Railway Drivers

“Work-Environment and Occupational Stress in Relation to Job Satisfaction, Family Satisfaction and Turn-Over Intentions: An Analytical Study among Loco-Pilots (Railway Drivers) in India”

The job of a railway driver demands hard work and great presence of mind along with courage to handle diverse conditions. For this one should have discipline, patience, responsibility, punctuality, commitment, courage and above all self-confidence. The job requires lots of hard work, stamina, alertness of mind, adaptability to follow difficult time schedules too. But the main and remarkable, highly appreciable role of railway drivers is the only who works with full honesty, in day and night, in heavy cold, hot and rainy weather. The railway driver on whose

Quick decision-making is required in situations of possible collisions (such as unexpected obstacle on the track), driving at night or in bad weather conditions, and is combined with the requirement of making a correct judgment of the situation and correct reaction. The work schedule of train drivers are often irregular and include early morning and night also. Nighttime driving is different for driving in daytime: a driver requires greater concentration because of visibility limitations (McDonald, 1984). The extremely irregular working hours constitute an added workload for the railway driver. The physical work environment can also give rise to workload; this includes, for eg; noise (or distressful noise levels), vibrations or an uncomfortable cab conditions (too hot, too cold, draughty). The railway driver is also exposed to a demanding psychosocial work environment, which includes solitary work, limited opportunities for social contact and a heavy responsibility for operating the train (in terms of both safety and adhering to the timetable) (Ranjan, R. and Prasad, T., 2013). Loco-pilots in India are working in an environment over which they have no control whatsoever and are an atmosphere that wrecks their schedules, disrupts their home life,

Orpen (1978) stated that, high level of fulfillment with life aspects (e.g., family and recreation) often associate with feelings of high self-esteem and sense of control that produce strong expectancy and instrumentality beliefs. The expectancies and beliefs increase work motivation magnitudes and ultimately employees obtain high performance and job satisfaction (Orpen, 1978). Job satisfaction refers to “the pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job as achieving or facilitating the achievement of one’s job values” (Locke, 1969). Job satisfaction is a multidimensional construct for example, perceptions about work itself, relationships with coworkers and supervisors, job control, job security and feelings such as self-accomplishment and self-advancement (Weis et al., 1967). Job satisfaction is directly related to job performance, attitude, motivation and