The present investigation has been done on the basis of collected qualitative and quantitative data from primary sources and explored the factors influencing job stress of agricultural officers of Kerala State Department of Agriculture. The study was undertaken in the three zones of Kerala viz., Kasaragod from North Kerala, Thrissur from Central Kerala and Thiruvananthapuram from South Kerala. A sample of 180 Agricultural Officers was selected by using simple random sampling. A pre-tested structured interview schedule was prepared for data collection. Frequency, percentage analysis, mean, standard deviation, simple correlation and factor analysis were employed in the analysis and interpretation. The study found that, majority (60%) of the respondents were having medium job stress. There was significant difference in job stress among the three districts. Using factor analysis, it was observed that out of the 12 components role overload, role ambiguity, role conflict, group and political pressures, under participation, powerlessness and strenuous working conditions were the major factors leading to the job stress. The results revealed that job experience, attitude towards profession, self confidence, leadership quality and organizational climate were the main factors that influenced job stress.

Keyword: factors influencing job stress; job stress; job experience; self-confidence; agricultural officers