ROLES OF SOCIAL SUPPORT IN REDUCING WORKPLACE STRESS IN SEVEN-

UP BOTTLING COMPANY ABUJA

A PROPASAL
BY

MUSA RABIAT IDRIS

(FPN/SO1/2022/2023/HBAM/4850)

THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT,

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS STUDIES,
THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NASARAWA,
P.M.B 001, NASARAWA,
NASARAWA STATE.

OCTOBER, 2023.
INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Among various factors that reduce employee motivation and productivity at work, workplace

stress is considered a critical concern for managers (Singh et al., 2012). In the field of

managerial research, workplace stress is a topic that has been extensively studied due to the

negative impact it causes to employees and the organization (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993).

Consequences of stress that were documented in studies include low job satisfaction, high

turnover rate and absenteeism, as well as poor service quality towards customers (Shepherd

et al., 2011; Yiu et al., 2001). Studies also found that chronic experience of stress tend

increase depression and other health-related issues (Tourigny et al., 2010).

Understating factors that make employees suffer from the burnout syndrome, stressors, and

strain is essential since this can provide effective solutions to help prevent employees from

experiencing this problem. According Jex et al. (1992), the term “stressors” has generally

been used in reference to environmental conditions that adversely affect health, whereas the

term “strains” has been used to refer to the individual responses to the stressors.

In present studies, the authors focus on the role of social support at work as a key antecedent

of workplace stress. Two aspects of social support that are in focus in this study are colleague

support and supervisor support. In other researches, scholars suggested that these two aspects

of social support are considered main predictors of workplace stress (Halbesleben & Buckley,

2004). Existing studies also found that supervisor support and colleague support not only

buffer negative effect of job characteristics that employees experience, but also enhance

psychological wellbeing and performance of employees (Mayo et al., 2012; Sloan, 2012). For

example, Blanch & Aluja (2012) found that supervisor support was negatively associated

with lower burnout among Spanish workers. Sloan (2012) conducted a large-scale survey of

1
employees in a southern state of U.S. and found that colleague support decreases employees’

stress from exposure to mistreatment by customers, supervisors, and others colleagues.

Seven up Bottling company Plc., is a leading fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) company

in Nigeria, an independent and distributor of popular brands of soft drinks, such as are Pepsi,

7UP, Mirinda, Teem, Aquafina and Mountain Dew. The company was founded by a

Lebanese, Mohammed El-khalil. He came to Nigeria for the very first time in 1926 and has

since become part of the Nigeria history especially with the birth of the soft drink giant. On

1st of October, 1960, the day Nigeria became an independent state; Nigerians also

experienced the birth of a soft drink giant as the first bottle of 7Up rolled out from the

company’s factory, located in Ijora, Lagos (Ismaila, 2018).

Since then, the company continued to grow in the leap and the bound. In the late 80s, the

company established two more plants in Ibadan and Ikeja. In the early 1990s when Pepsi

International took over 7Up international, the company introduces the Pepsi brand to the

Nigeria people. Seven-Up bottling company Plc produce and distribute the favorite brands of

soft drinks: Pepsi Mirinda Seven Up and Mountain Dew. These brands are popular and

widely consumed across the length and breadth of Nigeria. They also have nine bottling

plants with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located strategically across the country.

Seven-Up Bottling Company has a well-coordinated distribution network with an extensive

network of over 200 distribution centers located across Nigeria (Ismaila, 2018).

The company has been involved with various event and sponsorships as part of her CSR,

some of these are the Pepsi academy which has produced many football stars, the Nigerian

idol, a music talent show, The African cup of nations, in health care and many others.

With over 3,500 employees and lots of exciting brands, the Seven-Up bottling company is

among the 50 brands in Nigeria (Ismaila, 2018).

