Andrejić M. et al. Stress and Communication as Quality Indicators of a Working Environment in Logistics Companies: A Case Study in the Logistics Sector in Serbia UDC: 658.5:159.944(497.11) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7708/ijtte.2020.10(3).05 STRESS AND COMMUNICATION AS QUALITY INDICATORS OF A WORKING ENVIRONMENT IN LOGISTICS COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY IN THE LOGISTICS SECTOR IN SERBIA
Milan Andrejić1, Vukašin Pajić2, Milorad Kilibarda3 1,2,3 University of Belgrade, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Engineering, Vojvode Stepe 305, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Received 15 April 2020; accepted 12 June 2020
Abstract: Recently, more attention has been paid to the quality of the working environment, both in literature and in practice. The main reason for this is the increased fluctuation of workers, where the inadequate quality of the working environment is one of the motives for changing the job. Stress and communication are the two basic indicators of the quality of the working environment. For this reason, the aim of this paper is to determine the impact of stress and communication on the quality of the working environment in the logistics sector of Serbia. The impact of company size, primary business activity and employee position on stress sources, stress management and frequency of communication problems was examined. The research hypotheses were defined, which were tested on the basis of data obtained from a web survey that included 101 respondents from different industrial sectors in the Serbian market.
Keywords: stress, communication, working environment, logistics.
1. Introduction satisfactory level. This is primarily due to the stressful and dynamic work in the logistics In recent years, more and more attention sector. The results of the research (Kilibarda has been paid to the health, safety and et al., 2019) show that one of the motives for working conditions of employees. One changing jobs in the logistics sector of Serbia of the main reasons for this is the raise of is a hard and stressful job. The fact that more awareness of companies and understanding attention is being paid today to the quality the importance of caring for their employees. of the working environment is proven by One of the indicators which shows that other researches (Hee et al., 2019; Ismail et attention is paid to the health and safety of the al., 2015; Jacobs et al., 2015; Ližbetinova, workers is reflected in the implementation 2015; Sadlowska-Wrzesinska and Moscicka- of one of the standards dealing with this Teske, 2016). issue, such as OHSAS 18001 and ISO 45001. Another reason for the increased attention When it comes to stress, two types of is the lack of workers and the significant stress need to be distinguished, acute and fluctuation of workers who change jobs if the chronic. The effects of acute stress are quality of the working environment is not at a reflected in problems such as headache, sleep
1 Corresponding author: [email protected]
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disturbance, short temper and problems understand the importance of good and open with concentration. On the other hand, communication and to dedicate themselves chronic (long-term) stress results in anxiety, to developing their employees’ soft skills increased blood pressure, impaired immunity and organizing communication training. and insomnia. In addition to this division, Apart from internal, external communication there is another that divides stress into is also significant, which most often positive (eustress), which is short-termed, occurs between company representatives motivating, and helps being more efficient and their suppliers/clients. This form of and successful; and negative (distress) that communication can have a significant causes anxiety, impedes efficiency and impact on the reputation of the company effectiveness, and can cause mental and and certainly depends on the communication physical problems. For this reason, the skills of the individual representing the aim of this paper is to analyze the sources company. Open communication in logistics of negative stress and its impact on the can be crucial to the quality of the provided quality of the working environment. Then service and to the efficiency of the company. it comes to the sources of stress, then they For this reason, as in the case of stress in can be divided into internal (depending on this paper, this indicator was considered the person) and external (depending on the in assessing the quality of the working environment). The research (Sadlowska- environment. Wrzesinska and Moscicka-Teske, 2016) shows that the exposure of employees to The paper is organized as follows. After the the stress in the transport sector caused: introduction, a problem description as well as • They used sick leave often and longer review of the literature is presented, which is remained absent from work; the basis for the development of hypotheses. • Have poorer health compared to people A description of the methodology is of similar age and the same gender; presented in chapter three. Collected data • Were less committed to work; and the results of hypothesis testing are then • Were willing to change their job; presented in the next chapter. At the very • Satisfaction level was significantly end of the paper, concluding remarks and lower; directions for future research are outlined. • Ability to work was rated worse. 2. Problem Description and Hypothesis In addition to stress, communication is Development an important indicator of the quality of the working environment. This primarily Workplace stress is a significant problem for refers to internal communication, i.e. both employees and companies. Employee communication within one company. stress can create negative effects on both Namely, numerous researches show that if health and work efficiency. In addition, work this type of communication is bad, it directly stress also increases workforce fluctuation, affects the satisfaction of the employees and lack of motivation and burnout (Ismail et therefore their performance. In addition al., 2015). On the other hand, it directly to the effect on employees, impaired affects the company itself. Communication communication affects the company itself. is one of the key areas of management that For this reason, it is crucial for companies to can significantly affect the effectiveness
