CHAPTER -1

INTRODUCTION

1. INTRODUCTION

Personality is the distinctive and relatively enduring ways of

thinking, feeling and acting that characterize a person’s response to

certain situations in life. Locus of control is one such personality trait

reflecting the generalized belief that either event in life is controlled by

one’s own actions (an internal LOC) or by outside influences (an

external LOC). Locus of control influences a person’s response to the

events perceived and also the motivation to take action and our beliefs

about what causes our actions then influence our behavior and

attitudes. There’s very little in our lives that aren’t impacted by locus

of control. People tend to feel less stressed when they are in control of

their lives. Internals tend to attribute outcomes of events to their own

control. Externals attribute outcomes of events to external

circumstances. People with an external locus of control tend to be

more stressed and prone to clinical depression

1.1. Locus of Control

The word “Locus” is Latin for location and therefore locus of control is a

template for understanding the extent to which individuals believe they can

control events which affect them. Some people’s locus of control is internal,
which means that they believe that what controls their life are choices they make

for themselves at any given time. They hold on to a personal conviction that they

are responsible for their own life’s outcomes. Conversely, others may have an

external locus of control. This means that they believe outside factors such as

chance, fate, and the environment play a great deal in shaping their lives. They

give more credit to the people, places, and things of their universe to carve their

destiny.

1.1.1. Internal locus of control

A strong internal locus of control describes someone who believes they are in control of what

happens to them and in their life. Internal locus of control is often used synonymously with “self-

determination” and “personal agency.” People with an internal locus believe they are in control

of their destiny. Because of this they set goals and work hard to achieve them. They get creative

or work harder when obstacles arise.

Someone with an internal locus of control can be more driven and motivated to work hard and

achieve success because they believe they have the power to affect positive change in their lives.

They are more likely to be proactive in all areas of life, including in relationships, where they

might, for example, be the one to make the first gesture of reconciliation where a disagreement

has taken place. On the other hand, they may also be quick to blame themselves when things do

not go to plan. They can be overly self-critical and beat themselves up over their failings. What’s

more, if opportunities to progress or achieve do not present themselves, they can be disappointed

and believe they are wasting their potential.

An external control stems from the idea that the outcomes of life are beyond personal

control. Whether good or bad, uncontrollable factors in the environment dictate events. It

is often compared to fate and luck. A strong external locus of control describes when

someone believes what happens to them is luck or fate and that they are not in control of

their life; it is all due to external forces in their environment (for example other people).

Someone with an external locus of control might cope better with failure (at least in the

immediate term) because they can pass the responsibility on to other factors and deflect criticism

of their own performance. And when something bad does happen, they may be quicker to accept

it and move on because they don’t believe they could have influenced the outcome: it happened

to them, not because of them. When working in a team, they may be more likely to dole out

praise for a job well done as they appreciate the influence of external players more than they do

their own. On the other hand, their tendency to blame outside factors can also negatively affect

their relationships (working, romantic, or otherwise) because they will put the burden of

responsibility on anyone else but themselves. Issues will, in their mind, be caused by the other

person, and they aren’t as likely to extend an olive branch because they feel they were the ones

who were wronged.

External or internal locus of control plays a very important role for people to sustain usefulness

and learning performance. The experiences and knowledge gained by an individual through

organizational learning are crucial in increasing the performance of that individual. It is,
therefore, necessary for businesses to fulfill learning in an arrangement and use it to improve

employee performance.

There is very little in an individual’s life that your locus of control does not impact. According to

numerous studies, internal locus of control is associated with success in sports, school, business

and psychological and physical health. An internal locus of control is associated with

achievement and success because of the tendency to attribute both your successes and failures to

your actions. It gives employees a reason to study their actions and find out where they went

wrong and take the necessary actions to improve. Locus of control has effects on a lot of areas of

life and this makes it a subject of discussion and debate outside the realms of psychology.

1.2. Occupational stress

Stress, in general, can be defined as the reaction of individuals to demands (stressors) imposed

upon them. It refers to situations where the well-being of individuals is detrimentally affected by

their failure to cope with the demands of their environment. Occupational stress, in particular, is

the inability to cope with the pressures in a job, because of a poor fit between someone’s abilities

and his/her work requirements and conditions. It is a mental and physical condition which affects

an individual’s productivity, effectiveness, personal health and quality of work.

Main components of the work-stress process are potential sources of stress (stressors), factors of

individual differences (moderators/mediators), and consequences of stress. Stressors (job-related

and extra-organizational) are objective events, stress is the subjective experience of the event,

and strain is the poor response to stress. Accordingly, the nature and effects of stress might be

best understood by saying that some environmental variables (stressors), when interpreted by the

individual (cognitive interpretation), may lead to stress.

There are a number of working conditions that we encounter on a daily basis which contribute to

making work stressful. These working conditions are called “stressors” and consist of those

things which have a negative effect on a worker’s physical or emotional well-being. In addition

these working conditions or stressors are associated with two job characteristics: job control and

demand.

Job control determines how much or how little control a worker has over her/his job. It can be

defined in terms of one’s ability to make decisions about how work is done and the ability to use

a range of skills on the job.

Job demand determines how much or how little production or productivity pressures there are on

the worker and the quality of the physical work environment.

1.4. Statement of the problem

The aim of the study Is to understand the relationship between work locus of control and

occupational stress. Further it was attempted to explore the effect of age groups and gender in

work locus of control and occupational stress among employees of various sector.

1.5. Basic definitions

1.5.1. Theoretical definitions:-

1. Work locus of control :- Work locus of control refers to an individual’s

generalized expectancy about the extent to which they have control over events

and outcomes in their work environment. It reflects the degree to which

their own actions (internal locus of control) or are determined by external factors

such as luck, chance, or others (external locus of control).

2. Occupational stress:- Occupational stress refers to the physical, emotional, and

psychological strain experienced by individuals in response to work-related demands,

pressures, and stressors that exceed their ability to cope. It encompasses the

physiological, cognitive, and behavioral responses that occur when workers perceive an

imbalance between job demands and their capacity to meet those demands.

1.5.2. Operational Definitions:-

1. Work locus of control:- It can be operationalized as the score obtained on a

standardized scale, such as the Work Locus of Control Scale (WLCS). The WLCS

assesses the extent to which individuals believe they have control over work-

related events and outcomes, with higher scores indicating a stronger internal or

external locus of control orientation.

2. Occupational stress:- It can be operationalized as the score obtained on a

standardized scale, such as the Job Stress Survey (JSS) or the Maslach Burnout

Inventory (MBI). These scales assess the level of stress, burnout, or strain

experienced by individuals in their work environment, with higher scores

indicating greater levels of occupational stress.