralistic industrial relations theory reached its height

with the work of Dunlop (1958), who in Industrial Relations Systems posited a model

of industrial relations based on stable collective bargaining and conflict resolution

underpinned by a common normative framework. The acceptance of this framework

by labor, employers, and government would bring stability to the system even in the

absence of the formal tripartite institutions developed in many European countries.

The confidence in the intellectual and policy primacy of this perspective was

embodied in Kerr. Dunlop, Harbison, and Myer's Industrialism and Industrial Man

(1960), which envisioned collective bargaining spreading world-wide as the

foundation of stable industrial relations systems in industrialized countries.

These ideas were dominant in the field through the 1970s in the U.S. and in

the U.K., with Flanders (1970) and other scholars further developing arguments that

the reconciliation of conflicting labor and employer interests were central to industrial

relations. At the same time, pluralism did not achieve complete disciplinary

dominance, though, with important challenges coming from Marxist industrial

relations theorists such as Hyman (1975) in the U.K. and related labor process

(Braverman 1974) and critical (Stone 1974) theorists in the U.S.

Classical industrial relations theory faced a more fundamental challenge in the

1980s as stable systems of collective bargaining began to break down. In the U.S.,

empirical evidence of change mounted, with declining rates of union representation

and collective bargaining coverage, disruption of stable bargaining relationships,

shifting patterns of production, and a growing public policy hostility to labor

interests. The field's reassessment of its founding paradigm reached an apotheosis in

Kochan, Katz, and McKersie's classic 1986 work, The Transformation of American

Industrial Relations. Their Transformation approach emphasized the importance of

strategic choices of the parties at multiple levels of interaction. Employers had

increasingly bypassed previously stable patterns of collective bargaining,

demonstrating that the common normative framework posited by Dunlop no longer

existed, if it ever really did. The transformation perspective also broke with previous

theory by emphasizing the increasing role of employers as the dominant actors in

industrial relations. This was not a normative but rather an analytical and empirically-

based argument that industrial relations had moved away from a period of balanced

labor and employer power, due to a systematic and structural decline in labor power.

2. Post-Transformation Employment Relations Theory (1980s to early 2000s)

Although transformation theory provoked much debate and criticism when it

was first put forward, the trends it identified continued and became increasingly

dominant. In subsequent years, the key question became less how to maintain the

previous collective bargaining system and instead how to understand the changes that

were occurring, and thus to construct a new agenda for policy and practice. This shift

in focus is reflected in changing nomenclature in the field from "industrial relations to

'labor and employment relations", along with aspirations to develop a more generally

applicable body of employment relations theory for the present era. This special issue

is an effort to contribute to this project.

Two broad research streams developed between the 1980s and early 2000s.

The first focused on understanding changing "post-transformation' employer

strategies. This research stream had a particular focus on how new approaches to

work organization, human resource management and dispute resolution affected

worker voice and distributive outcomes. The second stream focused on how unions

could successfully organize and mobilize the workforce at a time of declining

 institutional power and growing employer opposition. The central concern in this

stream was the future of the labor movement; particularly its capacity to 'revitalize

and serve as an effective source of countervailing power in the employment

relationship. While many of the same researchers contributed to both streams, each

placed a different analytical focus on employer or labor strategies and actions. Both

streams also continued to develop through an ongoing debate between pluralist and

radical or critical perspectives.

III. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Employees are considered to be an asset to the organization. Therefore,

Employee performance, satisfaction, and Human capital are coined as the contributor

to organizational performance (Hensen and Deimler, 2001; Shore and Martin, 1989;

Mowdey et. al. 2003; Bontis and Serenko, 2007). It becomes crucial for an

organization to look for socially responsible activities pertained to employee well

being. Newman et al. (2014) stress on prevailing rapid environment where the cost of

employee turnover has been high. Therefore, organizations are striving hard to

engage in such activities where they can mitigate the risk of high employee turnover,

and eventually, they can retain their employees for reciprocating the human capital

for better organizational performance.

All the variables in the above framework are inter-related. None of the

variable acts as an independent variable as the commitment of one depends on the

other. All five variables, i.e., employee performance, human capital, employee

commitment, employee satisfaction, and Socially Responsible HRM, directly relate to

 organizational performance. So for the growth of an organization, it is necessary to

study the relationship between all the employee-related variables individually with

Socially Responsible HRM and study their relationship cycle. This conceptual

framework depicts that for organizational performance, employee performance is

vital. For employee performance, SRHRM will perform as a crucial part. SRHRM

leads to employee satisfaction, which positively affects employee commitment and

paves the path for human capital. And this whole process contributes to

organizational performance.

IV. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Studies have shown that there is a relationship between positive employee

relations and employee engagement in enhancing organizational performance.