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of an organization (Jacobs et al., 2015). (1976) divided the main causes of stress For this reason, internal communication into the following groups: intrinsic to job, represents the basis for the success of a role in organization, career development, company, where it is of great importance relationships at work and organizational that companies understand the importance structure and climate, table 1. Intrinsic to of communication with employees and to job stress sources are related to the working observe communication as a key success conditions that are specific to each job. factor (Jacobs et al., 2015). These causes are mainly associated with stress resulting from work overload, time One of the main sources of stress in pressures and lack of employee autonomy. companies is communication, most often Work overload can be defined as too much internal, and for this reason, the aim of this work to do or having work that is perceived paper is to determine the impact of stress as too difficult (Cooper and Marshall, 1976). and communication on the quality of the On the other hand, the problem of work working environment in logistics companies. overload can also arise due to insufficient In the following part of the paper, a problem knowledge of the employee. Another source description, as well as a literature review of stress within this group is one of the most dealing with this topic, is provided. In prevalent in practice today, and it is related addition, the hypotheses were defined and to time pressure. Time pressure can be then tested. defined as a perception of insufficient time to complete a task and an awareness of the 2.1. Stress and Sources of Stress potential negative consequences of missing a deadline (Thomas et al., 2011). Due to the Workplace stress can be defined as a change high volume of work that every employee in an employee’s physical and/or mental encounters on a daily basis, this source of state due to an appraised challenge or stress is inevitable and it is up to companies threat to one’s relationship with his or her to better organize their work or organize employer (Colligan and Higgins, 2006). additional training for employees to learn The problems that can be caused by stress how to cope with stress. The last source of can be observed from two aspects, that of stress from this group is related to the lack of the user and the company. The first one is employee autonomy, i.e. the lack of decision- the employee aspect where stress affects making possibilities, which is particularly health, quality of life, work, confidence and pronounced in larger companies. personal development. On the other hand, problems that can be reflected in the increase The second group of stress sources is related in employee turnover, decrease in quality of to the role in organization, where the most work, a decrease in job satisfaction and poor common causes are role conflict, external communication, can create a bad working conflicts and responsibility for others. environment. Stress can negatively affect Role conflict as stress occurs in a situation both the mental and physical condition of where conflicting goals arise between the employee. For this reason, it is necessary different positions and/or sectors within to identify the causes of stress and then act the company. Namely, it is often the case on them in order to reduce or eliminate that different positions and/or sectors have stress exposure. Cooper and Marshall differently set goals and priorities which
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can lead to a conflict. These causes can among the employees in the private sector. also be called internal causes. In addition A review of research as well as the results of to internal ones, there are external conflicts the authors’ research (Yaslioglu et al., 2013), that arise from conflicting goals of the showed that there is a negative correlation company and its suppliers and/or partner between stress caused by job insecurity and companies. This is especially pronounced employee satisfaction, i.e. job insecurity in situations where companies outsource has led to reduced job satisfaction. When logistics services from logistics providers, changing jobs, the possibility of new where they observe logistics and logistics employment is very important, where the activities as cost sources, while on the other lack of these opportunities leads to additional hand, logistics providers tend to constantly stress. reduce costs. The last source of stress within this group relates to the stress caused by The fourth group of stress sources is related responsibility for other employees. This to relationships at work. The sources of stress type of stress is mainly faced by employees in this group are: poor relationships between in higher hierarchical positions in charge colleagues (Colligan and Higgins, 2006), low of managing a certain sector. In addition to trust, low supportiveness and low interest the pressure that higher position employees in trying to manage problems (Cooper