Stress is a general term applied to the pressures felt in life. Stress at work is almost inevitable in many jobs. It has become a major buzzword and a legitimate concern of the time. An attempt has been made in this paper to highlight the likely sources and consequences of the stress, as well as to suggest measures to cope with it.

The word `stress' was derived from the Latin word, stringere, meaning to draw tight. In the 15<sup>th</sup> Century, the term was used to describe troubles or pain. A century later, the term was used to describe burden, force or pressure, especially on a person's body or soul. In the 17<sup>th</sup> Century, stress denoted hardship, straits, adversity or affliction. During the 18<sup>th</sup> and 19<sup>th</sup> Centuries it meant, "force, pressure, strain or strong effort". It came in social sciences from engineering and physics. In physics, it denoted the internal force generated within a solid body in response to the action of an external force distorting the body. While the external force was called `lead', the resulting distortion was termed as `strain'. In 1936, Prof. Hans Selye, "The father of modern stress", brought before the public the concept of stress in a medical sense to indicate overloading of the human body. The empirical research begins only after Hans Selye's first article on stress in 1956.

During the past 15 years, the banking sector had undergone rapid and striking policy changes due to globalization and liberalization, increased competition from the entrance of more private (corporate) sector banks, downsizing, introduction of new technologies and so forth. Due to these changes, the employees in the banking sector are experiencing a high level of stress.

Management Research Journal, Dindigul District Central Cooperative Bank, Corporate Sector Banks, Globalization, Banking Sectors, Organizational Structures, Bank Management, Human Resource Policies, Organizational Stressors, Psychological Problems, Decision Making Process.