Organizational performance is positively related to the effective relations that exist

between employees (Crim & Seijts, 2006). As a result of that he stressed that the need

for employees to properly connect with their co-employees. Osborne and Hammoud

(2017), succinctly added that a lower employee engagement in an organization can be

as a result of the negative work environment.

Employee Relations is a set of organizational functions and practices that

deals with issues related to people as staffing, compensation and benefits,

performance management, organization development, health and safety,

communication, and administration (Som, 2015).

The concept of employee relations has attracted scholarly definitions since its

inception in the 20th century. Employee relations are concerned with creating an
enabling work environment for a pleasant interpersonal relationship in the

organization which gears towards the effective promotion of the organization’s goals

and objectives. Donohoe (2015) defines employee relations as the study of the

relationship that exists between employees. Basically, effective employee relations

place a high premium on the human element in the organization, which results in

higher employee engagement, motivation, and improved productivity. Considering

the strategic role of employee relations in organizations. Yongcai (2010) posits that

employee relations are a specialized discipline in human resource development and

management. Jing (2013) further buttresses that employee relations are the

organization’s concerted effort in adopting several mechanisms to regulate

relationships among employees toward the achievement of the organization's goals.

Pareek and Rai (2012) maintained that effective employee relations

management in an organization enhances employee confidence, trust and loyalty. To

buttress the assertion, it is noted that trust and loyalty are earned by an employee

through open communication, regular feed-back system and the delegation of duties

to the staff (Janssens et al., 2003). The inability of an employee to build trust and

respect in their co-employees will eventually affects the relationship negatively.

According to Nikoloski et al. (2014) employee relations is concerned with the

provision of information with regards to the objectives of the organization so that

they have a clear understanding of the direction of management.

Moreover, effective employee relations focus also on creating an open-door

system in the organization where employees can freely express their grievances,

initiate ideas, suggestions without fear of intimidation and suppression. Ultimately,

the sense of belonging and a high self-esteem is built in the employees. According to

Janssen et al. (2003) research has shown that every employee has innate desire to be

treated with respect, dignity and with fairness. Bhattacharya et al. (2008) posit that

the expectation of employers to effectively manage employee relations is to enhance

employee morale and productivity.

Lewis et al (2003) explained that employee relations suggest a wider

employment canvas being covered with equal importance attached to non-union

employment arrangements and white-collar jobs. Armstrong (2005) observed that

employee relations is to manage the relationship between employer and employees

with the ultimate objectivity of achieving the optimum level of productivity in terms

of goods and services, employee motivation taking preventive measures to resolve

problems that adversely affect the working environment.

Walton (1985) narrated that the unitary viewpoint of employee relations is the

belief that management and employees share the same concerns and it is therefore in

both their interests to cooperate. Perkins and Shortland (2006) advocated that

employee relations are concerned with the social economic relationship that forms

and revolves around a contract between the parties to perform work in return for

employment benefits such as remuneration.

Clarke (2001) commented that effective employee relationship management

requires cooperation between employees, that good relationship between employees

do not just happen but they are the result of a strategy and activities that employee

relations design to improve communication between employees and management

(Mayhew, 1985). George and Jones (2008) said that employee relations involve the
communication and relationships that in the end contribute to satisfactory

productivity, job satisfaction, motivation and morale of the employees. Consequently,

Foot and Hook (2008) highlighted that the right of employee relationship is to control

work performance, integrate employee in the organization’s structure and

management system and create a mutual trust environment, confidence and supply of

enough and reasonable work while employees obey lawful and reasonable orders,

maintain fidelity and work with due diligence and care.

Gomez-Mejia et al (2001) argued that for organizational members to perceive

employee relations management practices positively, the organizational leadership

needs to put emphasis on gaining support from employees, having mutual trust and

confidence building, allowing freedom of association, improving career and salary

tracks, retirement, benefits, and retaining measures. Pearce and Robinson (2009)

observed that organizations should strive to satisfy their employees with good pay,

good supervision and good stimulating work. Mayhew (1985) inferred that best

employee relationship management practices incorporate labor and employment laws,

resource fulness and human resource expertise in developing practices that improve

working relationships.

Purcell and Ahlstrand (1994) insisted on the need of the existence of a

distinctive set of written guiding principles which set parameters to and signposts for

management action regarding the way employees are treated and how particular

events are handled. Lewis et al (2003) contended that it is good to involve employees

direct in decisions that go beyond their immediate work tasks and given opportunity

to control their work situation in a manner that benefits the organization also to have
a managerial policy where employees and employers share goals and agree on the

means to achieve them, their involvement is very important because participation in

goal setting has been found relating to acceptance and subsequent commitment to the

established goals which leads to favorable outcomes in terms of performance and

attitudes (Harzing & Ruysseveldt, 2004).