and suffer from superiors regarding the deadlines Marshall, 1976). This group is important for completing certain tasks, there is also for both employees and companies. Namely, pressure associated with a responsibility poor communication between employees for employee’s health. This is particularly can result in poor performance for both pronounced in the logistics sector, where employees and the entire company. Also, warehouse and transport managers must poor communication can lead to the creation take into account the health and safety of of an unfavorable working environment, employees and take all necessary measures from which additional sources of stress to protect workers in the workplace. may arise. Problems with low trust and low interest in trying to manage problems can The next group of stress sources is related significantly affect a company’s performance to career development. All employees of one and compromise its effectiveness. company are exposed to these sources of stress. The most common sources of stress in The last group of stress sources is related this group are: promotion, job security and to organizational structure and climate. opportunity (Cooper and Marshall, 1976). The sources of stress associated with this Employees who lack rewards (in the form group are: communication patterns, rules of advancement) despite the effort they put and politics of the company and working into doing their job are particularly exposed environment (Colligan and Higgins, 2006). to these sources of stress. In addition to Company policies and rules can cause stress promotion, job security is also one of the for employees when employees’ opinions causes of stress in this group. Namely, in do not agree with company policies and/or private companies, the fluctuation of the rules. On the other hand, stress caused by the workforce is more pronounced in relation working environment can be linked to sources to the state sector, and the stress caused by from the previous group such as low trust and the issue of job security is more pronounced low interest in trying to manage problems.
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Table 1 Stress Sources Stress Group Stress Factor Work overload Intrinsic to job Time pressure Lack of autonomy Role conflict Role in organization External conflict Responsibility for others Promotion Career development Job security Opportunity Poor relationships between colleagues Low trust Relationships at work Low supportiveness Low interest in trying to manage problems Communication patterns Organizational structure and climate Rules and politics of the company Working environment
When it comes to stress in logistics, then injury when working in a warehouse is also it is possible to observe and analyze stress a stress that belongs to this group. Work- in specific sectors of logistics. Namely, related errors, as well as penalties resulting in the procurement sector, employees from these errors, are also sources of stress often face the stress associated with raw for warehouse employees. In addition to material procurement, planning, inventory the psychic, the workers in the warehouse monitoring, negotiations and costs of are, as noted, also exposed to the physical procurement. On the other hand, employees stress resulting from the lifting of the load in the distribution sector face the stress during the process of preparing the goods. associated with defining a distribution In order to reduce the degree of exposure to plan, delivering the right goods at the right this type of stress, many companies are using time and place, respecting the delivery time, different types of mechanization to facilitate problems with a delivery, complaints, etc. their work. Besides the stress caused by One of the main logistics sectors in which lifting loads, work in shifts (especially at increased stress occurs for both workers and night) causes physical stress. Another major managers is the warehouse. When it comes to logistics sector where increased stress occurs stress in the warehouse, then it is possible to is transport. Based on the results (Sadlowska- distinguish two types of stress, mental and Wrzesinska and Moscicka-Teske, 2016), it can physical stress. Mental stress occurs due to be concluded that the most common sources the increased volume of work (more picking of stress in this sector are time pressure and orders) as well as due to the short deadlines work overload (which was confirmed by provided for the preparation of goods. Apart 49,4% of the respondents). In addition, from these main sources, the problem of the stress associated with job loss has also internal communication between employees recently been reported as a significant can also be a source of stress. Fear of possible source (24,9% of respondents). The results
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of the research (Sadlowska-Wrzesinska reduces potential conflicts, both internal and Moscicka-Teske, 2016) show that the and external. By creating satisfied workers, most significant sources of stress were the companies directly influence the increase risk of job loss (95,8% of respondents), the in their productivity. Another benefit of risk of loss of health and/or life (92,8% of open communication is the creation of respondents), damage/loss penalties (92% of better relationships between superiors and respondents), filling in multiple documents employees and between employees at the (91,2% of respondents) and rules for the same hierarchical level. Poor communication granting bonuses and salaries are ambiguous can cause many problems such as downtime (89,4% of respondents). Strict requirements and poor utilization of available resources. concerning the transport time stood out Based on this, it can be concluded that one as another source of stress in 89,4% of the more benefit of good communication is a respondents. better utilization of resources, which directly increases the efficiency of the process. 