STRESS AND COPING OF EMPLOYEES IN RELATION TO THEIR WORK PERFORMANCE

Abstract: The employees of PAGCOR face a significant challenge as they strive to provide excellent customer service, which has resulted in a highly stressful situation. These employees play a crucial role in responding to crises and delivering direct customer care, putting themselves at risk. In addition to the physical risks they face, they also experience extraordinary levels of psychological stress due to the demanding nature of their work, long hours, separation from family, and the fear of disease exposure. Furthermore, they must also deal with social stigmatization. This challenging situation has the potential to have both short-term and long-term consequences for the employees. It is important to note that stress is a normal reaction to life's demands, and a small amount can even be beneficial in motivating individuals to perform well. However, the daily challenges faced in the work environment, such as meeting deadlines and dealing with customer demands, can push individuals beyond their limits. On the other hand, Employees have very high extent of coping in the area of physical and high extent of coping in the areas of psychological and social. Accordingly, significant difference was noted in the level of work performance of the employees when grouped and compared according to the aforementioned variables. Lastly, there is no significant relationship between the level of stress and the level of work performance of the employees while significant relationship was noted between the extent of coping and the level of work performance. Keywords: Stress, coping, employees, work performance, physical, psychological, social.