According to Shweitzer and Lyons (2008) factors that lead to good employee

relations in the organization include employee empowerment and involvement,

initiating employee suggestions, conflict management and grievance redress

measures, facilitating collective bargaining, expertize training and development,

encouraging teamwork and transparency in communicating.

Ivancevich (2001) supported that employee empowerment improves employee

relations because it contributes directly to organizational objectives by increasing

skill sets and granting authority.

Kovach (1995) focused on the need of effective communication that it is one

of the most important factors which either improves or spoils the relationship among

employees, employees with open lines of communication are more likely to build

effective work relationships with those managers, increase their organizational

identification and enhance their performance which at last contributes to organization

productivity (Tsai et al., 2009).

The effects of Employee Relations on Employee Performance cited above

focused on the perception of employee relations and factors leading to effective

employee relations in the organization. However, no research has been done on the
 subject of Effects of Employee Relations on Employee Performance of Senior High

School Teachers at Tagudin National High School. It is hoped that the present study

will offer insights for future research.

response system of human body for a long time and this response
called “Generalized Stress
Response”response system of human body for a long time and this
response called “Generalized Stress Response”. (Bickford, 200
V. PROBLEM AREA

The purpose of the study is to ascertain how senior high school teachers

between novice and experienced at Tagudin National High School respond to the

effect of Employee Relations on Employee Performance.

Research Question:

How do the senior high school of tagudin national highschool novice and

experienced teachers engage with one another?

Assumption:

The researchers were guided by the following assumption.

1. Teachers, both novice and experienced, worry about issues including

authority, their differences on knowledge particularly on various aspects of classroom

management.

2. Experienced and novice teachers help each other by exchanging ideas on

personal teaching and external influences

VI. IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

VII. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Employees. A person employed for wages or salary, especially at

nonexecutive level.

Coping Mechanism. Is refers to the specific efforts, both-behavioral and

psychological, social and spiritual that people employ in order to master, to tolerate or

to minimize stressful events.

Mental Health. Is the state of well-being in which every individual realizes

his or her own potential, can cope up with normal stresses of life, can work

productively, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.

 CHAPTER 2

METHOD AND PROCEDURES

This chapter discuss the procedure that will be done by the researcher to attain
the data to be needed. This will discuss the methodology that will attempt to present
some of the specific tools and experience that will use to inform the design of the
research and the development of clarification and understanding. It covers the
discussion of the Methodology, Research Design, Locale and Population of the Study,
Instrument and Data Collection, Tool for Data Analysis, and Ethical Consideration.

Methodology

A qualitative research approach was chosen as the methodology because this

focuses on obtaining data through open-ended and conversational communication.
Qualitative research is based on disciplines of social sciences like psychology,
sociology, and anthropology. Therefore, the qualitative research methods allow for
in-depth and further probing and questioning of respondents based on their responses,
where the researchers also try to understand their motivation and feelings.
Understanding how respondents takes decisions can help drive conclusions in market
research. Qualitative research is designed in a manner that help reveal the behavior
 and perception of a target audience with the reference to a particular topic. The study
is all about the different coping mechanism of employees with regards to mental
health. The researcher thought that this is the appropriate methodology to use because
it involves interpretation and understanding on data gathered through the use of in-
depth interviews and more descriptive and the interferences can be drawn quite easily
from the data that is obtained. The next paragraphs outline a detailed justification for
selecting the specific approaches and methods.

Research Design

Study Site

a. The study will be conduct in the Local Government Unit of Municipality of Tagudin,
Ilocos Sur. It 2nd class municipality in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. The
researchers chose LGU Tagudin for the purpose of boosting mental health amid the
prevailing corona vairus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. Moreover, the LGU Tagudin need
to help to immediately attend to mental health concerns and institutionalizing mental
health services for their employees and as to their organization.
b. Selection of Participants

The participants of the study are the employees of Local Government Unit of
Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. The participants are selected through random sampling because
it allows all the units in the population to have an equal chance of being selected.

Data Measure

The data collecting method and instruments are needed to get data in the
research. According to Ary (2010) in most qualitative studies, data collection and data
analysis take place simultaneously. In other words, the researcher could start to make
interpretation before all the data collected. Data collecting methods used in the
research were:

1. Doing interview
Gay (2010) states that, an interview is essentially the oral, in-person,
administration of a questionnaire to each member of a sample. Interviews are used to
 gather data from people about opinions, beliefs, and feelings about situations in their own
words. According to Ary (2010), there are three kinds of interview as follows:
a. Unstructured interview, which is a conversational type of interview in which the
questions arise from the situation.
b. Structured interview scheduled for the specific purpose of getting certain information
from the subjects. The questions are structured.
c. Semi- or partially structured interview, which the area of interest is chosen, and
questions are formulated but the interviewer may modify the format or questions
during the interview process.