2
Even though the role of support on workplace stress has been previously investigated in

research, there are several aspects that still need further investigation. First, existing studies in

this area tended to combine three dimensions of stress, namely emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment, into a single measure. This

combination was then used as a single outcome variable (Blanch & Aluja, 2012). However,

scholars have argued that burnout should be viewed as a multidimensional construct

(Golembiewski, 1989; Maslach & Jackson, 1981). Therefore, using an aggregated measure of

burnout as an outcome variable can limit our understanding about the role that social support

plays on each individual dimension of stress. Thus, by employing stress as a

multidimensional construct, the present study can determine whether colleague support and

supervisor support can have a different impact on each of the three dimensions of workplace

stress. In addition, even existing studies that employed stress as multidimensional construct

also reported mixed results. For example, a longitudinal study by Sundin et al. (2011) found

that colleague support only reduced depersonalization aspect of stress, but not emotional

exhaustion and lack of personal accomplishment. Moreover, they did not find any significant

relationship between supervisor support and all three aspects of workplace stress. In contrast,

a study by Sochos et al. (2012) did not find support for the positive effect of colleague

support and supervisor support on any three aspect of workplace stress. This study even

found that colleague support strongly led to more depersonalization. Given the incongruence

of these findings, there is a need for additional studies to confirm the roles that support play

on reducing workplace stress.

3
Aim and Objectives

The aim of this study is to determine the roles and impact of Social Support in reducing

Workplace stress with reference to the Seven-Up Bottling Company Abuja.

The Objectives of the study are;

1. To determine the Cause of Workplace Stress in Seven-Up Bottling Company Abuja.

2. To determine the effect supervisors support has in reducing Workplace stress with

reference to the Seven-Up Bottling Company Abuja.

3. To analyse the impact that colleagues support has in reducing Workplace stress with

reference to the Seven-Up Bottling Company Abuja.

4. To determine the relationship between work performance and reducing workplace

stress by analysing the best approach to reduce workplace stress.

Research Questions

a. What work stress issues do employees and managers face on a day-to-day basis?

b. What are Supervisors already doing about work stress in the workplace and outside of

work?

c. What are the interventional supports that colleagues employ when managing work-

related stress?

d. Should the approaches taken to increase work performance and reducing workplace

stress be distinct given the very different levels and consistency of resources, focus on

profit, and work productivity?

4
Research Hypothesis

Ho: there is no significant effect of supervisor’s support on workplace stress reduction

Hi: there is significant effect of supervisor’s support on workplace stress reduction

Ho: there is no significant effect of colleagues’ support on workplace stress reduction

Hi: there is significant effect of colleagues’ support on workplace stress reduction

Ho: there is no significant effect of social support on workplace stress reduction

Hi: there is significant effect of social support on workplace stress reduction

5
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The most important aspect of any research work or activity is data collection. This data is to

portrait the type of data used in this research work

Research Design

The research design that will be used is the plan structure strategy of investigation conceived

so as to obtained answer to research questions based on this research work. A survey research

will be conducted which involves finding out the impact of staff welfare on employees

productivity in manufacturing industry.

Population of the Study

The study population of this study will be the focused on the staff of Seven-Up Bottling

Company, Abuja. The population under study is (178) staff,

Sample Size and Sampling Techniques

The sample size will be a convenience sampling selected from the population through the use

of the simple random sampling techniques where by all the population has an equal chance of

being selected.

The techniques used is the random sampling techniques. These techniques provide equal

techniques for any individual in the population being chosen. To ensure effective coverage of

the entire population of (178), the researcher will apply Taro Yamane formula thus:

N
= 1+N(e)2
Where:
n = Sample size
N = Population
E = permissible margin of error in the studying

6
 1 = unity (constant)
n = 178
1+178 (0.05)2

n = 178
1+0.445

n = 178
1.445
n = 123.1

= 123

Therefore, a sample size will be “ 123 “

Sources and Instrument of Data Collection

Primary Data; this consists mostly of discussion with personal observation. Administration of

questionnaires more employed which enable the researcher together the required data for

work.

Secondary Data; this is another method of data collection in which the study will be based on

it. Entails library research in which numbers of text books, magazine, feedbacks, journals,

written by different authors and internet applications (World Wide Web) through Google

search to access series of literature previously made.

Method of Data Analysis

The data earlier explained will be presented in tabular form. Both descriptive and inferential

statistics are used. Tables and simple percentage are used to present data collected. while

regression analysis, ordinary least square (OLS) is used to evaluate the effects.

7
Justification of the Method Used

The questionnaire will be designed to obtain information on the impact of social support on

reducing workplace stress. It contains a well structure choice question designed in a simple

method to be filled by the respondent. The statistical techniques applied in analysing the data

gathered will be considered. Regression analysis is a set of statistical tools used in estimating

the relationships between a dependent variable (often).