2.2. Communication In order for the company-level Communication can be defined as the communication to be at an appropriate process of transmitting information and level, in addition to the training which common understanding from one person companies can organize for their employees, to another (Adu-Oppong and Agyin- it is also necessary for the company to choose Birikorang, 2014). Communication is very the right communication model that can important in order to build and maintain be: horizontal communication, vertical good relationships with other colleagues downwards communication, vertical upward as well as a good working environment. communication and diagonal communication The importance of good communication is (Ližbetinova, 2015). In horizontal also reflected in the fact that, based on the communication, information transfer takes information transferred on this occasion, place at the same hierarchical level (between numerous decisions can be made as well as employees in the same sector). The advantage managing different processes (Ližbetinova, of this type of communication is reflected 2015). As previously mentioned, poor in the higher quality of the information communication between employees can exchanged as it is shared between employees have many consequences. How important at the same hierarchical level, enhancing communication is can best be seen based employee involvement and reducing on the benefits good communication conflict and misunderstanding (Hee et al., brings, such as: creates job satisfaction, 2019). Horizontal communication can be lesser conflicts, increases productivity, further divided according to hierarchical the formation of relationships and proper levels into: top level management, middle utilization of resources (Adu-Oppong and management, management of the first line Agyin-Birikorang, 2014). Companies that and executive level personnel (Ližbetinova, encourage better communication between 2015). Vertical downwards communication is employees at different hierarchical levels a form of communication where information encounter less fluctuation of workers since is transmitted from hierarchically higher they create satisfied workers. In addition, levels to hierarchically lower levels. On the better and open communication also other hand, vertical upward communication
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involves the transfer of information from weight, volume, type of packing, etc. can hierarchically lower levels to hierarchically significantly speed up and facilitate this higher levels, all with the aim of defining process, resulting in additional savings and plans, goals and strategies. Diagonal increased efficiency. All these activities can communication involves the existence of be facilitated by the implementation of a teams that are tasked to transfer information warehouse management system (WMS) when solving business problems. Based (Muhammad et al., 2014). The application on the research (Hee et al., 2019), it was of these systems in transport and warehouse concluded that downward and horizontal can have an effect on reducing errors in the communication has significant positive performance of these processes. impacts on employee performance. In addition to training and selecting the Based on all previously said, the following appropriate communication model, hypotheses (Figure 1) were developed, which companies should also work to improve were then tested based on a survey conducted the soft skills of their employees in order to in the logistics sector of Serbia: improve their communication skills, but also to organize inter-department meetings to • H1a: The sources of stress vary enhance communication between employees depending on the primary business (Hee et al., 2019). activity of the company; • H1b: The sources of stress vary When it comes to logistics, then emphasis depending on the size of the company; should be certainly placed on communication • H1c: The sources of stress vary within the two highest-cost generating depending on the position of the subsystems, warehouse and transport employee; (Muhammad et al., 2014). Increasing • H2a: Stress management varies transparency of information as well as depending on the primary business improving communication in these sectors activity of the company; can result in significant cost savings. In • H2b: Stress management varies transport, the existence of information depending on the size of the company; and communication technology (ICT) is • H2c: Stress management varies of particular importance. Such technology depending on the position of the includes software for planning, routing, employee; information transfer, complaint management • H3a: The frequency of communication and vehicle tracking. All these activities problems varies depending on the size can be monitored using the transport of the company; management system (TMS). On the other • H3b: The frequency of communication hand, adequate information about goods problems varies depending on the which should be stored such as pack size, position of the employee.
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Fig. 1. Model of Stress Sources, Stress Management and Frequency of Communication Problems
3. Methodology was defined. As already mentioned, the three Based on a systematic literature review, an basic dimensions identified in this paper instrument for measuring the impact of stress are: sources of stress, stress management and communication on the quality of the and frequency of communication problems working environment in logistics companies (Table 2).