Data Collection Procedure

Based on the types above, the researcher will use a semi structured
interview. The researcher will be going to interview to the respondent by talking and
asking in relax situation and friendly way. When conducting interview, the researcher
prepares a list of questions as guidance and incidental questions to know the system
evaluation that used by the teacher. In collecting the data from interview, the
researcher used steps as follow:

1. The researcher prepares some questions that will be asking to selected employees. The
researcher also prepares recorder to record their answer.
2. The researcher asking and talking in a friendly way based on the questions that have been
prepared.
3. The researcher recorded their answer.

Mode of Data Analysis

Ary (2010) states that, the data analysis in qualitative research involves attempts
to comprehend the phenomenon under study, synthesize information and explain
relationships, theorize about how and why the relationships appear as they do, and
reconnect the new knowledge with what is already known. Meanwhile Bodgan &
Biklen (2006) reveals that “analysis involves working with data, organizing them,
breaking them into manageable units, synthesizing them, searching for patterns,
discovering what is important and what is to be learned and deciding what you will
tell others”. It means that, data analysis is a process of editing, coding or classifying
and manipulating the data. Therefore, by using data analysis, it was easier for the
researcher in writing report. The purpose of data analysis is to simplify the data so
that it is easier for the researcher to interpret and make a conclusion.

After seeing the definition above, the researcher started to study the collected
data step by step to be analyzed based on that procedure. Firstly, the researcher read,
studied, and analyzed the collected data by editing irrelevant data with research
questions because only the relevant data that were analyzed. Editing data is a process
of investigating the collected data to reduce the data that is irrelevant to be analyzed.
After editing the data, the researcher coded or classified the result of data from
interview by comparing and checking with research problem to know the answer of
research problem. In this research, in analyzing the data the researcher used
qualitative data analysis. This technique was used to analyze the data which cannot be
counted. It means that this technique was used to make interpretation toward the
result of research without using numbers. This data in this research was analyzed by
using inductive method. The analysis conducted from specific something that got
from the real field to the general finding. This aims to generate meanings from the
data set collected in order to identify patterns and relationship to build a theory.

At the first time, the researcher will take the data from interviewing the
employees to know the different coping mechanisms with regards to their mental
health. Besides that, the researcher also will take documentation before making
general conclusion. The application of inductive method was used to take the data
from the real field research base on the focus or emphasis of the study. Thinking
inductively was begun with a specific thing and particular evidence then pulling them
together to make general meaning.

Ethical Considerations

As the researcher develop data collection techniques, they need to

consider whether the research procedures are likely to cause any physical or
emotional harm. Since the data collection technique involves human interaction, the
researcher avoids or minimize anything that will cause physical or emotional harm;
the researcher should inform the participants that they are part in the research and
telling them what research requires of them, by doing so the researcher will be able to
avoid deceptive practices. Furthermore, researchers will not force participant to
participate in their study. Participants will not be pressured or coerced in any way to
try and stop from withdrawing. The researchers will give participants the right to
withdraw in the research process. The data being gathered by the researchers will be
disclose the identity and views of individual at various stages of the research process,
from data collection through to publication of the dissertation. Nonetheless,
permission should be sought before such confidential information is disclosed.

CHAPTER III

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Introduction

This chapter will draw upon the main themes and present the findings which

arose out of the interview process and subsequent data analysis. The key themes that

emerged following data analysis were workplace stressors, different coping

mechanism of employees, and support provided to employees.

 Based on the actual interview among employees of LGU-Tagudin by the

researchers, the following were transferred.

1. What are workplace stressors that affect your mental health as an employee?

WORKPLACE STRESSORS

Workplace stressors have adverse effects on workers' mental health, with an

increased risk of anxiety, burnout, depression, and substance use disorders. These

prolonged or excessive job stressors can be damaging to our mental health that can

contribute to the development of anxiety and/or depression, and may cause an

existing condition to worsen.

Heavy Workloads

The employees E1, E2, E6, and E14 states that the main workplace stressor is

due to heavy workload in their workplace.

" Too much work demands/ workloads that sometimes I need to take home".

" One of the workplace stressors that affects my mental health as an employee

is having heavy workload."

According to Mead (2001) workload is the main source of employees’

occupational stress. When the production rate high and workload is there is a negative

relationship to the employee’s performance. When the performance low, he/she trend

to get stress. This research pointed out that when the workload increases workers

stress level, blood pressure and cholesterol level increase. Rubina et al. (2008) did

similar research on workplace stress, and they found out that workloads have
contributed to increase the stress level of the employees. This implies that having a

heavy workload in the workplace is one of the stressors that affects the mental health

of employees.

