Developing Country Studies www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-607X (Paper) ISSN 2225-0565 (Online) Vol.4, No.25, 2014 34 Stress and Coping Strategies among Bankers in the Tema Metropolis Charles Gyan Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University, 120 Duke Street West, Kitchener, ON. N2H 3W8. Canada E-mail: charlesgyan@live.com Michael Baffoe University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2 E-mail: michael.baffoe@ad.umanitoba.ca Abstract The nature of work of bankers and family life may most often expose them to high level of stress which has the potential of affecting their productive capacity. This study therefore sought to find out the stress and coping strategies of bankers in Tema. This study adopted a mixed method to investigate the nature of stress and the coping strategies adopted by Bankers in the Tema Metropolis. Data for the study were collected from the field using interview schedules and questionnaires. Findings from the study show the existence of high level of stress among the Bankers. The sources of stress among the bankers range from the upbringing of their children, their families to the nature of their work. In terms of coping strategies of stress, it was revealed that the respondents indulge in religious activities, exercises, share with friends, use medicinal therapies, counseling and social gathering. The need for appropriate mechanisms to be put in place by the managements of the banks to address the counseling needs of employees is indicated by the findings. Also, organization of seminars for employees to help broaden their minds on stress coping strategies as well as to keep them abreast with the changing trend of issues is very essential to help reduce their stress levels. Keywords: Stress, Coping, bankers Introduction Several crises have engulfed societies in the world at this time and age along with most employees having a hard time to cope with the stress in the work place (World Health Organization (WHO), 2005). Most time of employees are often spent in the office than in their homes. These employees become more exhausted after those long hours of work (WHO, 2005). However, stress is considered a normal part of any organization; regardless of positions and salary level in the company. When people experience work-related stress, they often feel tensed and distressed. Due to globalization and changes in the nature of work, people in developing countries have to deal with increasing work-related stress (WHO, 2005). World Health Organization (2005) states that most people in industrialized countries have devised stress coping and management strategies and are becoming more aware of the effects of work-related stress. However, in developing countries, this may not be the case. The inability of organizations to commit resources towards protecting their workers from work-related stress underwrites the high level of stress among workers in most developing countries (Houtman & Jettinghoff, 2007). In addition, most developing countries do not have policies in relation to psychosocial risks and work- related stress. The absence these policies provide a fertile ground for organizations and companies not to commit resources towards putting in place effective control strategies to deal with these issues (WHO, 2003). The situation is made worse by the lack of occupational health services coverage. WHO (2003) estimates that globally only 5-10% of the workers in developing countries and 20-50% of the workers in industrialized countries (with a few exceptions) have access to adequate occupational health services. Work-related psychosocial issues are rarely dealt by these even where they are available. In Ghana, several nationwide surveys have indicated that, about 58% of the workforces in organizations suffer from stress related problems (The Weekly Mirror, 2006). According to Sackey and Sanda (2009), pressures at work, coupled with demands of family have increased the occupational stressors of employees of financial institutions in Ghana and thereby increasing their chances of developing psychological ailments. This means that stress can be a killer of many organizations in Ghana of which Banks in the Tema Metropolis is no exception. However, it must be pointed that whilst in the developed countries occupational stress has long become a serious health issue both in terms of the individual‘s mental and physical wellbeing and of the financial consequences to employers and governments, it does not appear to evoke equal attention in developing countries such as Ghana. Despite the fact that there are apparent indications of stress in bankers in Ghana, these indications are not well defined by evidence. In fact, no work on the subject as it relates to Banks in the Tema Metropolis has been sighted. The issue is that, there may be stress in bankers but just how much of it? Which stressors are the most common and what stress management or reduction strategies are commonly adopted by victims? In order to