Table 2 Variable Description Dimension Attributes References What are the most common stress Stress sources Bhui et al., 2016 sources Antony Joe Raja and Vijayakumar, Stress management How do you manage stress at work 2017 Frequency of communication How frequent are communication Hola, 2012 problems problems
Based on the developed instrument, an of the questionnaire included questions appropriate questionnaire was created. to determine the characteristics of the The questionnaire was used as a data respondents and the companies in which they collection tool. The questionnaire was work, while the questions in the second part composed of two parts, where the first part were asked in order to determine the impact
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of stress and communication on the quality The survey was conducted in the period from of the working environment. In order to January to February 2020. The questionnaire process the results, a 5-point Likert scale was was sent to 150 addresses but returned from used. As mentioned earlier, the questionnaire 123. After selective analysis, responses that was intended for logisticians in Serbia. An were not completely filled were excluded electronic version of the questionnaire was from further analysis which ended with 101 sent to 150 addresses. fully filled questionnaires.
Table 3 Descriptive Statistics Sample Share (%) Primary business activity International logistics and freight forwarding 37.62 Retail 22.77 Contract logistics – 3PL 20.79 Distribution and domestic transport 18.81 Company size Very small company (up to 10 employees) 35.64 Small company (up to 50 employees) 19.80 Medium company (50-300 employees) 19.80 Large company (>300 employees) 24.75 Position Logistics Assistant 21.78 Procurement Referent 22.77 Supply Chain Specialist 34.65 Logistics Manager 20.79
A sample of 101 responses was then then it can be concluded that the largest statistically processed. Based on the number of respondents is employed in results and Table 3, it can be concluded the position of supply chain specialist that respondents work in companies of (34,65%), followed by the procurement different sizes, in different positions and referent (22,77%) and logistics assistant in different sectors. Namely, the results (21,78%), while the smallest percentage of Table 3 show that the largest number of respondents are employed as logistics of respondents work in companies dealing managers (20,79%). with international logistics and freight forwarding (37,62%), followed by retail In order to confirm the reliability of the companies (22,77%), contract logistics – analyzed sample, IBM SPSS 25 software 3PL (20,79%) and distribution and domestic was used. The reliability test showed that transport (18,81%). In terms of company all Cronbach’s α were greater than 0.749, size, the largest number of respondents indicating acceptable level of internal wirk in very small companies (35,64%), consistency between items. Given that the large companies (24,75%) and small and reliability of the sample was confirmed, medium-sized companies (19,80 each). hypotheses were then tested. The results When observing position of the employee, of the testing are presented below.
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4. Results the linear regression are shown in Table 4. In this paper three dependent and three Based on the hypotheses developed in independent variables were used. Primary chapter 2, this section analyzes the results business activity, company size and position of their testing in more details. Testing was are dependent variables, while independent performed using linear regression (Swanson, are stress sources, stress management and 2016; Helmy et al., 2018). The results of frequency of communication problems.