Meetings Deadlines in the Workplace

In the case of the employees E1 and E3, the predominantly workplace stressors

that they have is meeting deadlines causing them to feel pressured.

According to a survey on workplace stressors by jobs site CareerCast, most

people (38%) see deadlines as their biggest source of professional anxiety. An earlier

edition of CareerCast’s Stressful Jobs Reader Survey found that more people were

afraid of deadlines than they were of actually dying at work. However, there are

psychological and physiological reasons that the thought of deadlines makes so many

of us break out into a cold sweat. Researchers have long theorized that people with

classic ‘Type A’ personality traits – such as being ambitious, rigidly organized,

sensitive and impatient – also tend to find time management more anxiety-inducing.

This implies that meeting deadline is one also the common workplace stressor of the

employees. Thus, deadlines help employees to collaborate toward achieving a shared

goal, and to keep complex, multistage projects on track. However, this becomes one

of the most workplace stressors of the employees that affects their mental health.

Demanding client's

Employees E1, E4, E9, E11, and E15 the workplace stressors that they are

experiencing is due to demanding clients in which some of them have no patience and
they want their request will automatically finish knowing that there are lots of request

coming from other clients. As result employees suffer from pressure.

" Demanding clients"

" Clients who have no patience"

According to an article for CPA Advisor, difficult or demanding clients have a

huge cost to business. Not only are the clients more likely to dispute their invoices,

pay late, or not pay at all, but they’re also a drain on workflow and resources.

Problem clients contribute to staff turnover, stress-related health problems, enjoyment

of your work, and a poor reputation. Demanding clients are part of business, and with

this type of client, they want that their request will do whatever and they expect to

meet their needs as soon as possible. This is also a common workplace stressor that

affects the employee's mental health. This implies that demanding clients can also be

a workplace stressor that affects the mental health of employees.

Health Conditions

Two of the employees, E5 and E6 answered that the workplace stressors that

they are experiencing is due to physical health condition given that they are in older

age. It includes back and neck pain, arthritis and cataracts and refractive errors.

“Physical health issues”

According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), feeling a little stressed

now and again is normal, but if stressor starts to affect people’s happiness and

enjoyment of life, it can lead to physical illness or physical health issues as well as
mental health issues, and can be debilitating. One of the most common causes of

stress is work-related stressors. This implies that health conditions of employees are

affected also due to the higher the number of hours worked, the lower the

productivity of employees, which is affected by employee fatigue, energy exhaustion,

and loss of concentration, leading to heart problems and mental health problems.

Conflict with co-workers/boss

Employee E7, E12, and E14 stated one of the workplace stressors that they

encountered is due to conflict with other workers and boss. Some of co-workers and

boss shows unappealing attitude towards to others.

"Bad attitude"

" Blame culture"

According to Novikova-Kalita, E., Ermasova, N. and Gluchova, M. (2020),

workplace conflict and work-related stress have the potential to be destructive.

Workplace conflict, when not managed or handled well, can lead to greater employee

stress, increased absenteeism, greater turnover, reduced productivity, decreased

performance, and less organizational profitability. Relationships at work are affected

by an employee’s mental illnesses by causing tension and conflicts between

colleagues. Thus, creating problems for their co-workers, can cause mental health

problems in the workplace that can lead to lower productivity, lower job satisfaction,

etc. This implies that having a conflict with co-workers can also be the employee’s

workplace stressor.
 Lack of opportunities/recognition

Another employees E8, E10, and E15 responded that the workplace stressors

that they are experiencing is due to lack of opportunities and recognition, in employee

are not given the opportunity to grow and develop.

"Lack of promotional opportunities"

"Lack of recognition"

According to American Institute of Stress, employees believe that their

workforce generation has more work-related stress than previous one due to lack of

recognition and opportunities. Many working adults also report feeling unappreciated

at work. It affirms that a lack of recognition for excellent job performance is linked to

a lack of productivity and buy-in, meaning workers feel dissatisfied ad are less likely

to enjoy their work or even believe in the value of the work they are doing. This is

another contributing factor to the stress that working adults feel. This implies that this

combination of factors can severely diminish the satisfaction of workers and

eventually lead to burnout, an extreme form of anxiety and emotional distress.

2. How do you cope up with these stressors?

DIFFERENT COPING MECHANISM OF EMPLOYEES

Different coping mechanisms are the strategies people often use in the face of

stress and/or trauma to help manage painful or difficult emotions. Coping

mechanisms can help people adjust to stressful events while helping them maintain

their emotional well-being.

Rest and Relaxation

The employees E1, E5, E10, E11, E12 and E14 shared that their coping

mechanisms

is all about having a rest and relaxation that reduces stress and improves their

overall health. They'll be able to easily work a full and they have time to letting their

mind rest as part of the healing process.

