The impact of stress during restructuring in a tertiary institution

Abstract

This paper reports on stress during restructuring in a tertiary institution in New Zealand. Although a certain amount of stress can enhance a person’s performance, too much stress can have a reverse impact on a person’s health resulting in lower productivity. Therefore the aim of this research is to determine the impact of stress on staff effectiveness and productivity; thus determining if stress was experienced within an organisation that is currently undergoing restructuring.

A quantitative research method was adopted to collect data from a large sample of participants. Surveys were carried out to determine the impact of stress and how to minimise the impact. The survey was distributed electronically to 291 participants comprising staff from “Faculty A” at a Tertiary Education Organisation (TEO) in Auckland and the response rate was 20.3%.

The findings of the study demonstrate high positive results with regard to factors that cause stress within organisations during organisational restructuring. This indicates that stress was not managed up to staff expectations during the restructuring at the chosen TEO and the impact was more severe than expected.