The Coping Mechanisms to Job Stress of Employees Experiencing Person-Job Fit and Person-Job Misfit: A Case Study in the Human Resource Training Department of the Bank of Philippine Islands Main Branch

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the coping mechanisms to job stress of employees experiencing person-job fit and misfit. As many employees experience person-job misfit because the graduated course or program is not directly related to die nature of their job, this study intended to expose what sources of job stress these employees experience and how they cope with such and compare it to those who experience person-job fit. The situation of Person-job Misfit is exemplified with BPI’s Officership Training Program wherein they hire graduates of any course provided that they graduated with honors. After which, they would become assistant managers in the operations side of the bank. Specifically, this research aimed to attain tire following objectives: 1. To determine the similarities and differences in the sources of job stress of employees experiencing Person-Job Fit and Person-Job Misfit. 2. To determine the source of stress experienced the most by employees experiencing Person- Job Fit and Person-Job Misfit. 3. To identify the similarities and differences in the coping mechanisms to job stress of employees experiencing Person-Job Fit and Person-Job Misfit? 4. To identify the coping mechanism used frequently by employees experiencing Person-Job Fit and Person-Job Misfit. The study was conducted at the Human Resource Training Department of the Bank of Philippine Islands. A total of 30 respondents who have undergone the OTP, 15 of which are employees experiencing person-job fit and the other 15 are employees experiencing person job misfit, answered the two survey questionnaires. The researcher employed a cross-sectional survey research containing two questionnaires with a Likert-format scale as tools for gathering data about the-coping mechanisms to job stress. In determining the sources of stress of the employees, the researcher adapted a questionnaire specifically designed for the purpose of this study. On the other hand, coping mechanisms was measured and identified through a questionnaire developed by Billing and Moos (1981). The gathered data on the sources of job stress and coping mechanisms were analyzed based on the frequency, mean and ranking of each source or type. Results revealed that both groups experienced a moderate level of job stress from Factors Intrinsic to the Job. Moreover, low level of job stress was experienced from Role in the Organization and Relationship at Work. The difference in levels between the two groups can be observed in the following sources: Career Development and Organizational Structure and Climate. Employees experiencing person-job fit go through low stress from the two factors, whereas, employees experiencing person-job misfit moderately felt stress from it. Among the five sources, both employees experiencing person-job fit and person-job misfit face stress the most from Factors Intrinsic to the Job. Both groups had similar usages of coping mechanisms. For both groups, the low level of usage of coping mechanism to job stress was emotion-focused coping. Moreover, moderate levels of usage of coping mechanisms to job stress were Problem-focused coping and Appraisal-focused coping. Among the three types of coping mechanisms, both employees experiencing person-job fit and person-job misfit frequently used problem-focused coping in facing stress. With the given results, this study recommends to strengthen the study on die copingmechanisms by determining if the coping mechanisms of die employees experiencing person-job fit and person-job misfit are effective in reducing and regulating stress form the workplace. This would provide a deeper discussion on coping mechanisms to job stress.