Table 4 Linear Regression Results Primary business activity Company size Position Variables Beta Sig. Beta Sig. Beta Sig. Stress sources 0,400 0,000 0,239 0,016 0,580 0,000 Stress management 0,491 0,000 0,400 0,000 0,273 0,006 Frequency of communication problems / / 0,602 0,000 0,231 0,020
Based on the results (Table 4) and the value depending on the size of the company. The of β = 0,400, p < 0,001, it can be concluded analysis of the results of the conducted that the sources of stress vary depending on research shows that the most common the primary business activity of the company source of stress in very small companies is which is in accordance with Bhui et al. 2016. short time deadlines. In small companies, The results of the conducted research also the most common source of stress is indicate that there is a difference since insufficient knowledge/experience to do a employees working in international logistics specific job. Pressure from superiors stands and freight forwarding and trade companies out as the most significant source of stress have identified short time deadlines as a in mid-sized companies. In large companies, major source of stress. Employees in disagreement with colleagues is a major companies dealing with contract logistics source of stress. Based on these data, it can – 3PL cite pressure from superiors as a be concluded that large companies should major source of stress. Disagreement with work to improve internal communication, colleagues stands out as the main source while smaller companies should work to of stress for employees in distribution and improve the competencies and knowledge of domestic transport companies. These results their employees. Bearing previously said in can provide a good basis for companies to mind, it can be said that the H1b hypothesis define corrective measures to eliminate is supported. sources of stress. On the basis of all previously said, it can be concluded that Based on the values in Table 4 (β = 0,580, p hypothesis H1a is supported. < 0,001), it can be concluded that the sources of stress vary depending on the position According to the results (Table 4) and of the employee, which is consistent with the value of β = 0,239, p < 0,05, it can be Bhui et al. 2016. The results of the survey concluded that the sources of stress vary show that employees in the position of
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logistics assistant cite short time deadlines on the size of the company. Namely, the as the main source of stress. Employees results of the survey show that in very small in the position of procurement referent companies, seeking help from superiors is the cite insufficient knowledge/experience to most applicable stress management method. perform a particular job as a major source In small companies, problem-solving with of stress. Pressure from superiors stands out the help of a colleague is the most effective as the main source of stress for employees in method. Problem-solving at a joint meeting the position of supply chain specialist. For stands out as the most effective method in employees in the position of the logistics medium and large companies. This way, manager, the main sources of stress are hypothesis H2b is also supported. In this disagreement with colleagues and pressure regard, companies can compare their own from superiors. With these results in mind, stress management system with the above. companies would be able to define training In certain situations, other forms of stress according to the employee’s position in order management that are not specific to the to learn how to cope with stress. This way, certain segment to which company belongs hypothesis H1c is also supported. may be applied.
According to the results (Table 4) and the According to the results (Table 4) and value of β = 0,491, p < 0,001, it can be said the value of β = 0,273, p < 0,05, there there is a difference in stress management was a difference in stress management depending on the primary business activity depending on the position of the employee. of the company, which is in accordance with Based on the results of the survey, it can be a previous study (Antony Joe Raja and concluded that employees in the position Vijayakumar, 2017). Survey results show of logistics assistant identified seeking that employees of international logistics and help from superiors as the most effective freight forwarding companies, as the most method for stress management. In addition effective method for stress management, to this method, employees in the position cite seeking help from their superiors. of procurement referent also identified Employees of trade and contract logistics problem-solving with the help of colleagues. – 3PL companies, as the most effective Problem-solving at a joint meeting stands out method for stress management, identify as the most effective method for employees problem-solving with the help of a colleague. in the position of supply chain specialist. For Problem-solving at a joint meeting has employees in the position of the logistics proven to be the most effective method for manager, problem-solving with the help of employees of distribution and domestic colleagues is the most effective method for transport companies. These results provide stress management. Based on these results, an excellent basis for companies in defining the importance of communication can be stress management strategies at work. On concluded, which is why companies should the basis of all previously said, it can be conduct this type of training for all positions. concluded that hypothesis H2a is supported. On the basis of all previously said, it can be concluded that hypothesis H2c is supported. Based on the values in Table 4(β = 0,400, p < 0,001), it can be concluded that there are The results (Table 4, β = 0,602, p < differences in stress management depending 0,001) confirmed that the frequency of
