Table Of ContentCulture and Resilience at Work
In 1979, Suzanne C. Kobasa propounded her theory of ‘hardiness’ in which
she hypothesised her 3Cs—commitment, control, and challenge—as the
basic ingredients of hardiness that make an individual stress-resilient. She
was one of the early researchers who paid attention to personality features
and illustrated that individuals who experience high levels of stress without
mental and physical illness have a different personality than do those who
become ill in stressful conditions. In current times, the discourse has enjoyed
a sustained scholarly interest, but there is hardly any study on corporate
professionals or the Indian context.
Since the early 1990s, India has joined the corporate world and has been
a fast-developing country. This change in the state of affairs provides a
broader scope of study on hardy personality in coping with stress in the
Indian context. This book examines the efficacy of hardiness on the Indian
corporate professionals in the post-globalisation scenario. It endeavours to
situate Kobasa’s foundational theorisation along with those offered by other
scholars in the context of contemporary life situations with a focus on India.
It presents a hypothesis that in the Indian context, culture could be looked at
as yet another basic component of hardiness.
Culture and Resilience at Work offers an assessment of the significant
contribution of Indian culture as one of the major contributing components
in enhancing hardiness in corporate professionals. It will be of interest to
researchers, academics, professionals, and students in the fields of stress
management, human resource management, social psychology, cultural
studies, and organisational behaviour.
Pallabi Mund is Assistant Professor in Management at DAV School of
Business Management, Utkal University, India.
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C ulture and Resilience at Work
A Study of Stress and Hardiness among Indian
Corporate Professionals
Pallabi Mund
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Culture and Resilience
at Work
A Study of Stress and Hardiness
Among Indian Corporate Professionals
Pallabi Mund
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Pallabi Mund
The right of Pallabi Mund to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mund, Pallabi, 1983– author.
Title: Culture and resilience at work: a study of stress and hardiness
among Indian corporate professionals/Dr. Pallabi Mund.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. | Series: Routledge focus
on business and management | Includes bibliographical references and
index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021014610 (print) | LCCN 2021014611 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032023458 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032023465 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003182986 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Executives—Job stress—India. | Corporate
culture—India. | Resilience (Personality trait—India. | Industrial
psychiatry—India.
C lassification: LCC HF5548.85 .M86 2022 (print) | LCC HF5548.85
(ebook) | DDC 158.7/20954—dc23
L C record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014610
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021014611
ISBN: 978-1-032-02345-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-02346-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-18298-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Dedicated to my parents, Dr Subhendu Mund
and Ms Pranati Mund
Contents
List of Tables x
List of Figures xii
List of Abbreviations xiii
Preface xiv
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Conceptual Overview 5
1.2 Theoretical Bases of Role Stress 7
1.2.1 Sources of Role Stress 7
1.2.2 Role Space Conflicts 8
1 .2.3 Role Set Conflicts 9
1 .3 Theoretical Roots of Hardiness 10
1.3.1 Hardiness: Trait or Type 13
1 .3.2 The 3Cs of Hardiness 14
1.4 Relevance of the Study 16
1.5 Purpose of the Study 17
1.6 Major Research Issues 17
1 .6.1 Limited Study on Hardiness in India 17
1.6.2 Overlooking the Importance of the Study
of Hardiness on Indian Corporate
Professionals 17
1.6.3 Limiting the Importance of the Effect of Gender
on Hardiness 18
1.6.4 Limited Progress in Revaluating the Possibility
of an Additional Trait (or Traits) to the Basic
Ingredients of Hardiness 18
1.7 Objectives 19
viii Contents
1 .8 Hypotheses of the Study 20
1.9 Research Methodology 20
1.9.1 Research Problem 21
1.9.2 Research Design 21
1 .9.3 Type of Descriptive Research Method 21
1.9.4 Sample Unit 22
1 .9.5 Sampling Method 22
1 .9.6 Sample Size and Sample Distribution 22
1 .9.7 Sources of Data 23
1 .9.8 Measurement Tools Used 24
1 .9.9 Tools and Techniques Used for the Study 30
1 .9.10 P reliminary Reliability Analysis of the Newly
Constructed Instruments in This Study 30
1 .9.11 Scope and Limitations 31
References 32
2 Literature Review 37
2.1 Introduction 37
2 .2 Post-1970s Stress Studies 38
2 .3 Stress and Illness 39
2 .4 Stress and Personality 40
2 .5 Stress and Hardiness 42
2 .6 Kobasa’s 3Cs of Hardiness 46
2 .7 Hardiness and Culture 49
2 .8 The Measurement of Hardiness 51
2 .9 Hardiness and Gender 54
2 .10 Hardiness and Demographic Factors 56
2.11 Conclusion 57
References 57
3 Data Analysis and Interpretation 67
3.1 Introduction 67
3.2 Sample Distribution 69
3 .3 C orrelation Between Hardiness, the 3Cs, and Role
Stress 70
3 .4 D escriptive Statistics, ANOVA, and Post Hoc
ANOVA—Hardiness and Socio-Demographic Factors
Across Sectors and Cities 74
Contents ix
3.5 Descriptive Statistics, ANOVA, and Post Hoc ANOVA
of Stress With Socio-Demographic Factors—Gender,
Marital Status, and Age 83
3.6 Hardiness and Its 3Cs With Culture 88
3.6.1 Regression Analysis: Impact of 3Cs on
Hardiness 92
3.6.2 Regression Analysis: Impact of Culture—As
Another Significant Predictor of Hardiness 95
3.7 ANOVA: Hardiness, Stress, and Culture Across Both
Sectors and Cities 97
3.8 Summary of Findings 97
References 103
4 Findings and Conclusion 108
4.1 Prelude to the Study 108
4.2 Major Findings 110
4.3 Recommendations (Academic and Managerial) 113
4.3.1 Academic Recommendations 113
4.3.2 Managerial Implications 113
4.4 Scope for Future Research 114
4.5 Conclusion 114
References 115
Index 118