"I cope with this stressor by giving myself some relaxation like hanging out with

family and friends and sleep enough. "

" To cope with this kind of stressor when I feel stress, I stop to make my task. I

rest for a while listening to music and drink coffee, in this way I could make my task

more efficiently. "

According to Miller (1982) in suggesting ways of coping with stress indicated

that relaxation, breathing, refuting illogical or irrational ideas, assertiveness, time

management, maintaining good nutrition, exercise, recreational activities and

changing usual routines could go a long way to help people manage stressful

situations they went through. This implies that any number of relaxing activities can

help employees cope with stress. Relaxing activities may include practicing

meditation, progressive muscle relaxation or other calming techniques, sitting in

nature, or listening to soft music, etc could help employees relieve or cope up with

work-related stress.
 Healthy Lifestyle and Positive Outlook in Life

In the case of employees E2, E6, and E9 they shared that their common

experience in coping with these workplace stressors is having a healthy lifestyle and

positive outlook in life.

"Another way on how I cope up with my work stressor is having a positive

outlook/disposition towards it. "

"I cope with these stressors by practicing healthy lifestyle like doing exercises

and eating nutritious food".

According to Smith and Pergola (2015), it shows that employees who are

optimistic maintain higher levels of mental and physical health than those who are

more negative. There seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy at work: When a person

sees a stressor as a problem or crisis it is likely to become a crisis because he or she

feels unable to cope. But when a person sees an event as something that can be

managed, he or she is likely to act quickly to solve a problem before it exhausts her or

his energy. In other words, how people perceive the situation influences how they

react. It may also be important to recognize when situations cannot be controlled.

This avoids increased frustration and tension. When a solution is out of reach, the

most effective coping strategy may be to change your outlook by "letting go," rather

than by forcing a solution. Relaxation exercises help in releasing tension.

Praying and Spiritual Self-Care

 The employees E4 and E7 shared that prayer and spirituality can help ease

depression and act as a cushion when life throws curve balls their way and prayer is a

common coping resource mechanism for them in physical distress.

"I pray and try to reflect"

"I pray, I think this is the most powerful to relief stress".

Prayer is a way for people to cope with depressive symptoms and health issues,

across a variety of religions and belief systems (Coleman, et al., 2006). In a study of

religious beliefs and practices, faith (belief) and prayer (practice) were seen as the

most helpful (Loewenthal, Cinnirella, Evdoka, & Murphy, 2001). There is an overall

positive relationship between many measures of religiosity and measures of mental

health, (Loewenthal, et al., 2001).

Socialization

Four of the employees E3, E11, E13 and E15 expressed their sentiments about

their coping mechanism that help them to relieve their workplace stressors. They

expressed their sentiments as.

"I usually socialize when I am feeling stressed"

"I share my problems with my co-worker to seek help or solutions"

According to Allen and Meyer (1990), as socialization provides employees with

clear set information, which in turns helps them to cope with stress and others matters

of job, thus, increasing their affection with the organization. There is a research view

which argues that different organizational socialization techniques have different

 effects on various forms of commitment (Cohen, 2003). In fact, organizational

socialization is the way to assist employees in keeping fit for effective work

(Mowday et al., 1982) thus significantly effecting their level of commitment.

Buchanan (1974) also noted that new employees are basically worried about getting

established and accepted by the organization. In this way they make deliberate efforts

to prove themselves by showing that they have the ability to adjust to the demands of

the new environment.

Pursuing and seeking opportunity

One of employee E8 expressed her sentiments about her coping mechanism.

She said.

"Pursuing and seeking opportunity that promotes professional development

and trying to enroll with master’s degree program."

According to Scott (2021), sometimes there’s nothing you can do to change a

situation, but often you’ll find an opportunity to take action and actually change the

circumstances you face. Solution-focused coping strategies can be very effective for

stress relief; often a small change is all that’s required to make a huge shift in how

you feel. For one thing, one change can lead to other changes, so that a chain reaction

of positive change is created, opportunities are opened, and life changes significantly.

Also, once an action is taken, the sense of being trapped with no options—a recipe for

stress—can dissipate quickly.

3. What were the support you received from LGU-Tagudin?

SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE LGU-TAGUDIN

 Free medical check-up and medicines

The employees E3, E5, E6, E9, E10 and E13 shared the support that they

received to better promote the mental health of employees. They expressed;

"The support I received was spiritual support, free medical check- up".

"I am receiving free medical check-up and medicines".

According to Tolbert (1987), free medications have long been recognized as part

of a treatment regimen for workers with occupational or non-occupational injuries

and illnesses. They are viewed as an accepted and essential service for employees.

The use of employer provided medications is beneficial for several reasons: the

employee's injury or illness is treated promptly, the employee's symptoms are

relieved, the employee spends less time away from work, and the employer saves

money in production costs. However, minimal attention has been devoted to overall

medication management in the workplace.