8
CONCLUSION

This study that is aimed to test the role of social support on reducing workplace stress. The

results from analysis should appear to support or annul our hypothesis; that is both colleagues

and supervisors support should reduce workplace stress and thereby make employees

experiencee better working environment that yields productivity. Generally, the results from

this study should be consistent with existing literature which regards social support as a

solution to help employees deal effectively with stress at work.

Research Limitations

Despite the method of analysis that will be carried out by this research, this study will have

some limitations that need to be discussed. Specifically, a small sample from only one of the

existing companies in Nigeria is utilised. In addition, the majority of the participants are are

under economic and family related stress already. Therefore, these sampling issues can limit

the generalizability of our findings.

9
REFERENCES

Blanch, A., & Aluja, A. (2012). Social support (family and supervisor), work–family conflict,
and burnout: Sex differences. Human Relations, 65(7), 811-833. doi:
10.1177/0018726712440471

Buunk, B. P., & Hoorens, V. (1992). Social support and stress: The role of social comparison
and social exchange processes. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31(4), 445-
457. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1992.tb01018.x

Cordes, C. L., & Dougherty, T. W. (1993). A Review and an Integration of Research on Job
Burnout. Academy of Management Review, 18(4), 621–656.

Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands
resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499-512.

Golembiewski, R. T. (1989). A Note on Leiter’s Study: Highlighting Two Models of

Burnout. Group & Organization Management, 14(1), 5-13.

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2009). Multivariate data analysis
(7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Wheeler, A. R. (2012). To Invest or Not? The Role of Coworker

Ismaila, U. (2018). The Impact of Published Financial Statement on Quoted Companies in

Nigeria (a Case Study of Selected Quoted Companies in Nigeria Seven (7) up
Bottling Company Abuja).

Jex, S. M., Beehr, T. A., & Roberts, C. K. (1992). The meaning of occupational stress items
to survey respondents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 623–628.

Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 2(2), 99-113. doi: 10.1002/job.4030020205

Mayo, M., Sanchez, J. I., Pastor, J. C., & Rodriguez, A. (2012). Supervisor and coworker
support: a source congruence approach to buffering role conflict and physical
stressors. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(18), 3872-
3889. doi: 10.1080/09585192.2012.676930

10
Shepherd, C. D., Tashchian, A., & Ridnour, R. E. (2011). An Investigation of the Job
Burnout Syndrome in Personal Selling. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales
Management, 31(4), 397-410.

Singh, P., Suar, D., & Leiter, M. P. (2012). Antecedents, Work-Related Consequences, and
Buffers of Job Burnout Among Indian Software Developers. Journal of Leadership
& Organizational Studies, 19(1), 83-104. doi: 10.1177/1548051811429572

Sloan, M. M. (2012). Unfair Treatment in the Workplace and Worker Well-Being: The Role
of Coworker Support in a Service Work Environment. Work and Occupations,
39(1), 3-34. doi: 10.1177/0730888411406555

Sochos, A., Bowers, A., & Kinman, G. (2012). Work Stressors, Social Support, and Burnout
in Junior Doctors: Exploring Direct and Indirect Pathways. Journal of Employment
Counseling, 49(2), 62-73. doi: 10.1002/j.2161-1920.2012.00007.x

Sundin, L., Hochwälder, J., & Lisspers, J. (2011). A longitudinal examination of generic and
occupational specific job demands, and work-related social support associated with
burnout among nurses in Sweden. Work, 38(4), 389-400. doi: 10.3233/wor-2011-
1142

Tang, H. K. (1998). An inventory of organizational innovativeness. Technovation, 19(1), 41

51. doi: 10.1016/s0166-4972(98)00077-7

Tourigny, L., Baba, V. V., & Xiaoyun, W. (2010). Burnout and depression among nurses in
Japan and China: the moderating effects of job satisfaction and absence.
International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(15), 2741-2761. doi:
10.1080/09585192.2010.528656

Yiu, C., Au, W. T., & Tang, C. S.-k. (2001). Burnout and duration of service among Chinese
voluntary workers. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 4(2), 103-111. doi:
10.1111/j.1467-839X.2001.00079.x

11