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communication problems depends on the communicating with hierarchically higher size of the company, which is consistent positions. This way, hypothesis H3b is also with (Hola, 2012). Namely, the results of supported. the conducted research show that in very small companies communication problems 5. Conclusion occur on a daily basis. In small companies, communication problems occur 3-4 times The quality of the working environment per week. Communication problems in can be a key factor when choosing a medium-sized companies occur once every particular company to work for. Stress 3 weeks, while in large companies they and communication are the main quality occur once a month. These results show indicators of the working environment. that communication problems are more The degree of exposure to stress, in pronounced in smaller companies where addition to the characteristics of the job employees are less likely to have received itself, depends on the person itself but also training in communication. For this reason, on the stress management implemented these companies should work in order to by the company. For this reason, it is very improve the communication and soft skills important for the company to find and of their employees. Bearing previously said in implement the right stress management mind, it can be said that the H3a hypothesis strategy since the consequences of stress is supported. affect not only employees but also the company. These consequences are most Based on the results (Table 4) and the often reflected in reduced efficiency, value of β = 0,231, p < 0,05, it can be said productivity, increased costs, etc. In that there is a difference in the frequency addition to choosing an appropriate stress of communication problems depending management strategy, companies should on the position of the employee. Namely, also work on developing their employees’ the results of the conducted research show soft skills as well as organizing training for that employees in the position of logistics employees to learn how to cope with stress assistant believe that problems arise on at work. Besides stress, communication a daily basis. Employees in the position is one of the most common indicators of of procurement referent estimate that the quality of the working environment. communication problems occur 3-4 times Just like stress, communication can have per week, while employees in the position a significant impact on the company, since of supply chain specialist estimate that communication can have both internal and communication problems occur once every external consequences. For this reason, these 3 weeks. Communication problems that two indicators have been used in order to occur once a month are rated as the most assess their impact on the quality of the frequent by employees in the position of working environment in the logistics sector logistics manager. It can be concluded that of Serbia. the most frequent communication problems are at the lower hierarchical levels. For this A questionnaire was formed for the reason, companies should organize mentors purpose of the survey, which was sent to for employees at lower positions, as a form 150 addresses, of which 101 answers were of training, but also as intermediaries in analyzed after excluding those answers
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that were not complete. The hypothesis working environment, as well as their impact development aimed to determine whether on employees and on the company itself, there were differences in stress sources, stands out as a direction for future research. stress management and frequency of In addition, it would be good to carry out communication problems depending on the similar or identical research in other markets primary business activity of the company, so that the results obtained can be compared. company size and position of the employee. All hypotheses were supported. After testing Acknowledgements the hypotheses, it was concluded that the stress sources vary depending on the primary This paper was supported by the Ministry business activity of the company. When of Education, Science and Technological observing company size, based on the results, Development of the Republic of Serbia, it can be concluded that short time deadlines through the project TR 36006. are the most common source of stress in very small companies, while disagreement with References colleagues stands out as the most significant source in larger companies. It can be Adu-Oppong, A.; Agyin-Birikorang, E. 2014. concluded that stress management methods Communication in the workplace: Guidelines for vary depending on the primary business improving effectiveness, Global Journal of Commerce & activity of the company, where employees in Management Perspective 3(5): 208-213. international logistics and freight forwarding companies identified seeking help from Antony Joe Raja, V.; Vijayakumar, V. 2017. A study superiors as the most effective method. In on Stress Management in Various Sectors in India, companies dealing with trade and contract International Journal of Management 8(1): 50-61. logistics – 3PL, the most effective method of stress management is to solve problems Bhui, K.; Dinos, S.; Galant-Miecynikowska, de Jongh, with the help of colleagues. Problem- B.; Stansfeld, S. 2016. Perceptions of work stress causes solving at a joint meeting has proven to be and effective interventions in employees working in the most effective method for employees in public, private and non-governmental organisations: a companies dealing with distribution and qualitative study, BJPsych Bulletin 40(6): 318-325. domestic transport. The results of hypothesis testing show that there is a difference in the Colligan, T.W.; Higgins, E.M. 2006. Workplace stress: frequency of communication problems, both Etiology and consequences, Journal of Workplace Behavioral depending on the size of the company and Health 21: 89-97. depending on the position of the employee. Based on the analysis of the results, it can Cooper, C.L.; Marshall, J. 1976. Occupational sources be concluded that communication problems of stress: A review of the literature relating to coronary are most common in very small companies, heart disease and mental ill health, Group and Organization as well as with employees in the position Studies 13: 11-28. of logistics assistant. The results obtained are a good basis for people in practice for Hee, O.C.; Qin, D.A.H.; Kowang, T.O.; Husin, M.M.; defining corrective actions but also for Ping, L.L. 2019. Exploring the Impact of Communication further analysis of this issue. An analysis on Employee Performance, International Journal of Recent of other indicators of the quality of the Technology and Engineering 8(3S2): 654-658.
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