Wellness Activities

In the case of employees E3, E5, E6, E9, E10, and E11 they stated that the

support provided they received by the LGU is by having a wellness activities. They

expressed;

" Providing us wellness activities like Zumba".

" Program on dance fitness and health program".

According to De Marco (2019), employee wellness programs often focus on

physical health and wellness. It can be seen that if the team is also interested in
adding mental health and well-being to these programs, it could extensively help on

elevating the mental health components of our wellness programs through promoting

resources and fostering an environment of togetherness, collaboration and meaningful

personal interactions.

Morale and Spiritual Support

The employees E2, E3, E7, and E15 shared the support they received with regard

to their mental health. They stated;

"The support I received was spiritual support".

" Morale and technical support".

According to American Psychological Association, employees with high morale

are engaged, motivated and efficient. They willingly put in more hours and are more

productive on the job. Conversely, employees with low morale are less engaged and

suffer from increased rates of depression and heart disease. While according to

Whitelock (2017), it is also important to acknowledge that while some employees

may belong to an organized religion, others have different ways of practicing their

spirituality. The workplace should be an environment where all employees feel free to

talk about their beliefs and values without fear of judgement or ridicule. Spiritually

supported employees know that their voice matters and that they will be heard in their

workplace. They may be more willing to share and offer their ideas and opinions.

They may be more apt to develop friendships with their co-workers as they see others

accepting them for who they are. They may be willing to attend more workplace

activities and parties if they feel their values are included and respected.
 Advice and Counselling

Three of the employees E4, E6, and E15 shared that the support they received

with regard to their mental health is by having an advice and counselling.

"The employees can also talk to HR staff ask for some advice and

counselling".

According to Bishnoi (2017), employee counselling is a vital part of

performance review and potential appraisal, if these are to achieve their basic purpose

of helping employees to improve and develop. Counselling is described as the help

provided by the supervisor to the subordinates in analysing their performance and

other behaviours on the job, in order to improve their performance.

Training and Development Programs

In the case of one employee E12, stated that the support received to better

promote mental health is by having training and development programs.

"Training and development programs and mentoring".

According to a 2019 report published in The International Journal of Business

and Management Research, employee training and development can help employees

become better at their jobs and overcome performance gaps that are based on lack of

knowledge or skills. It indicates that 90% of employees surveyed agreed or strongly

agreed that training and development programs improved their job performance.

CHAPTER 4
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter contains the summary, conclusions, and recommendations of the

study.

Summary

The aimed of the study is to assess and analyze the workplace stressors and

coping mechanisms that affect the mental health of the employees of LGU-Tagudin,

Ilocos Sur. Specifically, it answers of the following questions. 1) What are workplace

stressors that affect your mental health as an employee? 2) How do you cope up with

these stressors? 3) What were the support you received from LGU-Tagudin? The data

gathered was through face-to-face interview. We have randomly selected fifteen (15)

employees of LGU-Tagudin, Ilocos Sur as the researcher’s respondents.

Findings

1. The workplace stressors that affect the mental health of the employees varied depends to

what it can contribute to the development of their mental health issues. For instance,

having a heavy workload, meeting deadlines, demanding clients, etc. that increase the

stress level of the employees and triggers their anxiety and/or depression.

2. The employees coped up with these stressors to help manage painful or difficult

emotions. They used different coping mechanisms to help them adjust to stressful events

while helping them maintain their emotional well-being. For instance, having a rest and

relaxation, healthy lifestyle, and positive outlook in life, and etc.

3. The employees received various support from the LGU-Tagudin to better promote mental

health in the workplace and support in recovery from mental health problems. For

instance, they conduct wellness activities, morale and spiritual support, and etc.

Conclusions

Based on the data gathered in this study, the following are conclusion arrived at:

1. The stressors experienced by employees depends on the nature of their work that can

leads to a threat to their mental health. In way that they felt pressured and triggers anxiety

and depression.

2. The coping mechanisms of employees varies depends on their situations and what is

beneficial to them, in such a way that it will help them to overcome their workplace

stressors that affect their mental health.

3. The LGU-Tagudin provide different supports to their employees as to maintain and

protect the mental of its employees. Employees are given free medical check ups and

wellness activities.

Recommendations

Based on the conclusions of the study, the following recommendations are

forwarded:

1. Workplace stressors not only affects the employees, it also has adverse effects on

organization performance well, that’s why employees prioritize the acts in the list and

plan the acts accordingly. By effective time management, the employees can achieve

their targets timely and can meet work pressures and, thus, avoid stress.
2. Employees may adapt different coping mechanism, but it could be better if they seek for

guidance and support coming from the management to provide insights or offer coping

suggestions and as to address their mental health concern and issues.

3. The organization should create checklist or survey to gather data about the mental health

status of their employees. These findings could be their basis to plan and deliver action

and inform workplace policies. For instance, arranging mental health awareness training,

workshops or appointing mental health consultants who could provide counseling and

mental health support to the employees.

 REFERENCES:

1. People at higher risk from coronavirus (COVID-19). NHS (National Health Service) UK.
URL: https://www.nhs.uk/ conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/advice-for-people-at-high-
risk/ [accessed 2020-05-01]
2. Choi KR, Heilemann MV, Fauer A, Mead M. A second pandemic: mental health
spillover from the novel coronavirus (covid-19). J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc 2020 Apr
27;26(4):340-343. [doi: 10.1177/1078390320919803]
3. Depression: A Global Crisis World Mental Health Day, October 10 2012. World
Federation for Mental Health. 2012. URL:
https://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/wfmh_paper_depression_w
mhd_2012.pdf [accessed 2020-03-31]
4. Duan L, Zhu G. Psychological interventions for people affected by the COVID-19
epidemic. Lancet Psychiatry 2020 Apr;7(4):300-302. [doi: 10.1016/s2215-
0366(20)30073-0]
5. Sartorius N. CS01-01 - Comorbidity of mental and physical disorders: a central challenge
for medicine of the 21st century. European Psychiatry 2012 Jan; 27:1. [doi:
10.1016/s0924-9338(12)74058-0]
6. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): situation report – 131. World Health Organization.
2020 May 30. URL: https://reliefweb. int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/20200530-
covid-19-sitrep-131.pdf [accessed 2020-09-16]
7. Pierce M, Hope H, Ford T, Hatch S, Hotopf M, John A, et al. Mental health before and
during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK
population. The Lancet Psychiatry 2020 Oct;7(10):883-892. [doi: 10.1016/s2215-
0366(20)30308-4]
8. Lockdown (Coviprev Study, March 23-25 and March 30 – April 1st, 2020). Bull
Epidemiol Hebd (Paris). No13ENG 2020 May 7:2-9
9. Jackson D, Anders R, Padula WV, Daly J, Davidson PM. Vulnerability of nurse and
physicians with COVID-19: Monitoring and surveillance needed. J Clin Nurs 2020 Jun
10;29(19-20):3584-3587 [doi: 10.1111/jocn.15347] [Medline: 32428345]
10. Torous J, Jän Myrick K, Rauseo-Ricupero N, Firth J. Digital Mental Health and COVID-
19: Using Technology Today to Accelerate the Curve on Access and Quality Tomorrow.
JMIR Ment Health 2020 Mar 26;7(3): e18848 [FREE Full text] [doi: 10.2196/18848]
[Medline: 32213476]
11. Meri Davlasheridze, Stephan J. Goetz, Yicheol Han. The Effect of Mental Health on
U .S. County Economic Growth. Review of Regional Studies, 2018; 48 (2) [abstract]
12. Mental Health in the Workplace. (2018, June). Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/tools-resources/pdfs/WHRC-Mental-
Health-and-Stress-in-the-Workplac-Issue-Brief-H.pdf
13. Greenberg, P. E., Fournier, A. A., Sisitsky, T., Pike, C. T., & Kessler, R. C. (2015). The
economic burden of adults with major depressive disorder in the United States (2005 and
2010). The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 76(2), 155-162
14. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021, April). Employment Situation News Release.
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.htm
15. Brooks SK, Webster RK, Smith LE, et al. The psychological impact of quarantine and
how to reduce it: rapid review of the evidence. Lancet 2020;395:912-920.
16. Panchal, N., Kamal, R., Cox, C., & Garfield, R., (2021, February). The Implications of
COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-
covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/
17. Taquet, M., Geddes, J. R., Husain, M., Luciano, S., & Harrison, P. J. (2021). 6-month
neurological and psychiatric outcomes in 236 379 survivors of COVID-19: a
retrospective cohort study using electronic health records. The Lancet Psychiatry.
18. Adams-Prassl, A. et al. (2020), “The Impact of the Coronavirus Lockdown on Mental
Health: Evidence from the US”, Cambridge Working Papers in Economics, Faculty of
Economics, University of Cambridge,
19. WHO (2020), The impact of COVID-19 on mental, neurological and substance use
services: results of a rapid assessment, World Health Organization, Geneva,
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/978924012455.
20. Hosie, P. , & Sevastos, P. (2010). A framework for conceiving of job-related affective
wellbeing. Management Revue: The International Review of Management Studies, 21(4),
406–436.
21. Antonovsky A, (1979). Health, Stress, and Coping. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
22. American Psychiatric Association (2018), Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (5th ed.), American Psychiatric Publishing, Arligton, VA.